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{{Short description|Russian-American aviation pioneer (1889–1972)}}
[[Image:Igor_Sikorsky.jpg|thumb|Igor Sikorsky]]
{{redirect|Igor Sikorski|the skier|Igor Sikorski (skier)}}
'''Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky''' (In [[Russian]]: Игорь Иванович Сикорский; [[25 May]], [[1889]] – [[26 October]], [[1972]]) was a ([[Ukrainian]]-)[[Russian-American]] pioneer of [[aviation]] who designed the first four-engine [[aeroplane]]s and the first successful [[helicopter]] of the most common configuration (single main rotor with tail rotor).
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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Igor Sikorsky
| image = Sikorsky, Igor.jpg
| caption = Studio portrait, {{circa}} 1950
| native_name = {{nobold|Игорь Сикорский}}
| native_name_lang = ru
| birth_date = {{birth date|1889|5|25|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kiev]]<!--See WP:KIEV-->, Russian Empire<!--What the place may correspond to on a modern map is a matter for an article's main text. -->
| death_date = {{death date and age|1972|10|26|1889|5|25|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Easton, Connecticut]], U.S.<!--See MOS:GEOLINK-->
| nationality = <!--See MOS:INFONAT-->
| education = {{Ubl
| [[Kiev Polytechnic Institute]]}}
| occupation = Aircraft designer
| awards = {{Ubl
| [[Order of St. Vladimir]]
| [[The Franklin Institute Awards|Howard N. Potts Medal]] (1933)
| [[Daniel Guggenheim Medal]] (1951)
| [[ASME Medal]] (1963)
| [[Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy]] (1966)
| [[National Medal of Science]] (1967)
| [[John Fritz Medal]] (1968)
}}
| known_for = Founding of [[Sikorsky Aircraft]]; first successful mass-produced [[helicopter]], the [[Sikorsky R-4]]
| spouse = {{Ubl | Olga Fyodorovna Simkovitch | Elisabeth Semion}}
| children = 5
}}
 
