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44-495: The first aerosledges may have been built in 1903–05 by Sergei Nezhdanovsky. In 1909–10, young Igor Sikorsky designed and tested an aerosledge, before going on to build multi-engine airplanes and helicopters. They were light plywood vehicles on skis, powered by used vintage aircraft engines and propellers. Military use of the aerosani goes back to at least the 1910s. During World War I, aerosani were used for reconnaissance , communicating, and light raiding in northern areas. During

88-428: A 25 horsepower Anzani engine, the helicopter used an upper and lower two-bladed lifting propeller that rotated in opposite directions at 160 rpm . The machine could only generate about 357 pounds (162 kg) of lift, not enough to lift the approximate 457 pounds (207 kg) weight. Despite his progress in solving technical problems of control, Sikorsky realized that the aircraft would never fly. He finally disassembled

132-576: A GAZ-M1 truck engine and a durable metal propeller. There was also an ASD-400 heavy assault sled used in World War II. Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky ([Игорь Иванович Сикорский] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |a= ( help ) , Ukrainian : Ігор Іванович Сікорський , romanized :  Ihor Ivanovych Sikorskyi ; 25 May 1889 – 26 October 1972) was a Russian–American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft . His first success came with

176-428: A great love for art, especially in the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci , and the stories of Jules Verne . In 1900, at age 11, he accompanied his father to Germany and through conversations with his father, became interested in natural sciences . After returning home, Sikorsky began to experiment with model flying machines, and by age 12, he had made a small rubber band-powered helicopter. Sikorsky began studying at

220-484: A height of a few feet. On June 30 after some modifications, Sikorsky reached an altitude of "sixty or eighty feet" before the S-2 stalled and was completely destroyed when it crashed in a ravine. Later, Sikorsky built the two-seat S-5 , his first design not based on other European aircraft. Flying this original aircraft, Sikorsky earned his pilot license ; Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) license No. 64 issued by

264-649: A patent for another "direct lift aircraft", and was awarded patent No. 1,994,488 on March 19, 1935. His design plans eventually culminated in the first (tethered) flight of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 on September 14, 1939, with the first free flight occurring eight months later on May 24, 1940. Sikorsky's success with the VS-300 led to the R-4 , which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter, in 1942. Sikorsky's final VS-300 rotor configuration, comprising

308-620: A single main rotor and a single antitorque tail rotor , has proven to be one of the most popular helicopter configurations, being used in most helicopters produced today. Sikorsky was married to Olga Fyodorovna Simkovitch in the Russian Empire. They were divorced and Olga remained in Russia with their daughter, Tania, as Sikorsky departed following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. In 1923, Sikorsky's sisters immigrated to

352-537: Is in a neglected condition pending restoration. In November 2012, one of the Russian supersonic heavy strategic bomber Tu-160 , based at the Engels-2 Air Force Base, was named for Igor Sikorsky, which caused controversy among air base crew members. One of the officers said that Igor Sikorsky does not deserve it because he laid the foundations of the U.S., rather than Russian aviation. However,

396-675: The Housatonic River next to the Sikorsky corporate headquarters, is named for him. Sikorsky has been designated a Connecticut Aviation Pioneer by the Connecticut 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 Memorial Airport . Sikorsky

440-523: The Long Range Aviation command officer said that Igor Sikorsky is not responsible for the activities of his military aircraft, noted that Sikorsky had also designed the first heavy bomber for Russia. In 2013, Flying magazine ranked Sikorsky number 12 on its list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation. In August 2016, the National technical university of Ukraine "Kyiv politechnical institute"

484-512: The S-42 "Clipper", used by Pan Am for transatlantic flights. Meanwhile, Sikorsky also continued his earlier work on vertical flight while living in Nichols, Connecticut . On February 14, 1929, he filed an application to patent a "direct lift" amphibian aircraft which used compressed air to power a direct lift "propeller" and two smaller propellers for thrust. On June 27, 1931, Sikorsky filed for

