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| Sikorsky Aircraft |
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The Russian Revolution of 1917 had a dramatic impact on the life
of Igor Sikorsky. He believed that he would not
enjoy the freedom to pursue his aviation goals under the
communist government, so he immigrated to the United States,
arriving in March 1919. He made several attempts to
re-enter aviation without success. Airplanes and motors
built for World War I were available at extremely low prices and
aviation was described to him as a "dying industry."
Soon his money was running out and he resorted to teaching
Russian immigrants |
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mathematics,
"later astronomy
and aviation lessons
were included. He also started to lecture to various groups which
brought him in contact with people who shared his enthusiasm for
aviation and convinced Sikorsky to start his own company.
Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation was
founded on March 5, 1923. Sikorsky began creating a series of
increasingly successful aircraft which gained for America numerous world
records for speed, range and payload.
Sikorsky designed the world's first
successful multi-engine airplane. The famed Sikorsky flying
"Clippers" helped pioneer trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific
commercial passenger services and they are the subject of this section.
See the S-42, the S-43
and the S-44
Despite
the success of the flying boats, Sikorsky continued studying the
helicopter. His U.S. Patent 1,994,488, filed June 27, 1931, marked the
crucial breakthrough. In late 1938, United Aircraft management (now
United Technologies) approved his experimental helicopter, and on
September 14, 1939,
the VS-300 made its first flight. In January 1941 the U.S. Army Air
Corps issued a contract for an observation helicopter designated the
XR-4. The new aircraft flew one year later. Within months of the
delivery of the first units, the R-4 established the helicopter's
humanitarian tradition of life-saving missions in military and civil
emergencies. Sikorsky received many other patents, including patents for
helicopter control and stability systems. His single-rotor design, a
major breakthrough in helicopter technology, remains the dominant
configuration today. Today the Sikorsky Company makes only
helicopters. Many of its aircraft are listed in our Helicopter
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