'''Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky'''{{family name footnote|Ivanovich|Sikorsky|lang=Eastern Slavic}}{{efn|{{lang-rus|Игорь Иванович Сикорский|p=ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvitʃ sʲɪˈkorskʲɪj|a=Ru-Igor Sikorsky.ogg|r=Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky}}, {{langx|uk|Ігор Іванович Сікорський|Ihor Ivanovych Sikorskyi}}}} (25 May 1889&nbsp;– 26 October 1972) was a [[Russian-American]]{{efn|Attributed to the following:<ref name="Britannica Concise Encyclopedia p. 1751">[https://books.google.com/books?id=ea-bAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Russian-U.S.+pioneer+in+aircraft+design.+After+studying+engineering+in+Kiev%22&pg=PA1751 "Britannica Concise Encyclopedia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404115405/https://books.google.com/books?id=ea-bAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Russian-U.S.+pioneer+in+aircraft+design.+After+studying+engineering+in+Kiev%22&pg=PA1751 |date=April 4, 2023}}. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2006, p. 1751.</ref><ref name="Sergei Sikorsky: Reflecting on the 90th Anniversary">[http://www.sikorsky.com/Lists/eNewsletter/2013/Commlinks_0313.pdf "Sergei Sikorsky: Reflecting on the 90th Anniversary of Sikorsky Aircraft"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150719213722/http://www.sikorsky.com/Lists/eNewsletter/2013/Commlinks_0313.pdf |date=July 19, 2015}} Quote: Some 90 years ago, on March 5, 1923, a Russian refugee named Igor Sikorsky organized a new company"</ref><ref name="Jacobson">{{cite web |url=http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/pdf/news%202013/April%202013%202.pdf |title=Igor Sikorsky Was a Reflection of His Heritage and Experiences in Life |last=Jacobson |first=Lee |date=April 2013 |work=Sikorsky Archives News |publisher=Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives |access-date=25 May 2020 |quote=My family is of Russian origin. My grandfather and other ancestors from the time of Peter the Great were Russian Orthodox priests. Consequently, the Russian nationality of the family must be considered as well established |archive-date=January 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121193936/http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/pdf/news%202013/April%202013%202.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Who's Who in the Twentieth Century |date=1 January 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280091-6 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780192800916.001.0001/acref-9780192800916-e-1487 |language=en |chapter=Sikorsky, Igor Ivanovich}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military |date=1 January 2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-989158-0 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199891580.001.0001/acref-9780199891580-e-7481 |language=en |chapter=Sikorsky, Igor}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Day |first1=Lance |last2=McNeil |first2=Ian |title=Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology |date=11 September 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-65020-0 |pages=1112–1113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8TsygLyfSMC |language=en |chapter=Sikorsky, Igor Ivanovich}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Barry |title=Dictionary of World Biography: Tenth edition |date=6 January 2025 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-76046-686-2 |page=841 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5PlQEQAAQBAJ |language=en |chapter=Sikorsky, Ivan Ivanovich (1889–1972)|quote=Russo-American aeronautical engineer, born in Kiev.}}</ref>}} [[aviation pioneer]] in both [[helicopter]]s and [[fixed-wing aircraft]]. His first success came with the [[Sikorsky S-2]], the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the [[Sikorsky S-5|S-5]], won him national recognition and [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|F.A.I.]] pilot's license number 64.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sikorskyarchives.com/S-5.php|title=Sikorsky S-5 |website=Sikorsky Archives |access-date=July 28, 2018 |archive-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718015128/http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/S-5.php|url-status=live}}</ref> His [[Sikorsky S-6|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.<ref name="sikorskyarchives_his2">{{cite web |url=http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/History_2.php |title=History |at=Part 2 |website=SikorskyArchives.com |access-date=April 27, 2020 |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808194703/https://www.sikorskyarchives.com/History_2.php |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1913, the Sikorsky-designed [[Sikorsky Russky Vityaz|''Russky Vityaz'' (S-21)]] became the first successful four-engine aircraft to take flight. He also designed and built the [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets|''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.
==Biography==
Igor Sikorsky was born in [[Kiev]], [[Russia|Russian Empire]] (now [[Ukraine]]) and studied at the Naval War College in [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]] (1903-1906) and in Kiev Politechnic Institute (1907-1909), but he didn't finish formal studies. In 1914 he was awarded the Degree in Engineering "Honoris Causa" by St. Petersburg Politechnic Institute. His early work included the construction, as chief engineer, of the first four-motor aircraft, the Bolshoi Baltiski. He was also the test pilot for its first flight, on [[13 May]], [[1913]]. Sikorsky's planes were used by Russia as bombers in [[World War I]] (see ''[[Ilya Muromets (airplane)|Ilya Muromets]]'') and he was decorated with the [[Order of St. Vladimir|Cross of St. Vladimir]].
 
After emigrating to the United States in 1919 because of the [[Russian Revolution]], Sikorsky founded the [[Sikorsky Aircraft|Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation]] in 1923<ref name="Sik_history">[http://www.sikorsky.com/vgn-ext-templating-SIK/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=208ae39d40a78110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD "About Sikorsky."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103014902/http://www.sikorsky.com/vgn-ext-templating-SIK/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=208ae39d40a78110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD |date=November 3, 2009}} ''Sikorsky Aircraft''. Retrieved: December 11, 2008.</ref> and developed the first of [[Pan American Airways]]' ocean-crossing [[flying boats]] in the 1930s, including the [[Sikorsky S-42]] "Flying Clipper".
Seeing little opportunity for himself as an aircraft designer in war-torn Europe (and particularly Russia, ravaged by the [[October Revolution]] and [[Russian Civil War|Civil War]]), he emigrated to the United States in 1919.
 
In 1939, Sikorsky designed and flew the [[Vought-Sikorsky VS-300]],<ref>Spenser 1998, p. 25.</ref> the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the single main rotor and a single antitorque tail rotor configuration used by most helicopters today.<ref name="Woods 1979, p. 262">Woods 1979, p. 262.</ref> Sikorsky modified the design into the [[Sikorsky R-4]], which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.
In the U.S., Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer looking for an opportunity in aviation industry. In [[1923]], helped by several former Russian army officers, he formed the [[Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation|Sikorsky Aero Engineering Company]]. In [[1928]], he became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the United States. In [[1929]] Sikorsky Aero Engineering Company was purchased by and became a subsidiary of United Aircraft, itself now a part of [[United Technologies Corporation]]. The company manufactured [[flying boat]]s such as the [[Sikorsky S-42|S-42]], used by [[Pan Am]] for trans-atlantic flights and known as ''Pan Am Clippers''.
 
