Oszkár Asboth

Who was Oszkár Asboth?

Asboth Oszkár, also rendered as Oskar Asboth, was a Hungarian aviation engineer often credited with the invention of the helicopter. His machine used stacked counterrotating propellers; Asboth never solved the problem of in-flight stability, this was left to others.

He grew up in Arad, which is today part of Romania, and at a very young age began to explore the possibilities of human flight. Like most of the pioneers of aviation he was confronted with the challenge of stabilising the movement of the aeroplane, and to this end developed numerous devices. He sent one of his devices to the headquarters of the Air Force in Vienna.

As a result he made something of a name for himself while still very young. For his military service he was sent to the propeller development facility of Fischamend. During the First World War he was involved in the selection of propellers for the various types of aeroplane engine. He had a clear understanding of the principles involved in propeller development and production and was soon in a position to patent his own design for straight-edged, more efficient propellers, which could also be manufactured more simply.