Rotorcraft (Helicopters and Autogyros)

A rotorcraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings that spin around a vertical mast to generate lift, distinct from a fixed-wing aircraft whose wings do not rotate. Rotorcraft generally include aircraft where one or more rotors provide lift throughout the entire flight, such as helicopters, gyroplanes and autogyros. This class gathers the atlas's own rotor-lift aircraft: a helicopter is a powered rotorcraft whose engine-driven rotor provides both lift and thrust throughout flight, capable of vertical takeoff and landing and of hovering in place, while an autogyro, or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that instead uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation, driven by the aircraft's own forward motion through the air rather than by an engine, to generate lift.