==Early life==
Sikorsky had experimented with helicopter-type flying machines while in Russia. He brought his work to fruition on [[24 May]] [[1940]] with the first flight of the [[Vought-Sikorsky 300]], a machine with a single three-blade rotor powered by a 75 [[horsepower]] (56 kW) engine. This was not, in the history of aviation, the first successful helicopter to fly but it was the first of the configuration that would later become the most popular. Another one of his helicopters is the Sikorsky Seahawk.
Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev, [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]]), on May 25, 1889.<ref name="nam">Fortier, Rénald. [http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/assets/pdf/e_sikorsky.pdf "Igor Sikorsky: One Man, Three Careers."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016232812/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/assets/pdf/e_sikorsky.pdf |date=October 16, 2013}} ''aviation.technomuses.ca'', 1996. Retrieved: October 29, 2008.</ref><ref name="sikorskyarchives_his2" /><ref>[https://www.sikorskyarchives.com/History.php "Igor Sikorsky | Historical Archives | History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601030517/https://www.sikorskyarchives.com/History.php |date=June 1, 2019}}. sikorskyarchives.com</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Sergei I. Sikorsky |title= The Sikorsky Legacy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eE-trX3XZawC&q=Sikorsky |date= 2007 |publisher= Arcadia Publishing |page= 7 |isbn= 978-0-7385-4995-8}}</ref> He was the youngest of five children. His father, Ivan Alexeevich Sikorsky, was a professor of [[psychology]] in [[Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv|Saint Vladimir University]] (now Taras Shevchenko National University), a psychiatrist with an international reputation, and an ardent [[Russian nationalism|Russian nationalist]].<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=TvqM0Fbjlb0C&pg=PA72 ''Homo Imperii A History of Physical Anthropology in Russia''], Marina Mogilner 2013, p. 72.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TvqM0Fbjlb0C&pg=PA167 ''Homo Imperii A History of Physical Anthropology in Russia''], Marina Mogilner 2013, p. 167.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TvqM0Fbjlb0C&pg=PA177 ''Homo Imperii A History of Physical Anthropology in Russia''], Marina Mogilner 2013, p. 177.</ref><ref>Hillis, Faith. ''Children of Rus': Right-Bank Ukraine and the Invention of a Russian Nation 2013'', {{ISBN|0-8014-5219-8}}, p. 259.</ref>
 
Igor Sikorsky was an [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox Christian]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/His_Philosophy.php |title=Sikorskyarchives.com |access-date=January 18, 2015 |archive-date=January 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118172353/http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/His_Philosophy.php |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 Church|Russian Orthodox]] priests."<ref name="Jacobson"/>
The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation continues to the present day as one of the world's leading helicopter manufacturers.
{{Expandsect}}
 
Sikorsky's mother, Mariya Stefanovna Sikorskaya (née Temryuk-Cherkasova),<ref>Mikheev, V. R. [https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pravmir.ru%2Farticle_2402.html&sl=ru&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 "Sikorsky: Hero, Exile, the Father of Aviation" (English translation).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209000121/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pravmir.ru%2Farticle_2402.html&sl=ru&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 |date=December 9, 2015}} ''Pravmir.ru,'' October 31, 2011. Retrieved: May 16, 2012.</ref> was a physician who did not work professionally. She is sometimes called Zinaida Sikorsky. While [[homeschooling]] young Igor, she gave him 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.<ref>Woods 1979, p. 254.</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Aerosan]]—Sikorsky built some of these propeller-powered sleighs in 1909–10.
 
