Today, Monaco has one of the fifty busiest civil heliports in Europe, with over 130,000 passengers per year. But the Principality of Monaco has long traditions in aviation and even in the field of rotorcraft. The beginnings of those traditions go back to 1901, when engineer Maurice Leger, encouraged by His Serene Highness Prince Albert I, requested a patent for a human powered helicopter design. The prince was a very progressive sovereign; the rapid developments in science and technology around the turn of the 20th century fascinated him. He created several institutions in Monaco, such as the Oceanographic Museum, which today is one of the most famous in the world. Leger -encouraged and financed by the prince - build his first helicopter in 1905. A centennial celebration was held in Romania in May 2005 to mark the occasion.
展开▼
