Sikorsky Aircraft
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Sikorsky Aircraft is an American
aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...
based in
Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Stratford is in the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled ...
. It was established by aviation pioneer
Igor Sikorsky 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)Fortie ...
in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture
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 for civilian and military use. Previously owned by
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 November 2015 Sikorsky was sold to
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
.


History

On 5 March 1923, the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation was founded near
Roosevelt Field Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...
, New York, by
Igor Sikorsky 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)Fortie ...
, an immigrant to the United States who was born in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
._In_1925,_the_company_name_was_changed_to_Sikorsky_Manufacturing_Company._After_the_success_of_the_Sikorsky_S-38.html" ;"title="Russian Empire at the time. Please do not add either Russian- or Ukrainian- here — this dispute is not worth an edit war, and is better handled in Igor's bio article, not here. --> In 1925, the company name was changed to Sikorsky Manufacturing Company. After the success of the Sikorsky S-38">S-38, the company was reorganized as the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation with capital of $5,000,000, allowing the purchase of land and the building of a modern aircraft factory in Stratford. In 1929, the company moved to
Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Stratford is in the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled ...
, and it became a part of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (later
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 ...
or UTC) in July of that year.Spenser 1998 In the United States, Igor Sikorsky originally concentrated on the development of multiengine landplanes and then amphibious aircraft. In the late 1930s, sales declined and United Aircraft merged his division with
Vought Aircraft Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought Ai ...
. He then began work on developing a practical helicopter. After first flying the
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 ...
he developed 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 ...
, the first stable, single-rotor, fully controllable
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 ...
to enter full-scale production in 1942, upon which most subsequent helicopters were based. Sikorsky Aircraft remains a leading helicopter manufacturer, producing such well-known models as the
UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...
and
SH-60 Seahawk The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...
, and experimental types such as the
Sikorsky S-72 The Sikorsky S-72 was an experimental compound helicopter developed by helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. Design and development RSRA The Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) was developed by Sikorsky for NASA and the Army. The RSRA ...
. Sikorsky has supplied the Presidential helicopter since 1957. Sikorsky's VH-3 and VH-60 perform this role now. The company acquired Helicopter Support Inc. (HSI) in 1998. HSI handles non-U.S. government aftermarket support for parts and repair for the Sikorsky product lines. UTC acquired Schweizer Aircraft Corp. in 2004, after which it operated as a subsidiary of Sikorsky. The product lines of the two firms were complementary, and had little overlap, as Sikorsky primarily concentrates on medium and large helicopters, while Schweizer produces small helicopters,
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s (UAV), gliders, and light planes. The Schweizer deal was signed on August 26, 2004, exactly one week after the death of
Paul Schweizer Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, the company's founder and majority owner. In late 2005, Sikorsky completed the purchase of Keystone Helicopter Corporation, located in
Coatesville, Pennsylvania Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike beginning ...
. Keystone had been maintaining and completing Sikorsky S-76 and S-92 helicopters prior to the sale. In 2007, Sikorsky opened the Hawk Works, a Rapid Prototyping and Military Derivatives Completion Center located west of the
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport Elmira Corning Regional Airport is in Chemung County, New York, seven miles northwest of Elmira and eight miles east of Corning. It is in the town of Big Flats but its mailing address is Horseheads, New York. The airport was formerly Elmira R ...
in
Big Flats, New York Big Flats is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 7,822 at the 2020 census. The town is on the western border of the county, west of Elmira. It is part of the Elmira Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town con ...
. That same year Sikorsky purchased the
PZL Mielec PZL Mielec (''Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze'' - Polish Aviation Works), formerly WSK-Mielec (''Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego'') and WSK "PZL-Mielec" is a Polish aerospace manufacturer based in Mielec. It is the largest aerospace manufacturer i ...
plant in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. The plant is assembling the S-70i for international customers. In February 2009, Sikorsky Global Helicopters was created as a business unit of Sikorsky Aircraft to focus on the construction and marketing of commercial helicopters.Sikorsky Press Release, 23 February 2009 The business unit combined the main civil helicopters that were produced by Sikorsky Aircraft and the helicopter business of Schweizer Aircraft that Sikorsky had acquired in 2004. It was based at
Coatesville, Pennsylvania Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike beginning ...
until 2022. In 2011, Sikorsky laid off 400 workers at the Hawk Works plant, and later in 2012 the remaining 570 workers and closed all Sikorsky facilities in Chemung County; moving the military completion work to their West Palm Beach, Florida, facility. The commercial products had already been moved to their Coatesville, Pennsylvania facility. Sikorsky's main plant and administrative offices are located in Stratford, Connecticut, as is a large company-owned private heliport . Other Sikorsky facilities are in Trumbull,
Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire * Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire * Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bed ...
, and
Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
(with small company heliport );
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
;
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
; and
Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
and
Troy, Alabama Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843. Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Bri ...
. Sikorsky-owned subsidiaries are in
Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it ...
, and elsewhere around the world.