Sikorsky began studying at 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 [[Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute|Kiev Polytechnic Institute]]. After the academic year, Sikorsky again accompanied his father to Germany in the summer of 1908, where he learned of the accomplishments of the [[Wright brothers]]' ''[[Wright Flyer|Flyer]]'' and [[Ferdinand von Zeppelin]]'s [[rigid airship]]s.<ref name="franklin2">[https://www.fi.edu/case-files/igor-sikorsky "The Case Files: Igor Sikorsky"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825021051/https://www.fi.edu/case-files/igor-sikorsky |date=August 25, 2017}}. ''Franklin Institute''. Retrieved: August 24, 2017.</ref> Sikorsky later said about this event: "Within twenty-four hours, I decided to change my life's work. I would study aviation."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2005-07/2005-07-05-voa1.cfm |title= Igor Sikorsky: Aircraft and Helicopter Designer|last1=Christiano |first1=Marilyn |work=Voice of America News |date=July 5, 2005 |access-date= July 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803192622/http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2005-07/2005-07-05-voa1.cfm|archive-date=3 August 2008}}</ref>
== Further reading ==
* Sikorsky's autobiography, ''The Story of the Winged S.'' (originally published 1938; updated editions, various years up to 1948)
* Frank J. Delear, ''Igor Sikorsky: His Three Careers in Aviation'' (New York, 1969) - described as "the only biography"[http://www.ctheritage.org/encyclopedia/ctsince1929/sikorsky.htm]
 
By the start of World War I in 1914, Sikorsky's airplane research and production business in Kiev was flourishing, and his factory made bombers during 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 [[Nicholas II of Russia|Tsar]]'s friend and a very popular person".<ref name="300.years.spb.ru">[http://www.300.years.spb.ru/eng/3_spb_3.html?id=24] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206034113/http://www.300.years.spb.ru/eng/3_spb_3.html?id=24|date=December 6, 2012}} "Sergei Sikorsky: My father's fate (English translation version of an interview published in Russian by pravmir.ru)"</ref> He moved to France where he was offered a contract for the design of a new, more powerful [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets|Muromets]]-type plane. But in November 1918 the war ended, and the French government stopped subsidizing military orders, whereupon he decided to move to the United States. On March 24, 1919, he left France on the ocean liner ''Lorraine'', arriving in New York City on March 30, 1919.<ref name="300.years.spb.ru" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pravmir.ru/igor-ivanovich-sikorskij-otec-aviacii-i-xramostroitel/|title=Игорь Иванович Сикорский: отец авиации и храмостроитель|work=Pravmir|date=7 June 2009|language=Russian|access-date=June 28, 2016|archive-date=August 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815092752/http://www.pravmir.ru/igor-ivanovich-sikorskij-otec-aviacii-i-xramostroitel/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Kutuzov, Mikhail. [https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archipelag.ru%2Fauthors%2Fkutuzov%2F%3Flibrary%3D2140&sl=ru&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 "The Genius of Flight" (English translation).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018025852/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archipelag.ru%2Fauthors%2Fkutuzov%2F%3Flibrary%3D2140&sl=ru&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 |date=October 18, 2015}} ''Russian Archipelago,'' 2012. Retrieved: May 16, 2012.</ref><ref name= "Ukrainian Congress Committee of America p. 187">{{harvnb|Ukrainian Congress Committee of America|1978|p=187}}</ref>
== External links ==
 
* {{US patent|1848389}} : "Aircraft, especially aircraft of the direct lift amphibian type and means of construction and operating the same"
==Aircraft designer==
* [http://www.ctheritage.org/encyclopedia/ctsince1929/sikorsky.htm Igor Sikorsky] article from [http://www.ctheritage.org/ ctheritage.org] (reference)
[[File:Sikorsky I.I. 1914. Karl Bulla.jpg|thumb|Sikorsky in 1914]]
* [http://www.sikorsky.com/details/0,3036,CLI1_DIV69_ETI683,00.html Biography from Sikorsky company]
 
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 a {{convert|25|hp|kW|adj=on|abbr=off}} Anzani engine, the helicopter used an upper and lower two-bladed lifting propeller that rotated in opposite directions at 160&nbsp;[[rpm]]. The machine could only generate about {{convert|357|lbf|N|abbr=off}} of lift, not enough to lift the approximate {{convert|457|lb|kg}} weight. Despite his progress in solving technical problems of control, Sikorsky realized that the aircraft would never fly. He finally disassembled the aircraft in October 1909, after he determined that he could learn nothing more from the design.<ref name="Woods 255">Woods 1979, p. 255.</ref> 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 {{convert|400|lb|kg}}, but not the additional weight of an operator.<ref name="is">{{cite book |last1=Sikorsky |first1=Igor |title=The Story of the Winged-S |date=1952 |publisher=Dodd, Mead & Company |___location=New York |pages=25–37}}</ref>
 
