since around 400 bc, the chinese had a flying top that was used as a children's toy. the flying top was made from bamboo and used the same method of spinning wings to fly up in the air. later flying tops were made of feathers tied to a stick. leonardo da vinci first thought of a helicopter flown by a man in 1490, and drew pictures of his ideas. it was hundreds of years later (in the early 20th century) before anyone built one that could really fly. the first practical helicopters were built by frenchman louis breguet in 1935 and by german henrich focke in 1936. a russian immigrant, igor sikorsky, built and perfected the first practical helicopter in america in 1939.