Igor Sikorsky | |
---|---|
Игорь Сикорский | |
![]() Studio portrait, c. 1950 | |
Born | Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky May 25, 1889 Kiev, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire |
Died | October 26, 1972 | (aged 83)
Nationality | Russian-American[1][2][3] |
Education | |
Occupation | Aircraft designer |
Known for | First successful mass-produced helicopter, the Sikorsky R-4 |
Spouses |
|
Children | 5 |
Awards |
|
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (Russian: Игорь Иванович Сикорский, romanized: Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, Ukrainian: Ігор Іванович Сікорський, romanized: Ihor Ivanovych Sikorskyi; 25 May 1889 – 26 October 1972)[4] was a Russian–American[1][2][3] aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. His first success came with the Sikorsky S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5, won him national recognition and F.A.I. pilot's license number 64.[5] His S-6-A received the highest award at the 1912 Moscow Aviation Exhibition, and in the fall of that year the aircraft won first prize for its young designer, builder and pilot in the military competition at Saint Petersburg.[6] In 1913, the Sikorsky-designed Russky Vityaz (S-21) became the first successful four-engine aircraft to take flight. He also designed and built the Ilya Muromets (S-22 – S-27) family of four-engine aircraft, an airliner which he redesigned to be the world's first four-engine bomber when World War I broke out.
After immigrating to the United States in 1919 because of the Russian Revolution, Sikorsky founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923,[7] and developed the first of Pan American Airways' ocean-crossing flying boats in the 1930s, including the Sikorsky S-42 "Flying Clipper".
In 1939, Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300,[8] the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the single main rotor and a single antitorque tail rotor configuration used by most helicopters today.[9] Sikorsky modified the design into the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.
My family is of Russian origin. My grandfather and other ancestors from the time of Peter the Great were Russian Orthodox priests. Consequently, the Russian nationality of the family must be considered as well established
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search