<blockquote>I had learned enough to recognize that with the existing state of the art, engines, materials, and – most of all – the shortage of money and lack of experience... I would not be able to produce a successful helicopter at that time.<ref name=Britannica>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543984/Igor-Ivan-Sikorsky "Igor Sikorsky."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305071241/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543984/Igor-Ivan-Sikorsky |date=March 5, 2010}} ''Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009'' via ''britannica.com''. Retrieved: October 14, 2009.</ref></blockquote>
 
Sikorsky's first aircraft of his own design, the S-1, used a {{convert|15|hp|kW|abbr=on}} [[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 {{convert|25|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Anzani engine in a [[tractor configuration]] and first flew on June 3, 1910, at 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.<ref name=winged>{{cite book |last=Sikorsky |first=Igor|title=The Story of the Winged-S|year=1944|publisher=Dodd, Mead & Company|___location=New York|page=48}}</ref><ref>"Sikorsky Celebrates." ''Popular Aviation'' September 1930, p. 20.</ref> Later, Sikorsky built the two-seat [[Sikorsky S-5|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 the Imperial Aero Club of Russia in 1911.<ref name="Woods 1979, p. 256">Woods 1979, p. 256.</ref> 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.<ref>''Current Biography 1940'', pp. 734–736.</ref> His next aircraft, the S-6 held three passengers and was selected as the winner of the Moscow aircraft exhibition held by the [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian Army]] in February 1912.<ref name="Woods 1979, p. 256"/>
 
[[File:Sikorsky-LeGrand.jpg|thumb|Sikorsky ''Bolshoi Baltisky'' of 1913, before receiving its pair of pusher engines]]
In early 1912, Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the [[Russo-Balt|Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works]] (''Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod'' or ''R-BVZ'')<ref>Murphy 2005, p. 180.</ref> in [[Saint Petersburg]].<ref name="bomber">Lake 2002, p. 31.</ref> His work at R-BVZ included the construction of the first four-[[inline engine (aviation)|cylinder]] aircraft, the S-21 ''[[Sikorsky Russky Vityaz|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 configuration|tractor-engined]] configuration.<ref name="HaddrickTaylor">{{cite book |last=Haddrick Taylor |first=Michael John |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters |isbn=978-0-671-07149-3 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdCa_zplDycC|date=1986-05-01 |publisher=Exeter Books}}</ref> He also served as the [[test pilot]] for its first flight on May 13, 1913.<ref name="HaddrickTaylor"/> In recognition of his accomplishment, he 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 ''[[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets|Ilya Muromets]]'' airliner. Due to the 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 the French forces in Russia, during the [[Russian Civil War]].<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/06/25/102714001.pdf "Airmen leave Russia."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121194103/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/06/25/102714001.pdf |date=January 21, 2022}} ''The New York Times'', June 25, 1918. Retrieved May 23, 2011.</ref> Seeing little opportunity for himself as an aircraft designer in war-torn Europe, and particularly Russia, ravaged by the [[October Revolution|Bolshevik Revolution]] and [[Russian Civil War]], he emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on March 30, 1919.<ref>Woods 1979, p. 257.</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/04/20/118146835.pdf "Russian airplane will be made here."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121194016/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/04/20/118146835.pdf |date=January 21, 2022}} ''The New York Times'', April 20, 1919. Retrieved: July 17, 2010.</ref>
 
===List of aircraft designed by Sikorsky===
[[File:Bulla Vityaz.jpg|thumb|Russian aviators Sikorsky, Genner and Kaulbars aboard a "[[Sikorsky Russky Vityaz|Russky Vityaz]]", c. 1913]]
[[File:Sikorsky S42 (crop).jpg|thumb|[[Sikorsky S-42]] [[flying boat]] ]]
[[File:Sikorsky Skycrane carrying house bw.jpg|thumb|[[Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane]] carrying a house]]
 
