{
  "id": "juan-de-la-cierva",
  "type": "entity",
  "name": "Juan de la Cierva",
  "summary": "Spanish aeronautical engineer whose autogiro C.4, flown at Getafe on 17 January 1923, was the first successful rotary-wing aircraft of any kind. His articulated rotor with flapping hinges solved the problem of asymmetric lift — the Smithsonian's own record calls it necessary for the development of the practical helicopter.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "engineering",
    "aviation",
    "rotary-wing",
    "biography"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "target": "leonardo-torres-quevedo"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "target": "cosme-bueno-disertacion-arte-de-volar"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "Who built the first successful rotary-wing aircraft?",
    "What did Juan de la Cierva contribute to the helicopter?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "Cierva's C.4, the first successful autogiro and the first successful rotary-wing aircraft of any kind, took flight on 17 January 1923 at Getafe airfield in Madrid.",
      "sources": [
        "nasm-cierva-c8w"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.9
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "His key invention was the articulated rotor: flapping hinges let the advancing blade rise and the retreating blade descend, equalizing lift across the rotor disc — a mechanism the Smithsonian record describes as necessary for the development of the practical helicopter.",
      "sources": [
        "nasm-cierva-c8w"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.9
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "His C.8W, imported by Harold Pitcairn in 1928, was the first successful rotary-wing aircraft to fly in the United States and the progenitor of the American gyroplane line; it is preserved in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection.",
      "sources": [
        "nasm-cierva-c8w"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.9
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "secondary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": false,
  "winning_edge": "Helicopter histories usually start with Sikorsky; the Smithsonian's own collection record credits Cierva's rotor mechanics as the necessary prior step. This object binds that priority — and the exact first-flight record — to the museum's curatorial text. Vital dates are deliberately absent until a biographical source is registered.",
  "confidence": 0.9,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://hispanic-legacy.com/k/juan-de-la-cierva",
  "api_url": "https://hispanic-legacy.com/api/k/juan-de-la-cierva.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Juan de la Cierva",
    "description": "Spanish aeronautical engineer whose autogiro C.4, flown at Getafe on 17 January 1923, was the first successful rotary-wing aircraft of any kind. His articulated rotor with flapping hinges solved the problem of asymmetric lift — the Smithsonian's own record calls it necessary for the development of the practical helicopter.",
    "url": "https://hispanic-legacy.com/k/juan-de-la-cierva",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Cierva C.8W (C.8L Mk. IV) — collection object record",
        "url": "https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/cierva-c8w-c8l-mk-iv/nasm_A19320006000"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Juan de la Cierva"
  }
}