The craft made its first flight—tethered for safety—on September 14, 1939, at the company’s plant at Stratford, CT, with Sikorsky himself at the controls.Igor Sikorsky pilots the VS-300 during the first helicopter flight on September 14, 1939. Courtesy of Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc. “Sikorsky was born when the concept of a man-carrying aircraft was considered an impossible dream,” says Dan Libertino, president of the Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives. Courtesy of Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc.The key to vertical flight, Sikorsky had discovered, was the ability to vary the pitch of the rotor blades. “He lived to see man walk on the moon. Igor Sikorsky.
His determination, imagination, and sense of purpose is present throughout manufacturing areas, in our engineering labs, and in each helicopter that leaves the hangar. Just as fixed-wing aircraft used variable-pitch propellers to produce the most efficient thrust (similar to the transmission in an automobile), controlling the pitch of the main rotor enabled vertical flight.After the successful flight of the VS-300, Sikorsky’s helicopter designs advanced rapidly.
“All US military branches and military and commercial operators in 40 nations fly Sikorsky helicopters,” says Mike Ambrose, vice president, Sikorsky Engineering and Technology.
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 May 1940. Courtesy of Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc.Igor Sikorsky with Orville Wright upon delivery of the first helicopter (XR-4) to the US Army at Wright Field in 1942. The Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition was established in 1980 by the American Helicopter Society (AHS) International.The award, the AHS Sikorsky Prize, was given for the first human powered helicopter (HPH) to meet a set of extremely challenging flight requirements. Instead the wings move (rotate) and create a lift.
While still a student, he traveled to Paris, which was then the home of aeronautical research in Europe.Pushing his dreams of vertical flight to the background, Sikorsky turned to more conventional flying machines: fixed-wing biplanes. And it all traces back to the dreams of a 20th-century teenager with the farsighted vision of a Renaissance genius.“Igor’s legacy is in everything we do here at Sikorsky,” Ambrose says. “He lived to see man walk on the moon. Saving lives was exactly what Igor Sikorsky wanted the helicopter to do, and every day, Sikorsky employees are proud to make machines that can save lives.” Igor Sikorsky, the Man With the Impossible Dream of a Rotary-Wing Helicopter Inspired by Igor Sikorsky?
Helicopters were developed and built during the first half-century of flight, with the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 being the first operational helicopter in 1936. Among them were both land-based and amphibious aircraft—including the Although the Clipper designs were produced through 1942, by 1938, Sikorsky had turned back to his dream of vertical flight. Courtesy of Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc.Igor Sikorsky with his second helicopter, the H-2, in Kiev in 1910.
They’re also useful as flying cranes that lift machinery to the tops of buildings; attack aircraft that support ground troops; and transports for soldiers, wildland firefighters, and disaster-relief workers. Designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation, the helicopter was the first to incorporate a single main rotor and tail rotor design. Helicopters have made possible feats that could not have been achieved any other way. Igor Sikorsky and the world's first mass-produced helicopter, the Sikorsky R-4, 1944. And the company has been working on technology for autonomous or optionally piloted aircraft since 2013.“Our culture of innovation can be attributed to Igor and our talented teams who have followed his example,” Ambrose says.
Igor Sikorsky the Aviation Pioneer Speaks . Leonardo da Vinci Sketch of a Helicopter - Igor's Inspiration. Among his works as chief engineer of the aviation department of Russo-Balt, the Russian-Baltic wagon factory, the largest industrial conglomerate of the Russian Empire with railway, automobile and aircraft production in Riga, Moscow and St. Petersburg, was the first four-engine aircraft, the famous At yovisto academic video search you can learn more about the history of early helicopters in a short documentary produced for Encyclopedia Britannica, now part of the Prellinger archive on Helicopters from 1953.Igor Sikorsky and the Perfection of the Helicopter Design In early 1911, he developed his first practical aircraft, the S-5, which established four Russian aviation records: an altitude of 1,640 feet, a distance of 52 miles, a duration of 52 minutes, and a ground speed of 77 mph.Sikorsky then developed a string of successful fixed-wing aircraft, both biplane and monoplane designs.
“We are increasing range, speed, safety, maneuverability, and capability to allow for effective operation in challenging and evolving environments.”Helicopters’ vertical-flight capability makes them perfect for various roles, from sightseeing aircraft hovering above waterfalls on tropical islands to rescue aircraft pulling stranded sailors from sinking ships.
Most notable during this period were the S-21 through S-27 models, massive multiengine aircraft. To feel the depth of this aviation pioneer we have compiled below a sampling of the comments of Igor I. Sikorsky on aviation and engineering, culled from his writings, speeches, interviews and several unpublished manuscripts. The principle of a helicopter is that its wings are not fixed as for a plane. [3] The Fw 61 broke all of the helicopter world records in 1937, and Nazi Germany used helicopters in small numbers during World War II for observation, transport, and medical evacuation. “Igor is revered here. In 2018 alone, Sikorsky aircraft saved 1,636 lives.