* [[Sikorsky H-1|H-1]] Sikorsky's first helicopter design, 1909
* [[Sikorsky H-2|H-2]] Sikorsky's second helicopter design, 1910
* [[Sikorsky S-1|S-1]] single-engine pusher biplane, Sikorsky's first fixed wing design, 1910
* [[Sikorsky S-2|S-2]] single-engine tractor biplane developed from the S-1, 1910
* [[Sikorsky S-3|S-3]] enlarged and improved version of the S-2, 1910
* [[Sikorsky S-4|S-4]] one-seat, single-engine biplane concept developed from the S-3, never flown, 1911
* [[Sikorsky S-5|S-5]] one-seat, single-engine biplane, Sikorsky's first practical aircraft, 1911
* [[Sikorsky S-6|S-6]] three-seat, single-engine biplane, 1912
* [[Sikorsky S-7|S-7]] two-seat, single-engine monoplane, 1912
* [[Sikorsky S-8|S-8]] two-seat single-engine biplane trainer, 1912
* [[Sikorsky S-9|S-9 ''Krugly'']] three-seat, single-engine monoplane, 1913
* [[Sikorsky S-10|S-10]] five-seat, single-engine biplane reconnaissance/trainer developed from the S-6, 1913
* [[Sikorsky S-11|S-11 ''Polukrugly'']] two-seat, single-engine mid-wing reconnaissance monoplane prototype, 1913
* [[Sikorsky S-12|S-12]] one-seat, single-engine trainer, Sikorsky's most successful aircraft in Russia, 1913
* [[Sikorsky S-13 and S-14|S-13 and S-14]] proposed designs, never completed due to unavailability of engines
* [[Sikorsky S-15|S-15]] single-engine light bomber floatplane, 1913
* [[Sikorsky S-16|S-16]] two-seat, single-engine escort fighter, 1914–1915
* [[Sikorsky S-17|S-17]] two-seat, single-engine reconnaissance biplane based on the S-10, 1915
* [[Sikorsky S-18|S-18]] two-seat, twin-engine pusher biplane fighter/interceptor
* [[Sikorsky S-19|S-19]] twin-engine biplane, 1916
* [[Sikorsky S-20|S-20]] two-seat biplane fighter, 1916
* [[Sikorsky Russky Vityaz|S-21 ''Russky Vityaz'']] four-engine biplane airliner, first successful four engine aircraft, 1913
* [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets|S-22–S-27 ''Ilya Muromets'']] four-engine biplane airliner and heavy bomber, 1913
* [[Sikorsky Avion Atlas|Avion Atlas]] proposed four-engined biplane bomber for France, cancelled due to the end of World.War I, 1918{{cn|date=May 2023}}
* [[Sikorsky IS-27|IS-27 Battleplane]] proposed four-engined biplane heavy bomber, developed from the Avion Atlas, for the USAAS, 1919{{cn|date=May 2023}}
* [[Sikorsky S-28|S-28]] projected four-engine biplane airliner; Sikorsky's first American design, 1919
* [[Sikorsky S-29-A|S-29-A]] twin-engine biplane airliner, 1924
* [[Sikorsky S-30|S-30]] proposed twin engine biplane, 1925
* [[Sikorsky S-31|S-31]] single engine sesquiplane, 1925
* [[Sikorsky S-32|S-32]] single engine floatplane, 1926
* [[Sikorsky S-33 Messenger|S-33 ''Messenger'']] two-seat, single engine racer plane, 1925
* [[Sikorsky S-34|S-34]] twin-engine amphibian, 1926<ref name=is/>{{rp|167,180}}
* [[Sikorsky S-35|S-35]] [[trimotor]] built for [[René Fonck]]'s attempt to win the [[Orteig Prize]], 1926<ref name=is/>{{rp|169-178}}
* [[Sikorsky S-36|S-36]] twin engine amphibian, 1927<ref name=is/>{{rp|182}}
* [[Sikorsky S-37|S-37]] twin-engine built for René Fonck, but then converted to a passenger plane, 1927<ref name=is/>{{rp|180-182}}
* [[Sikorsky S-38|S-38]] twin-engine ten-seat flying boat, 1928<ref name=is/>{{rp|182-183}}
* [[Sikorsky S-39|S-39]] smaller single-engine version of the S-38, 1929
* [[Sikorsky S-40|S-40]] four-engine amphibian built for [[Pan Am]], 1931<ref name=is/>{{rp|187-193}}
* [[Sikorsky S-41|S-41]] scaled-up monoplane version of the S-38, 1930
* [[Sikorsky S-42|S-42 Clipper]] – flying boat, 1934
* [[Sikorsky S-43|S-43]] scaled-down version of S-42, 1934
* [[Vought-Sikorsky VS-300|VS-300]] experimental prototype helicopter, 1939
* [[Sikorsky VS-44|VS-44]] flying boat, 1942
* [[Sikorsky R-4|R-4]] world's first production helicopter, 1942
 
==Life in the United States==
[[File:Igor Sikorsky-TIME-1953.jpg|thumb|Igor Sikorsky on [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] cover, 1953]]
 
In the U.S., Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer, while looking for an opportunity to work in 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uri.edu/home/about/history_timeline.html|title=URI History and Timeline|publisher=University of Rhode Island|access-date=July 17, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114131905/http://www.uri.edu/home/about/history_timeline.html|archive-date=November 14, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He also lectured at the [[University of Bridgeport]].
 
