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Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (russian: И́горь Ива́нович Сико́рский, p=ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvitʃ sʲɪˈkorskʲɪj, a=Ru-Igor Sikorsky.ogg, tr. ''Ígor' Ivánovich Sikórskiy''; May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972)Fortier, Rénald
"Igor Sikorsky: One Man, Three Careers."
''aviation.technomuses.ca,''1996. Retrieved: October 29, 2008.
was a Russian–American"Britannica Concise Encyclopedia"
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2006, p. 1751.
"Sergei Sikorsky: Reflecting on the 90th Anniversary of Sikorsky Aircraft"
Quote: Some 90 years ago, on March 5, 1923, a Russian refugee named Igor Sikorsky organized a new company"
aviation pioneer Aviation pioneers are people directly and indirectly responsible for the advancement of flight, including people who worked to achieve manned flight before the invention of aircraft, as well as others who achieved significant "firsts" in aviation a ...
in both
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s and fixed-wing aircraft. His first success came with the S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5, won him national recognition as well as F.A.I. license number 64. 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. After immigrating to the United States in 1919, Sikorsky founded the
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. Pre ...
in 1923,"About Sikorsky."
''Sikorsky Aircraft''. Retrieved: December 11, 2008.
and developed the first of
Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
' ocean-crossing
flying boats A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
in the 1930s. In 1939, Sikorsky designed and flew the
Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (or S-46) is an American single-engine helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky. It had a single three-blade rotor originally powered by a 75 horsepower (56  kW) engine. The first "free" flight of the VS-300 was on 13 ...
, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor configuration used by most helicopters today.Woods 1979, p. 262. Sikorsky modified the design into the
Sikorsky R-4 The Sikorsky R-4 is a two-seat helicopter that was designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by ...
, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.


Early life

Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(now
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) on May 25, 1889. He was the youngest of five children. His father, Ivan Alexeevich Sikorsky, was a professor of
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
in Saint Vladimir University (now Taras Shevchenko National University), a psychiatrist with an international reputation, and an ardent Russian nationalist.''Homo Imperii A History of Physical Anthropology in Russia''
Marina Mogilner 2013, p. 72.
Igor Sikorsky was an Orthodox Christian. When questioned regarding his roots, he would answer: "My family is of Russian origin. My grandfather and other ancestors from the time of Peter the Great were Russian Orthodox priests." Sikorsky's mother, Mariya Stefanovna Sikorskaya (née Temryuk- Cherkasova), was a physician who did not work professionally. She is sometimes called Zinaida Sikorsky. While homeschooling young Igor, she gave him a great love for art, especially in the life and work of
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
, and the stories of Jules Verne. In 1900, at age 11, he accompanied his father to Germany and through conversations with his father, became interested in
natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
. After returning home, Sikorsky began to experiment with model flying machines, and by age 12, he had made a small rubber band-powered helicopter. Sikorsky began studying at the
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Maritime Cadet Corps, in 1903, at the age of 14. In 1906, he determined that his future lay in engineering, so he resigned from the academy, despite his satisfactory standing, and left the Russian Empire to study in Paris. He returned to the Russian Empire in 1907, enrolling at the Mechanical College of the
Kyiv Polytechnic Institute ) , image = NTUU KPI logo.png , image_size = 220px , caption = Seal of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute , established = 1898 , students = 36,000 (approximately) , admini ...
. After the academic year, Sikorsky again accompanied his father to Germany in the summer of 1908, where he learned of the accomplishments of the Wright brothers' Flyer and
Ferdinand von Zeppelin Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (german: Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin; 8 July 1838 – 8 March 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name soon became synonymous with airships a ...
's
rigid airship A rigid airship is a type of airship (or dirigible) in which the Aerostat, envelope is supported by an internal framework rather than by being kept in shape by the pressure of the lifting gas within the envelope, as in blimps (also called pres ...
s."The Case Files: Igor Sikorsky"
''Franklin Institute''. Retrieved: August 24, 2017.
Sikorsky later said about this event: "Within twenty-four hours, I decided to change my life's work. I would study aviation." By the start of World War I in 1914, Sikorsky's airplane research and production business in Kyiv was flourishing, and his factory made bombers during the war. After the Russian revolution in 1917, Igor Sikorsky fled his homeland in early 1918, because the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
threatened to shoot him for being "the
Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
's friend and a very popular person".
"Sergei Sikorsky: My father's fate (English translation version of an interview published in Russian by pravmir.ru)"
He moved to France where he was offered a contract for the design of a new, more powerful Sikorsky Ilya Muromets, Muromets-type plane. But in November 1918 the war ended and the French government stopped subsidizing military orders, and so he decided to move to the United States. On March 24, 1919 he left France on the ocean liner ''Lorraine'' arriving in New York City on March 30, 1919.