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528-732: The Saint Petersburg Maritime Cadet Corps, in 1903, at the age of 14. In 1906, he determined that his future lay in engineering, so he resigned from the academy, despite his satisfactory standing, and left the Russian Empire to study in Paris. He returned to the Russian Empire in 1907, enrolling at the Mechanical College of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute . After the academic year, Sikorsky again accompanied his father to Germany in

572-578: The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923, and developed the first of Pan American Airways ' ocean-crossing flying boats in the 1930s, including the Sikorsky S-42 "Flying Clipper". In 1939, Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 , the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the single main rotor and a single antitorque tail rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. Sikorsky modified

616-516: The Sikorsky S-2 , the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5 , won him national recognition and F.A.I. pilot's license number 64. His S-6-A received the highest award at the 1912 Moscow Aviation Exhibition, and in the fall of that year the aircraft won first prize for its young designer, builder and pilot in the military competition at Saint Petersburg. In 1913,

660-660: The 1939–40 Winter War against Finland some were equipped with a machine gun ring mount on the roof. They could carry four or five men and tow four more on skis. The aerosani were initially used for transport, liaison, and medical evacuation in deep snow, mostly in open country and on frozen lakes and rivers because of their poor hill-climbing ability and limited maneuverability on winding forest roads. During World War II aerosani were used for reconnaissance , communication, and light raiding in northern areas thanks to their high mobility (25–35 km/h) in deep snow, where many vehicles could not move at all. Responsibility for aerosani

704-735: 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 Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War , he emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on March 30, 1919. In the U.S., Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer, while looking for an opportunity to work in

748-526: The Imperial Aero Club of Russia in 1911. During a demonstration of the S-5, the engine quit and Sikorsky was forced to make a crash landing to avoid a wall. It was discovered that a mosquito in the gasoline had been drawn into the carburetor , starving the engine of fuel. The close call convinced Sikorsky of the need for an aircraft that could continue flying if it lost an engine. His next aircraft,

792-479: The Lord's Prayer and The Invisible Encounter ). Summarizing his beliefs, in the latter he wrote: Our concerns sink into insignificance when compared with the eternal value of human personality — a potential child of God which is destined to triumph over life, pain, and death. No one can take this sublime meaning of life away from us, and this is the one thing that matters. Sikorsky S-6 The Sikorsky S-6

836-696: The Narkomles Factory in Moscow . During World War II, improved NKL-16/41 and NKL-16/42 models were built, and production started at the ZiS and GAZ car factories, and at smaller industries such as the Stalingrad Bekietovskiy Wood Works. In 1941 the armoured NKL-26 , designed by M. Andreyev, started production at Narkomles. The following year, Gorki Narkorechflota developed the smaller, unarmoured GAZ-98, or RF-8 , powered by

880-538: The S-21 Russky Vityaz , which he initially called Le Grand when fitted with just two engines, then the Bolshoi Baltisky (The Great Baltic) when fitted with four engines in two "push-pull" pairs, and finally Russki Vityaz in its four engine all tractor-engined configuration. He also served as the test pilot for its first flight on May 13, 1913. In recognition for his accomplishment, he

924-613: The S-29, slow compared to military aircraft of 1918, proved to be a "make or break" moment for Sikorsky's funding. In 1928, Sikorsky became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The Sikorsky Manufacturing Company moved to Stratford, Connecticut in 1929. It became a part of the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (now United Technologies Corporation ) in July of that year. The company manufactured flying boats , such as

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968-788: The S-6 held three passengers and was selected as the winner of the Moscow aircraft exhibition held by the Russian Army in February 1912. In early 1912, Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works ( Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod or R-BVZ ) in Saint Petersburg . His work at R-BVZ included the construction of the first four- cylinder aircraft,

1012-651: The S-6-A called the S-6-B with strengthened landing gear and a mechanism to permit starting the engine from the cockpit. Completed in July, the S-6-B was entered in the international military competition at Saint Petersburg in August and flown by Sikorsky. The S-6-B reached a speed of 113 km/h (61 kn; 70 mph) while carrying a 327 kg (721 lb) load, climbed to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in fifteen minutes and displayed an endurance of greater than 90 minutes. At