Acquisition

In 2015, UTC considered Sikorsky to be less profitable than its other subsidiaries, and analyzed a possible spin-off rather than a tax-heavy sale. On July 20, 2015,
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
announced an agreement to purchase Sikorsky from UTC for $9.0 billion. The deal required review from eight different jurisdictions, and the final approval came in November 2015. The sale was completed on November 6, 2015.


AHS Sikorsky Prize

In 1980, the
American Helicopter Society International The Vertical Flight Society, formerly the American Helicopter Society (AHS), is the non-profit technical society for the advancement of vertical flight. It has 21 different technical committees and two dozen active chapters around the world. Ther ...
offered a prize of US$10,000 for the first human-powered helicopter flight (60-second duration, a height of 3 meters, and staying within an area of 10 x 10 m) and soon increased prize money to US$25,000. In 2010, Sikorsky Aircraft pledged to increase the prize sponsorship to US$250,000. Canadian engineers Dr. Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson developed the world's largest human-powered helicopter with a team from the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. The first flight of
AeroVelo Atlas The AeroVelo Atlas is a human-powered helicopter (HPH) that was built for AHS International's Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition. On 13 June 2013, it became the first aircraft to achieve the goals of the competition and thus w ...
was achieved in August 2012, the 64-second, 3.3-m-flight that won the prize on June 13, 2013.


Products

Sikorsky designates nearly all of its models with S-numbers; numbers S-1 through S-27 were designed by Igor Sikorsky before he left the Russian Empire. Later models, especially helicopters, received multiple designations by the military services using them, often depending on purpose (UH, SH, and MH for instance), even if the physical craft had only minor variations in equipment. In some cases, the aircraft were returned to Sikorsky or to another manufacturer and additionally modified, resulting in still further variants on the same basic model number.