Aircraft designer

With financial backing from his sister Olga, Sikorsky returned to Paris, the center of the aviation world at the time, in 1909. Sikorsky met with aviation pioneers, to ask them questions about aircraft and flying. In May 1909, he returned to Russia and began designing his first helicopter, which he began testing in July 1909. Powered by a 25 horsepower Anzani engine, the helicopter used an upper and lower two-bladed lifting propeller that rotated in opposite directions at 160 rpm. The machine could only generate about of lift, not enough to lift the approximate weight. Despite his progress in solving technical problems of control, Sikorsky realized that the aircraft would never fly. He finally disassembled the aircraft in October 1909, after he determined that he could learn nothing more from the design.Woods 1979, p. 255. In February 1910, he undertook to build a second helicopter, and his first airplane. By the spring, helicopter No. 2 could lift its weight of , but not the additional weight of an operator.
I had learned enough to recognize that with the existing state of the art, engines, materials, and – most of all – the shortage of money and lack of experience... I would not be able to produce a successful helicopter at that time."Igor Sikorsky."
''Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009'' via ''britannica.com''. Retrieved: October 14, 2009.
Sikorsky's first aircraft of his own design, the S-1 used a 15 hp Anzani 3-cylinder fan engine in a pusher configuration, that could not lift the aircraft. His second design called the S-2 was powered by a 25 hp Anzani engine in a
tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...
and first flew on June 3, 1910 at a height of a few feet. On June 30 after some modifications, Sikorsky reached an altitude of "sixty or eighty feet" before the S-2 stalled and was completely destroyed when it crashed in a ravine. Later, Sikorsky built the two-seat S-5, his first design not based on other European aircraft. Flying this original aircraft, Sikorsky earned his
pilot license Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are regulated by ICAO Annex 1 and issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. CAA’s have to establish that the holder has met a specifi ...
; Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) license No. 64 issued by the Imperial Aero Club of Russia in 1911.Woods 1979, p. 256. During a demonstration of the S-5, the engine quit and Sikorsky was forced to make a crash landing to avoid a wall. It was discovered that a
mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
in the gasoline had been drawn into the carburetor, starving the engine of fuel. The close call convinced Sikorsky of the need for an aircraft that could continue flying if it lost an engine. His next aircraft, the S-6 held three passengers and was selected as the winner of the Moscow aircraft exhibition held by the
Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...
in February 1912. In early 1912, Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works (''Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod'' or ''R-BVZ'') in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.Lake 2002, p. 31. His work at R-BVZ included the construction of the first four-
cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
aircraft, the S-21 '' Russky Vityaz'', which he initially called ''Le Grand'' when fitted with just two engines, then the ''Bolshoi Baltisky'' (The Great Baltic) when fitted with four engines in two "push-pull" pairs, and finally ''Russki Vityaz'' in its four engine all tractor-engined configuration. He also served as the
test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...
for its first flight on May 13, 1913. In recognition for his accomplishment, he was awarded an honorary degree in engineering from Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute in 1914. Sikorsky took the experience from building the Russky Vityaz to develop the S-22 ''
Ilya Muromets Ilya Muromets (russian: Илья Муромец), or Ilya of Murom, sometimes Ilya Murometz, is one of the ''bogatyrs'' (epic knights) in Bylinas of Kievan Rus. He is often featured alongside fellow bogatyrs Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popo ...
'' airliner. Due to outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he redesigned it as the world's first four-engined
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...
, for which he was decorated with the
Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...
. After World War I, Igor Sikorsky briefly became an engineer for the French forces in Russia, during the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
. Seeing little opportunity for himself as an aircraft designer in war-torn Europe, and particularly Russia, ravaged by the
Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
and
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
, he emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on March 30, 1919.


