| Igor Sikorsky |
Article Index for Igor |
Website Links For Igor |
Information AboutIgor Sikorsky |
|
"; 1915]] Igor Ivanovich (or '''Ihor Ivanovych''') '''Sikorsky''' (), ( ( 25 May , 1889 – 26 October , 1972 ) was a pioneer of Aviation who designed the first four-engine Fixed-wing Aircraft and the first successful Helicopter of the most common configuration (single main rotor tail rotor). BIOGRAPHY Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev , in the Russian Empire (currently the capital of Ukraine ), as the youngest of five children. Sikorsky's father was a Polish whose family had been deported in the aftermath of the failed January Uprising , and a Professor of Psychology . His mother, Zinaida, Ukrainian , was a physician but did not work professionally. While homeschooling young Igor (until the age of nine), she gave him a great love for art, especially in the life and work of Leonardo Da Vinci , and the stories of Jules Verne. He started to experiment with model flying machines, and, by age 12, he had made a small rubber band-powered helicopter. Sikorsky studied at the Naval War College in ." With financial backing from his sister, Sikorsky returned to Paris , in 1909. Paris was then the center of aviation in Europe. He met several French Pilots , including Louis Bleriot , the first person to fly across the English Channel . Sikorsky returned to Kiev the same year and started to experiment with flying machines. In 1912 , Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer in the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Factory in Saint Petersburg . In 1914, he was awarded the Degree in Engineering "Honoris Causa" by Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute . His S-6-B aircraft won a small order from the Russian Army . Other early work included the construction, as chief Engineer , of the first four- Engine Aircraft , the ''Bolshoi Baltiski'', Which He Called Le Grand . He was also the Test Pilot for its first flight, on 13 May , 1913 . Sikorsky's planes were used by Russia as Bombers in World War I (see '' Ilya Muromets '') and he was decorated with the Order Of St. Vladimir . Sikorsky's inspiration, for designing an airplane with more than one engine, was from a mosquito. During a demonstration of his record-setting (in 1911, 70 mph) S-5 , the plane had to make a forced landing. It was discovered that the insect had flown into the gasoline and drawn into the carburetor. The close call convinced Sikorsky of the need for a plane that could continue flying if it lost an engine. Current Biography 1940, pp 734-36 After World War I , Sikorsky briefly became an engineer for the French forces in Russia during the Russian Civil War . Seeing little Opportunity for himself as an aircraft designer in war-torn Europe (and particularly Russia, ravaged by the October Revolution and Civil War), he emigrated to the United States in 1919. In the U.S., Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer, while looking for an opportunity in the aviation industry. In 1923, helped by several former Russian army officers, he formed the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Company . Among Sikorsky's chief supporters was composer Sergei Rachmaninoff , who introduced himself by writing a check for $5,000 $61,000 in 2007 dollars . Though his prototype was damaged in its first test flight, Sikorsky persuaded his reluctant backers to invest another $2,500; with it, he produced the S-29 , one of the first twin-engine planes in America, with a capacity for 14 passengers and a speed of 115 mph Id. at p 735 . The performance of the S-29 proved to be a "make or break" moment for Sikorsky's funding. In 1928, Sikorsky became a Naturalized Citizen of the United States. The next year, Sikorsky Aero Engineering Company was purchased by, and became a subsidiary of, United Aircraft, itself now a part of United Technologies Corporation . The company manufactured Flying Boat s, such as the S-42 , used by Pan Am for trans-Atlantic flights and known as ''Pan Am Clippers''. Sikorsky had experimented with helicopter-type flying machines while in Russia. He brought his work to fruition on 14 September , 1939 with the first flight of the Vought-Sikorsky 300 , a machine with a single three-blade rotor powered by a 75 Horsepower (56 KW ) engine. Its first free (untethered) flight was on 26 May , 1940 . The VS-300 was not the first successful Rotary-wing aircraft to fly, but it was the first of the single-rotor configuration that became the world standard. Sikorsky has been designated a Connecticut Aviation Pioneer by the 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 Airport . Sikorsky was a deeply religious Russian Orthodox Christian and authored two religious and philosophical books (The Message of the Lord's Prayer, The Invisible Encounter). He had a daughter born in Russia and four sons born in the United States. His eldest son, Sergei, remained active with the company following Igor's death in 1972. Sikorsky died in his house in Easton, Connecticut , on October 26 , 1972 . SEE ALSO
REFERENCES FURTHER READING
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|