Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was an engineer and aviator who designed the first mass-produced strategic bomber and the first twin-rotor helicopter.
Sikorsky was born on May 25, 1889 in Kiev, a Ukrainian city that was then part of the Russian Empire. The youngest of five children, he was educated at home by his mother, a non-practicing physician who encouraged her son's interest in Leonardo DaVinci, the Renaissance thinker who envisioned human flight. As a child, Igor Sikorksy crafted models and even built a toy helicopter that was powered by a rubber band. In 1903, the 14-year old enrolled at the Naval War College in St. Petersburg, Russia, but eventually left for Paris to study engineering.
During a trip to Germany with his father, Igor Sikorsky was captivated by a newspaper account of the powered flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright. In 1909, Sikorsky returned to Paris to study aerodynamics and met aviators such as Louis Bleriot, the first pilot to cross the English Channel. Although Bleriot discouraged him from designing helicopters, Sikorsky used the engine from a motorcycle to design a rotary-wing craft with over 350 lbs. of vertical lift.
In 1910, Sikorsky moved to Kiev to continue his work with helicopters and airplanes. He built several biplanes, one of which used the motor from another failed helicopter design. A year later, he earned his pilot's license and participated in military exercises, racing his 50-hp biplane foreign planes in Russia's service. In 1912, Sikorsky became chief engineer for an airplane factory in St. Petersburg and won a small contract for his S-6-B design. A subsequent model, the S-21, boasted four engines and a nearly 90-ft. wingspan.
In August of 1914, the Imperial Army adopted Sikorsky's Ilya Muromets, a massive bomber named after a hero of Russian mythology. During World War I, Germany struggled to repel attacks from the aircraft's array of machine guns and 80-kg payload. Although Sikorsky was awarded the Cross of St. Vladimir, Russia's armistice with Germany ended its involvement in the Great War. The Russian Revolution of 1917 reduced the demand for aircraft, and Sikorsky moved to New York in 1919.
During the 1920s, Sikorsky collected surplus materials from the U.S. Army and built a series of passenger planes at a farm near Roosevelt Field, Long Island. In 1928, Pan American Airways purchased an amphibious plane with seating for eight passengers. Subsequent orders from ten other airlines and the U.S. Navy enabled the Russian-born engineer to move his fledgling Sikorsky Aviation Corporation to Stratford, Connecticut. Secure in the success of his commercial planes, Sikorsky sold his company to the United Aircraft Corporation and turned his attention to helicopters, securing a patent for his now-familiar design in 1931.
The Sikorsky S-47 that was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps in May 1942 was the first in a long line of helicopters (including the YR-4B) that grew larger and more powerful with subsequent improvements. Although Sikorsky died on October 26, 1972 at the age of 83, the helicopters that bear his name are still used in submarine hunting, air assaults, and search and rescue missions around the world.
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Sikorsky
http://www.sikorsky.com/details/0,,cli1_div69_eti6 83,00+en-uss_0fsbc.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Muromets_(airpla ne)
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