List of aircraft designed by Sikorsky

* H-1 Sikorsky's first helicopter design, 1909 * H-2 Sikorsky's second helicopter design, 1910 * S-1 single-engine pusher biplane, Sikorsky's first fixed wing design, 1910 * S-2 single-engine tractor biplane developed from the S-1, 1910 * S-3 enlarged and improved version of the S-2, 1910 * S-4 one-seat, single-engine biplane concept developed from the S-3, never flown, 1911 * S-5 one-seat, single-engine biplane, Sikorsky's first practical aircraft, 1911 * S-6 three-seat, single-engine biplane, 1912 * S-7 two-seat, single-engine monoplane, 1912 * S-8 two-seat single-engine biplane trainer, 1912 * S-9 ''Krugly'' three-seat, single-engine monoplane, 1913 * S-10 five-seat, single-engine biplane reconnaissance/trainer developed from the S-6, 1913 * S-11 ''Polukrugly'' two-seat, single-engine mid-wing reconnaissance monoplane prototype, 1913 * S-12 one-seat, single-engine trainer, Sikorsky's most successful aircraft in Russia, 1913 * S-13 and S-14 proposed designs, never completed due to unavailability of engines * S-15 single-engine light bomber floatplane, 1913 * S-16 two-seat, single-engine escort fighter, 1914–1915 * S-17 two-seat, single-engine reconnaissance biplane based on the S-10, 1915 * S-18 two-seat, twin-engine pusher biplane fighter/interceptor * S-20 two-seat biplane fighter, 1916 * S-21 ''Russky Vityaz'' four-engine biplane airliner, first successful four engine aircraft, 1913 * S-22–S-27 ''Ilya Muromets'' four-engine biplane airliner and heavy bomber, 1913 * Avion Atlas proposed four-engined biplane bomber for France, cancelled due to the end of WWI, 1918 * IS-27 Battleplane proposed four-engined biplane heavy bomber, developed from the Avion Atlas, for the USAAS, 1919 * S-28 projected four-engine biplane airliner; Sikorsky's first American design, 1919 * S-29-A twin-engine biplane airliner, 1924 * S-34 twin-engine amphibian, 1926 * S-35
trimotor A trimotor is an aircraft powered by three engines and represents a compromise between complexity and safety and was often a result of the limited power of the engines available to the designer. Many trimotors were designed and built in the 1920s ...
built for René Fonck's attempt to win the
Orteig Prize The Orteig Prize was a reward offered to the first Allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa.Bak. Pages 28 and 29. Several famous aviators made unsuccessful attempts at the New York–Paris flight before the rel ...
, 1926 * S-36 twin engine amphibian, 1927 * S-37 twin-engine built for René Fonck, but then converted to a passenger plane, 1927 * S-38 twin-engine ten-seat flying boat, 1928 * S-40 four-engine amphibian built for
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
, 1931 * S-42 Clipper – flying boat, 1934 * S-43 scaled-down version of S-42, 1934 * VS-300 experimental prototype helicopter, 1939 * VS-44 flying boat, 1942 * R-4 world's first production helicopter, 1942


Life in the United States

In the U.S., Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer, while looking for an opportunity to work in the aviation industry. In 1932, he joined the faculty of the
University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...
to form an aeronautical engineering program and remained with the university until 1948. He also lectured at the
University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own ...
. In 1923, Sikorsky formed the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company in
Roosevelt, New York Roosevelt (historically known as Greenwich and Rum Point) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,066 at the 2 ...
. He was helped by several former Russian military officers. Among Sikorsky's chief supporters was composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, who introduced himself by writing a check for US$5,000 (approximately $61,000 in 2007). Although his prototype was damaged in its first test flight, Sikorsky persuaded his reluctant backers to invest another $2,500. With the additional funds, he produced the S-29, one of the first twin-engine aircraft in the US, with a capacity for 14 passengers and a speed of 115 mph. The performance of the S-29, slow compared to military aircraft of 1918, proved to be a "make or break" moment for Sikorsky's funding. In 1928, Sikorsky became a
naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
of the United States. The Sikorsky Manufacturing Company moved to Stratford, Connecticut in 1929. It became a part of the
United Aircraft and Transport Corporation The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, vertically-integrated, amalgamated firm, ...
(now
United Technologies Corporation United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...
) in July of that year. The company manufactured flying boats, such as the S-42 "Clipper", used by
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
for transatlantic flights. Meanwhile, Sikorsky also continued his earlier work on vertical flight while living in Nichols, Connecticut. On February 14, 1929, he filed an application to patent a "direct lift" amphibian aircraft which used compressed air to power a direct lift "propeller" and two smaller propellers for thrust. On June 27, 1931, Sikorsky filed for a patent for another "direct lift aircraft", and was awarded patent No. 1,994,488 on March 19, 1935. His design plans eventually culminated in the first (tethered) flight of the
Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (or S-46) is an American single-engine helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky. It had a single three-blade rotor originally powered by a 75 horsepower (56  kW) engine. The first "free" flight of the VS-300 was on 13 ...
on September 14, 1939, with the first free flight occurring eight months later on May 24, 1940. Sikorsky's success with the VS-300 led to the R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter, in 1942. Sikorsky's final VS-300 rotor configuration, comprising a single main rotor and a single antitorque
tail rotor The tail rotor is a smaller rotor mounted vertically or near-vertically at the tail of a traditional single-rotor helicopter, where it rotates to generate a propeller-like horizontal thrust in the same direction as the main rotor's rotation. Th ...
, has proven to be one of the most popular helicopter configurations, being used in most helicopters produced today.