In 1923, Sikorsky formed the [[Sikorsky Aircraft|Sikorsky Manufacturing Company]] in [[Roosevelt, New York]].<ref>Spenser 1998, p. 15.</ref> He was helped by several former Russian military officers. Among Sikorsky's chief supporters was composer [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], who introduced himself by writing a check for US$5,000 ({{Inflation|US|5000|1923|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref>Prokhorov, Vadim. [http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Piano_Man.html "Oldies & Oddities: Sikorsky's Piano Man" (History of Flight).] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120724143639/http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Piano_Man.html |date=July 24, 2012}} ''Air & Space Magazine/Smithsonian'', Volume 17, Issue 4, November 1, 2002. Retrieved: July 17, 2010.</ref> 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 [[Sikorsky S-29|S-29]], one of the first twin-engine aircraft in the U.S., with a capacity for 14 passengers and a speed of 115&nbsp;mph.<ref>''Current Biography 1940'', p. 735.</ref> The performance of the S-29, slow when compared to military aircraft of 1918, proved to be a "make or break" moment for Sikorsky's funding.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}
 
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.<ref>Spenser 1998, pp. 15–17.</ref> The company manufactured [[flying boat]]s, such as the [[Sikorsky S-42|S-42]] "Clipper", used by [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] for transatlantic flights.<ref name=Britannica/>
 
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/patents/about?id=j4hOAAAAEBAJ&dq=igor+sikorsky+nichols+ct|title=Patent number: 1848389|website=Google.com|access-date=November 25, 2010|archive-date=February 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217232108/http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=j4hOAAAAEBAJ&dq=igor+sikorsky+nichols+ct}}</ref> On June 27, 1931, Sikorsky filed for a patent for another "direct lift aircraft", and was awarded patent No. 1,994,488 on March 19, 1935.<ref>[https://www.google.com/patents/about?id=Nqd4AAAAEBAJ&dq=1,994,488 "Patent number: 1994488."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217232254/http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=Nqd4AAAAEBAJ&dq=1,994,488 |date=February 17, 2013}} ''google.com.'' Retrieved: November 25, 2010.</ref> 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 [[Sikorsky R-4|R-4]], which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter, in 1942. Sikorsky's final VS-300 rotor configuration, comprising 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.<ref name="Woods 1979, p. 262"/>
 
==Personal life==
[[File:Sikorsky, Sergei, HeliRussia 2011.jpg|thumb|Sergei Sikorsky at the HeliRussia 2011 Exhibition in Moscow]]
 
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 the U.S., bringing six-year-old Tania with them.<ref>[http://www.fi.edu/learn/case-files/sikorsky/mission.html "Military Mission."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906102920/http://www.fi.edu/learn/case-files/sikorsky/mission.html |date=September 6, 2008}} ''The Case Files: Igor Sikorsky'', ''Franklin Institute''. Retrieved: October 29, 2008.</ref> Sikorsky married Elisabeth Semion (1903–1995) in 1924, in New York.<ref>Hacker and Vining 2007, p. 116.</ref> Sikorsky and Elisabeth had four sons; Sergei, Nikolai, Igor Jr. and George.<ref>''Skyways'' July 1995, p. 71.</ref>
 
