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The New Haven Enterprise - Businessperson of the Century
Igor Sikorsky
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Business New Haven
1/24/2000
By:
Priscilla Searles
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Born in Kiev, Russia in 1889, Igor Sikorsky learned about Wilbur and Orville Wright's flying machine on a trip to Europe, renewing his childhood interest in flying and the development of a machine that could fly vertically.
Sikorsky's first helicopter was built in 1909, but it lacked the power to fly. The following year he built one that could lift its own weight, but not the weight of a pilot. Discouraged, Sikorsky, now an aeronautical engineer, abandoned helicopters.
From 1912 to 1918 he headed aviation engineering at the Russo-Baltic Railroad Car Works. During this time he built the first four-engine airplane. It was also the first plane with an enclosed cabin for crew and passengers. More than 70 of Sikorsky's giant Ilya Muromets bombers were built during World War I, production ending with the Russian collapse of 1917.
After moving to the United States in 1919, Sikorsky within a few years had founded the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corp. By 1929 his company had become a division of United Aircraft Corp. By 1931 his S-40 American Clipper was being used by Pan-American Airways on mail and passenger routes. In 1937 its successor, the S-42, entered transoceanic service.
Sikorsky returned to the study of helicopters. By now an American citizen and renowned for his multi-engine planes and flying-boat designs, he developed the VS-300 helicopter. On September 14, 1939, the VS-300 became the first helicopter in the world to successfully lift off the ground - with Sikorsky himself at the controls.
The VS-300 led to the design of the XR-4, which completed the first extended cross-country flight from Sikorsky's Connecticut plant to Wright Field Army base in Ohio. The 761-mile flight took place on May 18, 1942, setting a helicopter world endurance record. The accomplishment led to a contract with the U.S. Army for the machine to be produced in quantities large enough to fill military needs.
Some modifications and refinements were made to the design, and the XR-4 became the R-4, the first helicopter in the world to enter general production. One hundred thirty-one R-4's were built during World War II.
Today the Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., headquartered in Stratford, is a world leader in the design and manufacture of advanced helicopters for commercial, industrial and military uses. The company is truly a tribute to a man who saw the helicopter as a useful tool for industry and rescue missions - and lived to see it become a formidable weapon of war, as well. Sikorsky retired from the company in 1957, but remained an aircraft consultant until his death in 1972.
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