The description 'queer' in the original meaning of the word is not unusual throughout Mechanix Illustrated. But not for this October 1923 article
Latest helicopter makes flight:
THE latest in the helicopter type of flying machine made its initial flight a short time ago when it remained in the air for 1 minute 40 seconds and reached a height of 8 feet. In several later ascensions the machine, carrying two passengers, rose 3 feet above the ground. Helicopters continue to attract considerable attention on account of their ability to rise vertically from the ground and to land in a small area. While the height attained by this helicopter may not seem very impressive, it can be argued that the first trial trip of the Wrights lasted only 59 seconds. The machine was built at McCook field under the supervision of the inventor, Dr. Geo. de Bothezat, a Russian scientist. It is equipped with four lifting propellers, each having six blades and a diameter of 10 feet, and it has provision for flying horizontally. The machine measures 60 feet from tip to tip and has a total lifting capacity of nearly 4,000 pounds.