Igor Sikorsky

From Freepedia

Image:Igor Sikorsky.jpg Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (Игорь Иванович Сикорский; May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972) was a Russian pioneer of aviation who designed the first four-engine aeroplanes and the first successful helicopter of the most common configuration (single main rotor with tail rotor).

Biography

Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) and studied at the Naval War College in St. Petersburg (1903-1906) and in Kiev Politechnic Institute (1907-1909), but he didn't finish formal studies. In 1914 he was awarded the Degree in Engineering "Honoris Causa" by St.Petersburg Politechnic Institute. His early work included the construction, as chief engineer, of the first four-motor aircraft. He was also the test pilot for its first flight, on May 13, 1913. Sikorsky's planes were used by Russia as bombers in World War I (see Ilya Muromets) and he was decorated with the Cross of St. Vladimir.

In 1919 Sikorsky emigrated from Russia to the United States seeing little opportunity for himself as an aircraft designer in Europe, torn by the war, and, particularly in Russia, ravaged by the Revolution and Civil War.

In the US Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer looking for an opportunity in aviation industry. In 1923, helped by several former Russian army officers, he formed the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Company. In 1928, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1929 Sikorsky Aero Engineering Company was purchased by and became a subsidiary of United Aircraft, itself now a part of United Technologies Corporation. The company manufactured flying boats such as the S-42, used by Pan Am for trans-atlantic flights and known as Pan Am Clippers.

Sikorsky had experimented with helicopter-type flying machines while in Russia. He brought his work to fruition on 24th May 1940 with the first flight of the Vought-Sikorsky 300, a machine with a single three-blade rotor powered by a 75 horsepower (56 kW) engine. This was not, in the history of aviation, the first successful helicopter to fly but it was the first of the configuration that would later become the most popular. Another one of his helicopters is the Sikorsky Seahawk.

The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation continues to the present day as one of the world's leading helicopter manufacturers.

Further reading

• Sikorsky's autobiography, The Story of the Winged S. (originally published 1938; updated editions, various years up to 1948)
• Frank J. Delear, Igor Sikorsky: His Three Careers in Aviation (New York, 1969) - described as "the only biography"[1]

External link

• U.S. Patent 1848389 : "Aircraft, especially aircraft of the direct lift amphibian type and means of construction and operating the same"
• Igor Sikorsky article from ctheritage.org (reference)
• Biography from Sikorsky company
• Official Sikorsky historical archives
• Igor Sikorsky. Time magazine. November 16, 1953. (Cover)

[2] New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT has extensive Sikorsky Exhibits