Personal life

Sikorsky was married to Olga Fyodorovna Simkovitch in the Russian Empire. They were divorced and Olga remained in Russia with their daughter, Tania, as Sikorsky departed after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. In 1923, Sikorsky's sisters immigrated to the US, bringing six-year-old Tania with them. Sikorsky married Elisabeth Semion (1903–1995) in 1924, in New York. Sikorsky and Elisabeth had four sons; Sergei, Nikolai, Igor Jr. and George. * Tania Sikorsky von York (March 1, 1918 – September 22, 2008), Sikorsky's eldest child and only daughter. Tania was born in Kyiv. Educated in the US, she earned a B.A. at
Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
and a doctorate at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. She was one of the original faculty members of
Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic uni ...
in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she served as Professor of Sociology for 20 years. * Sergei Sikorsky (1925– ), Sikorsky's eldest son. He joined United Technologies in 1951, and retired in 1992, as Vice-President of Special Projects at Sikorsky Aircraft. * Igor Sikorsky Jr. is an attorney, businessman and aviation historian. Igor Sikorsky III is also a pilot. Sikorsky died at his home in
Easton, Connecticut Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,605 at the time of the 2020 census. Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck and the Plattsville census-designated place. Part of the Greater Bridg ...
, on October 26, 1972, and is buried in Saint John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cemetery located on Nichols Avenue in Stratford.


Legacy

In 1966, Sikorsky was inducted into the
International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Si ...
. Sikorsky's and
Andrei Tupolev Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev (russian: Андрей Николаевич Туполев; – 23 December 1972) was a Russian and later Soviet aeronautical engineer known for his pioneering aircraft designs as Director of the Tupolev Design ...
's professional careers were covered in the 1979 Soviet biopic ''The Poem of Wings'' (russian: Поэма о крыльях) where Sikorsky was portrayed by Yury Yakovlev. A working model of
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets The Sikorsky ''Ilya Muromets'' (russian: Сикорский Илья Муромец) (Sikorsky S-22, S-23, S-24, S-25, S-26 and S-27) were a class of Russian pre-World War I large four-engine commercial airliners and military heavy bombers use ...
was recreated for filming. The
Sikorsky Memorial Bridge The Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge (also known as the Sikorsky Memorial Bridge, and as the Housatonic River Bridge) carries the limited-access Merritt Parkway (Connecticut Route 15) over the Housatonic River, between Stratford and Milford, Co ...
, which carries the
Merritt Parkway The Merritt Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt") is a limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County. Designed for Connecticut's Gold Coast, the parkway is known ...
across the Housatonic River next to the Sikorsky corporate headquarters, is named for him. Sikorsky has been designated a Connecticut Aviation Pioneer by the Connecticut State Legislature. The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in Stratford, Connecticut, continues to the present day as one of the world's leading helicopter manufacturers, and a nearby small airport has been named Sikorsky Memorial Airport. Sikorsky was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1987. In October 2011, one of the streets in Kyiv was renamed after Sikorsky. The decision was made by the City Council at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, which opened its new office on that street. The Sikorsky's family house in the city's historical center is preserved to this day but is in a neglected condition pending restoration. In November 2012, one of the Russian supersonic heavy strategic bomber
Tu-160 The Tupolev Tu-160 (russian: Туполев Ту-160 Белый лебедь, translit=Belyj Lebeď, translation=White Swan; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Desi ...
, based at the Engels-2 Air Force Base, was named for Igor Sikorsky, which caused controversy among air base crew members. One of the officers said that Igor Sikorsky does not deserve it because he laid the foundations of the U.S., rather than Russian aviation. However, the Long Range Aviation command officer said that Igor Sikorsky is not responsible for the activities of his military aircraft, noted that Sikorsky had also designed the first heavy bomber for Russia. In 2013, '' Flying'' magazine ranked Sikorsky number 12 on its list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation. In August 2016, the National technical university of Ukraine "Kyiv politechnical institute" was named ''National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"'' its former student and outstanding aircraft designer. On March 22, 2018, the
Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council ( uk, Київська міська рада, translit=Kyivska miska rada), also known as Kyivrada ( uk, Київрада), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The me ...
officially renamed Kyiv International Airport to "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport Zhuliany".