Airplanes

*
Sikorsky S-28 The Sikorsky S-28 was a proposed four engine biplane bomber aircraft designed by Igor Sikorsky to be built in France during World War I. Sikorsky moved to France in March 1918 and soon met with officers of the ''Armée de l'Air The French Ai ...
: projected four-engine, 32-passenger biplane airliner; Sikorsky's first American design (1919) *
Sikorsky S-29-A The Sikorsky S-29-A was a twin-engine sesquiplane airliner, first flown in 1924. It was the first aircraft that aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky designed and built after coming to the United States, hence the special "-A" suffix signifying "America ...
: twin-engine, cargo biplane, first Sikorsky aircraft built in the U.S. (1924) * Sikorsky S-30: twin-engine biplane airliner/mailplane, never built (1925) *
Sikorsky S-31 __NOTOC__ The Sikorsky S-31 was a 1920s American sesquiplane designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Corporation and configured for aerial photography. Design and development The S-31 was a sesquiplane built for photographic work by the ...
: single-engine biplane (1925) *
Sikorsky S-32 The Sikorsky S-32 was an American single engine aircraft built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Corporation in 1926. Design and development The S-32 was a large single-bay sesquiplane using parallel interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing compr ...
: single-engine, two-passenger biplane (1926) *
Sikorsky S-33 Messenger The Sikorsky S-33 Messenger was an American two-seat sesqiuplane designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Corporation in 1925. The first of two examples built participated in the Sixth Pulitzer Trophy Race at Mitchel Field, Long Island, ...
: single-engine biplane (1925) * Sikorsky S-34: twin-engine sesquiplane flying boat prototype (1927) *
Sikorsky S-35 The Sikorsky S-35 was an American triple-engined sesquiplane transport later modified to use three-engines. It was designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company for an attempt by René Fonck on a non-stop Atlantic crossing for the Ort ...
: three-engine biplane transport (1926) *
Sikorsky S-36 The Sikorsky S-36 was an eight-seat amphibian sesquiplane designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company in the late 1920s. The aircraft was ordered by Pan American Airways, the start of a long association with Sikorsky flying boats.Be ...
"Amphibion": eight-seat two-engine sesquiplane flying boat (1927) *
Sikorsky S-37 The Sikorsky S-37 was an American twin-engine aircraft built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Corporation. Both examples of the series were completed in 1927. The S-37 was specifically designed to compete for the Orteig Prize and would be the last ...
"Guardian": eight-seat two-engine sesquiplane; Sikorsky's last land-based fixed wing design (1927) *
Sikorsky S-38 The Sikorsky S-38 was an American twin-engined ten-seat sesquiplane amphibious aircraft. It was Sikorsky's first widely produced amphibious flying boat, serving successfully for Pan American Airways and the United States military. Design and de ...
: eight-seat, two-engine sesquiplane flying boat (US Navy PS) (1928–1933) ** Sikorsky RS: transport flying boat (US Navy RS) *
Sikorsky S-39 The Sikorsky S-39 is an American light amphibious aircraft produced by Sikorsky Aircraft during the early 1930s. The S-39 was a smaller, single-engine version of the S-38. Operational history Spirit of Africa Filmmakers Martin and Osa Johnson ...
: five-seat, single-engine variant of S-38 (1929–1932) *
Sikorsky S-40 The Sikorsky S-40 was an American amphibious flying boat built by Sikorsky in the early 1930s for Pan American Airways. Design and development Sikorsky designed the S-40 in response to a request from Juan Trippe, president of Pan American Airw ...
: four-engine, 28-passenger monoplane flying boat (1931) *
Sikorsky S-41 The Sikorsky S-41 was an amphibious flying boat airliner produced in the United States in the early 1930s. Essentially a scaled-up monoplane version of the Sikorsky S-38 biplane flying boat, Pan Am operated the type on routes in the Caribbean, ...
: twin-engine monoplane flying boat (1931) (USN RS-1); scaled-up monoplane version of S-38 * Sikorsky XP2S: twin-engine patrol flying boat prototype (1932) *
Sikorsky XSS The Sikorsky XSS was an American two-seat amphibious flying boat built by Sikorsky Aircraft for evaluation by the United States Navy in 1933, for carrier-borne Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier- ...
: Naval scout flying-boat (1933) *
Sikorsky S-42 The Sikorsky S-42 was a commercial flying boat designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft to meet requirements for a long-range flying boat laid out by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) in 1931. The innovative design included wing flaps, variabl ...
"Clipper": four-engine flying boat (1934–1935) * Sikorsky XBLR-3: Bomber aircraft (1935-1936); Sikorsky's last fixed-wing design *
Sikorsky S-43 The Sikorsky S-43 (sometimes referred to as the Baby Clipper) was a 1930s American twin-engine amphibious flying boat monoplane produced by Sikorsky Aircraft. Design and development The S-43 first flew in 1935, and was a smaller version of the ...
"Baby Clipper": twin-engine, amphibious flying boat (1935–1937) (Army OA-1, USN JRS-1); downsized, twin-engine version of S-42 *
Sikorsky VS-44 The Sikorsky VS-44 was a large four- engined flying boat built in the United States in the early 1940s by Sikorsky Aircraft. Based on the XPBS-1 patrol bomber, the VS-44 was designed primarily for the transatlantic passenger market, with a capaci ...
"Excalibur": four-engine flying boat (1937) *
Sikorsky S-45 The Sikorsky S-45 was a proposed double-deck transoceanic flying boat originally designed in 1938 by Sikorsky Aircraft for Pan Am. The high wing monoplane featured a single-step hull with a triple-tail and was to be powered by six Wright R-33 ...
: six-engine flying boat (for Pan Am), never built (1938) * Sikorsky S-57/XV-2: Supersonic convertiplane with single blade retractable rotor. Never built.


