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Getafe Airfield

Location: Getafe, , Spain
Date: 1911

Getafe Airfield was the site of the world’s first successful rotorcraft flight, on January 17, 1923. Lieutenant Alejandro Gómez Spencer piloted a C.4 Autogiro designed and built by Juan de la Cierva, who tested a series of autogiros between 1920 and 1924 at the Getafe site. Cierva’s autogiros introduced important technologies and flight techniques that led to the development of helicopters and other rotary wing aircraft.

 

Getafe Air Base, established in 1911, now houses several training and transport units of the Spanish Air Force, as well as two aerospace manufacturing plants.

Era: 1910-1919
Innovation designated by:
airport of Getafe
Courtesy Wikicommons/Miguel303xm (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Airplanes in the airport of Getafe, Getafe, Madrid
Address:
Getafe Air Base
Plaza Del Coronel Polanco
Getafe, , Spain

Getafe Air Base

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