1056-632: The Sikorsky-designed Russky Vityaz (S-21) became the first successful four-engine aircraft to take flight. He also designed and built the Ilya Muromets (S-22 – S-27) family of four-engine aircraft, an airliner which he redesigned to be the world's first four-engine bomber when World War I broke out. After immigrating to the United States in 1919 because of the Russian Revolution , Sikorsky founded

1100-657: The U.S., bringing six-year-old Tania with them. Sikorsky married Elisabeth Semion (1903–1995) in 1924, in New York. Sikorsky and Elisabeth had four sons; Sergei, Nikolai, Igor Jr. and George. Sikorsky died at his home in Easton, Connecticut , on October 26, 1972, and is buried in Saint John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cemetery located on Nichols Avenue in Stratford . In 1966, Sikorsky

1144-534: The United States. On March 24, 1919 he left France on the ocean liner Lorraine arriving in New York City on March 30, 1919. With financial backing from his sister Olga, Sikorsky returned to Paris, the center of the aviation world at the time, in 1909. Sikorsky met with aviation pioneers, to ask them questions about aircraft and flying. In May 1909, he returned to Russia and began designing his first helicopter, which he began testing in July 1909. Powered by

1188-466: The aircraft and took it home where substantial modifications were undertaken, including lengthening the wingspan and reducing aerodynamic drag by enclosing the fuselage with wood veneer. Ailerons on the lower wing were removed and strut bracing wires were arranged in pairs with wooden spacers between them, further reducing drag. Sikorsky now called the machine the S-6-A and it exhibited remarkable improvement. During one flight with three men on board

1232-487: The aircraft in October 1909, after he determined that he could learn nothing more from the design. In February 1910, he undertook to build a second helicopter, and his first airplane. By the spring, helicopter No. 2 could lift its weight of 400 pounds (180 kg), but not the additional weight of an operator. I had learned enough to recognize that with the existing state of the art, engines, materials, and – most of all –

1276-399: The aircraft registered a speed of 113 kilometres per hour (70 mph), exceeding the world record at that time and in February 1912 the S-6-A earned the highest award at the 1912 Moscow Aviation Exhibition. In late spring 1912 Sikorsky began working at the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works as chief engineer of the aircraft manufacturing division. Work was started on a refined version of

1320-613: The aviation industry. In 1932, he joined the faculty of the University of Rhode Island to form an aeronautical engineering program and remained with the university until 1948. He also lectured at the University of Bridgeport . In 1923, Sikorsky formed the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company in Roosevelt, New York . He was helped by several former Russian military officers. Among Sikorsky's chief supporters

1364-673: The design into the Sikorsky R-4 , which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942. Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev, Russian Empire (now Kyiv , Ukraine ) on May 25, 1889. He was the youngest of five children. His father, Ivan Alexeevich Sikorsky, was a professor of psychology in Saint Vladimir University (now Taras Shevchenko National University), a psychiatrist with an international reputation, and an ardent Russian nationalist . Igor Sikorsky

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1408-613: The ice between St. Ignace and Mackinac Island , and for use by fishermen. The Spring 1943 issue of the magazine Science and Mechanics states that "from his aerosleds the Russians developed their present battle sled." The claim though has to be viewed in the context of a pre-World War I picture of an Igor Sikorsky machine in Kiev. The first military aerosani used in Finland, the KM-5 and OSGA-6 (later called NKL-6 ), were initially built at

1452-470: The shortage of money and lack of experience... I would not be able to produce a successful helicopter at that time. Sikorsky's first aircraft of his own design, the S-1 used a 15 hp Anzani 3-cylinder fan engine in a pusher configuration , that could not lift the aircraft. His second design called the S-2 was powered by a 25 hp Anzani engine in a tractor configuration and first flew on June 3, 1910 at

