|
|
|
Winged Victory
The legacy of its aviation
pioneer founder lives on today
at Sikorsky Aircraft
|
Business New Haven
9/7/1998
By: Priscilla Searles
|
Inspired by a Jules Verne story and Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical drawings of a flying machine, a 12-year-old Russian boy designs an aircraft that moves in the vertical plane. The craft is made of wood, the power is a rubber band, the toy's designer is Igor Sikorsky. Years later Sikorsky would design the world's first successful helicopter.
Born in Kiev, Russia in 1889, Sikorsky developed an early interest in flying. Entering the naval academy at St. Petersburg in 1903, Sikorsky soon discovered that a career in the navy wasn't for him. He transferred to the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, spending considerable time traveling in Europe. It was on one of these trips that he learned about Wilbur and Orville Wright's flying machine, renewing the young man's interest in flying and planting the seed of the development of a machine that would fly vertically.
Sikorsky's first helicopter came 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 Sikorsky was head of aviation engineering at the Russo-Baltic Railroad Car Works. During this time he built the first four-engine airplane, the predecessor of many modern bombers and passenger planes. It was also the first aircraft with an enclosed cabin for crew and passengers.
The development of a four-engine plane had a major impact on World War I and the future of aviation. More than 70 of Sikorsky's bombers, Ilya Mouromets, were built during the war, with production ending due to the Russian collapse in 1917.
The Russian Revolution disrupted Sikorsky's pursuit of improved fixed-wing designs and in 1919 he moved to the United States, spending his first few years teaching in New York. But Sikorsky's interest in developing aircraft remained strong.
Several years after arriving on these shores he founded the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corp. By 1929 his company had become a division of United Aircraft Corp. Sikorsky didn't waste any time: By 1931 his S-40 American Clipper was being used by Pan American Airways on mail and passenger routes and in 1937 the S-42 was placed into transoceanic service.
After an absence of almost 30 years, Sikorsky returned to the study of helicopters. Now an American citizen and famous for his multi-engine planes and flying-boat designs, he developed the VS-300 helicopter.
On September 14, 1939, his VS-300 was 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 the Wright Field Army base in Ohio.
The 761-mile ride took place on May 18, 1942 and set a world helicopter 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 in the design and the XR-4 became the R-4, the first helicopter in the world to enter production. One hundred and thirty one R-4s were built during World War II. The original XR-4 is on display at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Today Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., headquartered in Stratford, is a world leader in design and the manufacture of advanced helicopters for commercial, industrial and military uses.
In addition to Stratford, Sikorsky has facilities in other Connecticut locations as well as Florida and Alabama. The total area of buildings owned or leased by Sikorsky encompasses more than 3.7 million square feet.
Sikorsky helicopters are used by all five branches of the U.S. armed forces. The company is truly a tribute to a visionary. Sikorsky saw the helicopter as a useful tool for industry and rescue missions but lived to see it become formidable weapon of war as well. He retired from the company in 1957 but remained an aircraft consultant until his death in 1972.
Plans for the future include acquiring Helicopter Support Inc., an Orange company founded in 1968 as an independent helicopter logistical support company. Sikorsky has signed a letter of intent to purchase HSI, which will continue to operate as a separate entity through its four complementary businesses: distribution, overhaul and repair, manufacturing and freight forwarding of helicopter parts and components.
The image of a Sikorsky helicopter in the sky will remain in some people's minds forever, including the “Jolly Green Giants” that performed search-and-rescue missions, going deep behind enemy lines in Vietnam to pick up downed crew members.
The Sikorsky Black Hawk has been around since 1978, and its popularity continues to grow. The Chilean Air Force recently took delivery of its first Black Hawk helicopter at Sikorsky's Stratford plant and has plans to purchase additional aircraft over the next several years.
Israel has also purchased 15 Black Hawks, which were built under a foreign military sale agreement between the U.S. Army and the Israeli Air Force. Used for search and rescue, electronic warfare, disaster relief, VIP transportation and by U.S. Customs for drug interdiction, more than 2,400 Black Hawk variants, including naval derivatives, are serving, or are on contract, with the governments of 24 nations.
Under a cooperative research-and-development project between the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, Sikorsky converted the Black Hawk to a firefighting configuration. Carrying a 1,000-gallon tank, the Fire Hawk can drop fire suppressant precisely over the target area and get there at rapid speed. The net effect is more gallons per hour than any other delivery means. Congress has appropriated $3 million for testing, qualification, certification and additional kits. Following the current demonstration period, the aircraft will be delivered to the Army National Guard.
The RAH-66 Comanche was the answer to the Army's request for a new, light, affordable, versatile, armed reconnaissance helicopter to replace the 1950s-designed, Vietnam-era fleet.
According to Sikorsky, the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66, developed by the Sikorsky and Boeing helicopter team, can outmaneuver every other combat helicopter now flying or under development. Prototype No. 1 made its first flight in 1996 and will be joined at Sikorsky's West Palm Beach, Fla. Development Flight Center in 1999 by Prototype No. 2.
According to Sikorsky, the Comanche is the most efficient helicopter in the world, packing “more speed, more punch and [it] performs its mission more effectively than anything else in the air or on the ground.” The Comanche moves fast, hits hard and survives to fight again. Approximately $2.1 billion went into the development and validation of the RAH-66.
Sikorsky also has licensing agreements with Westland in the United Kingdom, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Japan and Korean Air. Sikorsky and Korean Air are co-producing Black Hawk helicopters for South Korea. In Japan, MHI is licensed to produce Seahawk aircraft and Black Hawk derivatives. Other business in Japan includes the commercial sale of the MH-53E heavy-lift mine-countermeasures helicopter.
Sikorsky has had more than a few moments of holding its corporate breath, praying that the needed government contracts that are its bread and butter will come through. And, like most companies that live on contracts, they've had scary times and layoffs.
With several major aircraft projects in the development stage, Sikorsky seems to survive, and even thrive, on innovative and creative ideas put into practical applications.
In 1997 the company delivered 101 aircraft and 12 kits to customers. With revenues of $1.6 billion in 1997, Sikorsky plans to be around for a long time yet. That's a long way from a wooden toy powered by a rubber band.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