Helicopters, production


Helicopters, prototypes


Other aircraft

* Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche * Sikorsky Cypher: Doughnut-shaped UAV (1992) *
Sikorsky Cypher II The Sikorsky Cypher and Cypher II are types of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Sikorsky Aircraft. They are vertical takeoff and landing aircraft which use two opposing rotors enclosed in a circular shroud for propulsion. Design and deve ...
: development of the Cypher (2001) * Vertical Take-Off and Landing Experimental Aircraft: design and development of a hybrid VTOL/Conventional design


Other products

*
UAC TurboTrain The UAC TurboTrain was an early high-speed rail, high-speed, gas turbine train manufactured by United Aircraft that operated in Canada between 1968 and 1982 and in the United States between 1968 and 1976. Amtrak disposed of the trains in 1980. It ...
(1968) *
Sikorsky ASPB Sikorsky or Sikorski may refer to: * Sikorsky (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Sikorsky (crater), a lunar crater * Sikorsky Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer People with the surname * Brian Sikorski (born 1974), Major League Basebal ...
Assault Support Patrol Boat The Assault Support Patrol Boat (ASPB) (also known as the Alpha Boat), was a heavily armed and armored riverine patrol boat developed by the United States Navy for use in the Vietnam War from late 1967. History The ASPB was approximately long, ...
(1969)


Gallery

File:Sikorsky S-58 landing c.jpg, H-34 Choctaw File:CH-124 Sea King.jpg, Canadian CH-124 Sea King File:Ch-54 Army.jpg, CH-54 Tarhe File:CH-53 Super Stallion 2.jpg, CH-53E Super Stallion File:MH-53J Pave Low III.jpg, MH-53J Pave Low III File:Blackhawk.jpg, UH-60 Black Hawk


See also

*
List of aerospace flight test centres Flight test centers around the world all have similar missions: to conduct flight research and testing of new aircraft concepts and prototypes. Notable centers are listed below (by year of foundation): Government establishments * U.K. Aeroplane an ...
* Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge *
Sikorsky Memorial Airport Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport is a public airport in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, owned by the city of Bridgeport. It is three miles (6  km) southeast of downtown, in the town of Stratford. It was formerly Bridgeport ...
Comparable major
helicopter manufacturer Helicopter manufacturers belong to the broader category of aerospace manufacturers. It is useful to think of helicopter manufacturers as falling into two categories, those that can design, certify and manufacture new helicopter designs from scratc ...
s: *
AgustaWestland AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccani ...
* Airbus Helicopters *
Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in M ...
*
Boeing Rotorcraft Systems Boeing Rotorcraft Systems (formerly Boeing Helicopters and before that Boeing Vertol) is the former name of an American aircraft manufacturer, now known as Vertical Lift division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The headquarters and main ...
*
MD Helicopters MD Helicopters, LLC. (formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) is an American aerospace manufacturer. It produces light utility helicopters for commercial and military use. The company was a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft until 1984, when Mc ...
*
Russian Helicopters JSC Russian Helicopters (russian: Вертолёты России ''Vertolyoty Rossii'') is a helicopter design and manufacturing company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. The company designs and manufactures civilian and military helicopters. The c ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Spenser, Jay P. (1998). "Sikorsky". ''Whirlybirds: A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers''. University of Washington Press. .


External links


Sikorsky homepage

Sikorsky Timeline at the Helicopter History Site

Sikorsky Archives site
* {{Coord, 41, 15, 0, N, 73, 5, 50, W, type:landmark_region:US-CT, display=title 1923 establishments in New York (state) 2015 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1923 Collier Trophy recipients Companies based in Stratford, Connecticut Defense companies of the United States Helicopter manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Connecticut Manufacturing companies established in 1923 Lockheed Martin Stratford, Connecticut United Technologies