Paul Cornu achieved the first manned free flight in a rotary-wing aircraft in 1907, managing to lift his incredibly dangerous twin-rotor machine about one foot off the ground for twenty seconds.

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Paul Cornu achieved the first manned free flight in a rotary-wing aircraft in 1907, managing to lift his incredibly dangerous twin-rotor machine about one foot off the ground for twenty seconds. The entire contraption was basically a motorized bicycle frame with giant paddles, and it had absolutely no directional controls, meaning once you were airborne, you were entirely at the mercy of the wind. Instead of pursuing this potentially revolutionary technology, Cornu just abandoned the project entirely because it was completely impractical and frankly terrifying to operate. He paved the way for modern aviation by doing the absolute bare minimum, surviving a twenty-second hover, and immediately deciding he had better things to do with his life