Philosophical and religious views

Sikorsky was a deeply religious
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
ChristianFaith Of the Orthodox Born in Russia
/ref> and authored two religious and philosophical books (''The Message of the Lord's Prayer'' and ''The Invisible Encounter''). Summarizing his beliefs, in the latter he wrote:


Published works

* Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Message of the Lord's Prayer''. New York: C. Scribner's sons, 1942. * Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Invisible Encounter''. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1947. * Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Story of the Winged-S: Late Developments and Recent Photographs of the Helicopter, an Autobiography''. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1967.


See also

*
Aerosani Aerosani (both singular and plural; russian: aэросани, literally aerosled) is a type of propeller-driven snowmobile, running on skis, used for communications, mail deliveries, medical aid, emergency recovery and border patrolling in northern ...
– Sikorsky built some of these propeller-powered
snowmobiles A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...
in 1909–10 * Fedor Ivanovich Bylinkin – an early aircraft collaborator with Sikorsky, in 1910 * Sikorsky Prize – a prize for human powered helicopters named in his honor * 10090 Sikorsky – an asteroid named in honor of Igor Sikorsky


References


Sources

* Delear, Frank J. ''Igor Sikorsky: His Three Careers in Aviation''. New York: Dodd Mead, 1969, Revised edition, 1976. . * Hacker, Barton C. and Margaret Vining. ''American Military Technology: The Life Story of a Technology.'' Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. . * Ikenson, Ben
''Patents: Ingenious Inventions, How They Work and How They Came to Be''.
New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2004. . * Lake, Jon. ''The Great Book of Bombers: The World's Most Important Bombers from World War I to the Present Day.'' St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 2002. . * Leishman, J. Gordon

Online summary: ''Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. . * Murphy, Justin D. ''Military Aircraft, Origins to 1918: An Illustrated History of Their Impact'' (Weapons and warfare series). Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. . * Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Story of the Winged-S: Late Developments and Recent Photographs of the Helicopter, an Autobiography''. New York: Dodd, Mead, originally published 1938 (updated editions, various years up to 1948), Revised edition, 1967. * Spenser, Jay P. ''Whirlybirds, A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers''. Seattle, Washington, USA: University of Washington Press, 1998. . * Woods, Carlos C
"Memorial Tributes", pp. 253–266.
''Igor Ivan Sikorsky''. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Engineering (The Academy), 1979. * * *


External links


Official Sikorsky historical archives
*
Igor Sikorsky
Aerial Russia – the Romance of the Giant Aeroplane – early days of Igor Sikorsky online book



Time magazine, November 16, 1953. (Cover)
The New England Air Museum
in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, has extensive Sikorsky exhibits
Wingless Helicopter Flies Straight Up
September 1940
Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...
article showing Sikorsky flying his first helicopter and introducing him to the general public {{DEFAULTSORT:Sikorsky, Igor 1889 births 1972 deaths Aircraft designers American aerospace engineers American inventors American people of Russian descent ASME Medal recipients Aviation history of Russia Aviation history of the United States Aviation inventors Aviation pioneers Businesspeople in aviation Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Kyiv Polytechnic Institute alumni Members of the Early Birds of Aviation National Medal of Science laureates People from Easton, Connecticut Engineers from Kyiv Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir Russian aerospace engineers Russian inventors Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States University of Bridgeport faculty University of Rhode Island faculty 20th-century Russian engineers 20th-century American engineers 20th-century Russian businesspeople Businesspeople from the Russian Empire 20th-century American businesspeople