Long before modern aviation embraced the first helicopter, a Louisiana inventor from Alexandria was already imagining a machine that could rise straight into the air.
Leo Ortego’s fascination with flight began during World War One. According to family stories, Ortego entered the military in the infantry before being transferred into the Flying Corps after an injury. His nephew, Gerald Ortego, says his uncle became focused on a different way to fly. “He really often imagined instead of taking off horizontally… you try to imagine a way of taking off vertically,” Gerald Ortego explained.
the first helicopter flight in alexandria
In 1922, Leo Ortego built a helicopter from whatever materials he could find. On an open field in Alexandria, he climbed aboard the machine and managed to lift off the ground. “As far as we know by documentation, Leo flew the helicopter once,” said Alexandria writer and amateur historian Michael Wynne. “He went up between 10 and 15 feet, he was witnessed by many people and then he had a mechanical problem and the helicopter landed.”
Photographs from that day still exist, showing Ortego and the unusual aircraft he designed and flew. Wynne believes those pictures are historically important. “When you look at pictures, you will see the birth of the American helicopter in it,” Wynne said.
a patent for the first helicopter
Ortego later received a U.S. patent for his invention. Wynne says the patent helped establish the foundation for helicopter development in America. “But it occurred in 1922,” Wynne explained. “The great part about it is that we have four photographs of him taking off in this helicopter. And this proves that it is a working helicopter.”
why the first helicopter story war forgotten
Despite his early success, Leo Ortego never became famous. Aviation history usually credits later helicopter pioneers, including Igor Sikorsky, whose helicopter designs became widely used in the 1940s. Gerald Ortego says his uncle never sought recognition or profit from his invention. “He never profited from it,” Ortego said. “I think he was very patriotic and so he simply gave it to the U.S. Army, the patent… to use it as they wanted to.”
Throughout his life, Leo Ortego continued inventing new devices, including a light-activated switch that automatically turned on lights in darkness. Family members say he kept designing and building ideas for years. Today, no one knows what happened to the helicopter itself, although the family still has the original plans. Michael Wynne hopes more people will learn about the Louisiana inventor whose helicopter flights happened decades before many Americans realized vertical flight was even possible. “He was a person of great imagination and great commitment and determination,” Gerald Ortego said. “And that’s a good lesson for all of us.”
louisiana helicopter invention featured on tv
In September, 2025, The Alexandria International Airport unveiled two historic markers, honoring Leo Ortego and Charles Page, both early aviation pioneers.
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