Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky , 1889-1972, American aeronautical engineer, b. Kiev, Russia. He immigrated to the United States in 1919 and was naturalized in 1928. Sikorsky built and flew the first multimotored plane (1913) and established the world's endurance record for sustained flight in a helicopter of his own design (1941). He organized corporations to manufacture airplanes (in 1923, 1925, and 1928) and became engineering manager of the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. He is best known for his work on the development of the helicopter. In 1968 he was awarded the National Medal of Science.

Bibliography: See his Story of the Winged-S (rev. ed. 1967) and Invisible Encounter (1947).

Sikorsky, Igor Ivanovich (1889–1972) US aeronautical engineer, b. Russia. In 1913, he built and piloted the world's first multi-motored aircraft. Sikorsky is best known for his development of the helicopter.

Sikorsky, Igor (1889–1972) aerospace engineer, born in Russia. Sikorsky became interested in aviation after reading about the Wright brothers and studied engineering in Paris. He also began making his own designs for helicopters and airplanes. One of his planes won a design competition in Russia in 1912. Also that year, Sikorsky designed the world's first four-engine plane with an enclosed passenger compartment. He designed the world's first long-range strategic bomber and reconnaissance squadron, which became a mainstay of the Russian air force. Sikorsky emigrated to the United States in 1918 and in 1923 founded Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation; his major success was an amphibious plane used for commercial transport. In the 1930s he designed the first practical single-rotor helicopter, which was used widely for rescue and supply missions by the U.S. Army.