Igor Sikorsky

Igor Sikorsky

Igor Sikorsky — outstanding aircraft designer, one of the aircraft building pioneers and helicopter inventor.

«To invent flying machine — is almost nothing; to build flying machine — is something; to make it fly — everything!».

Igor Sikorsky biography

Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev in 1889. He was dreaming about air sailing in his green years, listening to his mother stories about Leonardo Da Vinci, who drew flying rotary-wing machine.

While studying in Kiev poly-technical institute Sikorsky organized student aviation society and started building flying machines. With intrinsic to youth courage he started with the most difficult and unknown — helicopter. In early spring 1910 in the yard of hid Kiev mansion he built a pilot free helicopter able to rise and hang on a small height. Rising force of the rotating wing was miserable.

Sikorsky career developed swiftly — trip to Paris(center of engendering aircraft building), meeting with tsar Nikolay II , new aircraft model design on which he bit height, length and velocity records. In the age of 23 he became a chief designer of the aviation department of St. Petersburg Russian Baltic carriage plant. During First World War Sikorsky airplanes «Ilya Muromets» were successfully used on front.

Revolution in 1917 caused army and industry collapse and Sikorsky left the country for USA. Here he founded his company «Sikorsky Air Engineering». Shortly «Pan American» ordered Sikorsky passenger liners for transoceanic carriage. In some time Sikorsky returned back to helicopter. Sikorsky helicopters established several world records; within next years they were supplied to army, and also were purchased by various civil state agencies and air companies.

Sikorsky died on September, 26 in 1972 and was buried in Iston, Connecticut. Till his life he was awarder by multiple honorable ranks and awards, but his main award is people gratitude that widely used his machines.


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