1496-528: The summer of 1908, where he learned of the accomplishments of the Wright brothers ' Flyer and Ferdinand von Zeppelin 's rigid airships . Sikorsky later said about this event: "Within twenty-four hours, I decided to change my life's work. I would study aviation." By the start of World War I in 1914, Sikorsky's airplane research and production business in Kyiv was flourishing, and his factory made bombers during

1540-612: The war. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Igor Sikorsky fled his homeland in early 1918, because the Bolsheviks threatened to shoot him for being "the Tsar 's friend and a very popular person". He moved to France where he was offered a contract for the design of a new, more powerful Muromets -type plane. But in November 1918 the war ended, and the French government stopped subsidizing military orders, whereupon he decided to move to

1584-422: Was a Russian single engine experimental aircraft similar to the S-5 , built in 1911 by Igor Sikorsky . Construction of the first S-6 was started in August 1911. The three bay biplane was powered by an Argus 4-cylinder water-cooled engine producing 100 hp (75 kW). Initial flight tests in late November were disappointing, revealing a long take-off run and poor climb performance. Sikorsky disassembled

1628-488: Was an Orthodox Christian . When questioned regarding his roots, he would answer: "My family is of Russian origin. My grandfather and other ancestors from the time of Peter the Great were Russian Orthodox priests." Sikorsky's mother, Mariya Stefanovna Sikorskaya (née Temryuk- Cherkasova ), was a physician who did not work professionally. She is sometimes called Zinaida Sikorsky. While homeschooling young Igor, she gave him

1672-616: Was awarded an honorary degree in engineering from Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute in 1914. Sikorsky took the experience from building the Russky Vityaz to develop the S-22 Ilya Muromets airliner. Due to outbreak of World War I , he redesigned it as the world's first four-engined bomber , for which he was decorated with the Order of St. Vladimir . After World War I, Igor Sikorsky briefly became an engineer for

1716-491: Was composer Sergei Rachmaninoff , who introduced himself by writing a check for US$ 5,000 (equivalent to $ 89,414 in 2023). Although his prototype was damaged in its first test flight, Sikorsky persuaded his reluctant backers to invest another $ 2,500. With the additional funds, he produced the S-29 , one of the first twin-engine aircraft in the U.S., with a capacity for 14 passengers and a speed of 115 mph. The performance of

1760-544: Was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame . Sikorsky's and Andrei Tupolev 's professional careers were covered in the 1979 Soviet biopic The Poem of Wings ( Russian : Поэма о крыльях ) where Sikorsky was portrayed by Yury Yakovlev . A working model of Sikorsky Ilya Muromets was recreated for filming. The Sikorsky Memorial Bridge , which carries the Merritt Parkway across

1804-676: Was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1987. In October 2011, one of the streets in Kyiv was renamed for Sikorsky. The decision was made by the City Council at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine , which opened its new office on that street. The Sikorsky's family house in the city's historical center is preserved to this day but

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1848-506: Was named National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" after its former student and outstanding aircraft designer. On March 22, 2018, the Kyiv City Council officially renamed Kyiv International Airport to "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport Zhuliany". Sikorsky was a deeply religious Russian Orthodox Christian and authored two religious and philosophical books ( The Message of

1892-621: Was provided by the heavier machine gun-armed, armoured models. Aerosani were not used for direct assault because of their vulnerability to explosives such as mortar rounds. The ANT-I through ANT-V were a successful series of aerosani of the 1920s and ’30s, designed by aircraft engineer Andrei Tupolev . A claim exists that in 1924 the Soviets obtained plans and specifications for 'air sleighs' from Chester B. Wing, an aviator, automobile dealer and former mayor of St. Ignace, Michigan , U.S.A. He had built practical aerosleds to aid transportation across

1936-497: Was transferred to the Soviet Armoured Forces ( GABTU ) and orders were submitted for design and fabrication of lightly armoured versions, protected by ten millimetres of steel plate on the front. They were organized into transport or combat battalions of 45 vehicles, in three companies, often employed in cooperation with ski infantry . Troops were usually carried or towed by transport aerosani, while fire support

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