* Tania Sikorsky von York (March 1, 1918 – September 22, 2008), Sikorsky's eldest child and only daughter. Tania was born in Kiev. Educated in the U.S., she earned a B.A. at [[Barnard College]] and a doctorate at [[Yale University]]. She was one of the original faculty members of [[Sacred Heart University]] in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]], where she served as Professor of Sociology for 20 years.<ref>[http://www.legacy.com/Fosters/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=117985032 "Tania Sikorsky Von York."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231453/http://www.legacy.com/Fosters/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=117985032 |date=March 3, 2016}} ''Foster's Daily Democrat'', September 26, 2008. Retrieved: October 16, 2008.</ref>
* Sergei Sikorsky (1925–&nbsp;), Sikorsky's eldest son. He joined United Technologies in 1951 and retired in 1992, as Vice-President of Special Projects at [[Sikorsky Aircraft]].<ref>[http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/first.html "First Helicopter Civilian Rescue November 29, 1945."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210120525/http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/first.html |date=December 10, 2008}} ''Sikorskyarchives.com.'' Retrieved: July 17, 2010.</ref><ref>Zenobia, Keith. [http://www.pmlaa.org/newsletters/2004-06.pdf "Sergei Sikorsky: Recollections of a Pioneer, The Legacy of Igor Sikorsky."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801184221/http://www.pmlaa.org/newsletters/2004-06.pdf |date=August 1, 2020}} ''PMLAA News Newsletter (Pine Mountain Lake Aviation Association)'', 19:6, 2004. Retrieved: December 2, 2010.</ref>
* Igor Sikorsky Jr. is an attorney, businessman and aviation historian.<ref>Church, Diane. [https://archive.today/20120729023436/http://www.bristolpress.com/articles/2012/03/20/news/doc4f67f1f1a7d6f704888394.txt "Sikorsky to speak in Plainville tonight."] ''Bristol Press,'' March 19, 2012.</ref> Igor Sikorsky III is also a pilot.<ref>[http://www.bradfordcamps.com/1%20AVIATION%20DIGEST.htm "Igor Sikorsky Seminar."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304061152/http://www.bradfordcamps.com/1%20AVIATION%20DIGEST.htm |date=March 4, 2014}} ''Aviation Digest: Bradford Camps'', June 2003.</ref>
 
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 [[Connecticut Route 108|Nichols Avenue]] in [[Stratford, Connecticut|Stratford]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.angelfire.com/endymion77/st_john.html |title="St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cemetery" |access-date=January 16, 2015 |archive-date=January 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116110654/http://www.angelfire.com/endymion77/st_john.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==Legacy==
[[File:15-a Yaroslaviv Val, Kiev (Sikorsky House).jpg|thumb|upright|The Sikorsky's family house in the historical center of Kyiv, Ukraine, October 2009]]
 
In 1966, Sikorsky was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>
 
Sikorsky's and [[Andrei Tupolev]]'s professional careers were covered in the 1979 Soviet biopic ''The Poem of Wings'' ({{langx|ru|Поэма о крыльях}}), where Sikorsky was portrayed by [[Yury Yakovlev]]. A working model of [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets]] was recreated for filming.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Сушинова |first1=Яна |title=Самолет С-22 "Илья Муромец". Инфографика |url=http://www.aif.ru/society/army/samolet_s-22_ilya_muromec_infografika |access-date=3 November 2018 |publisher="Аргументы и факты" |date=May 28, 2018 |archive-date=November 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104050313/http://www.aif.ru/society/army/samolet_s-22_ilya_muromec_infografika |url-status=live}}</ref>
 
The [[Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge|Sikorsky Memorial Bridge]], which carries the [[Merritt Parkway]] across 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]].<ref>[http://www.ja.org/hof/viewLaureate.asp?id=163&alpha=S "Igor I. Sikorsky: Sikorsky Aircraft."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109220055/http://www.ja.org/hof/viewLaureate.asp?id=163&alpha=S |date=January 9, 2013}} ''JA Worldwide''. Retrieved: October 12, 2009.</ref>
 
Sikorsky was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1987.<ref>Ikenson 2004, p. 24.</ref><ref>[http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/135.html "Igor I. Sikorsky."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211221335/http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/135.html |date=December 11, 2009}} ''National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.'' via ''invent.org.'' Retrieved: October 12, 2009.</ref>
 
In October 2011, one of the streets in Kyiv, Ukraine, was renamed for Sikorsky. The decision was made by the City Council at the request of the [[Embassy of the United States, Kyiv|U.S. Embassy in Ukraine]], which opened its new office on that street.<ref>[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/city/detail/115805/ "Kyiv changes street name at Washington's request"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122083118/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/city/detail/115805/ |date=November 22, 2011}} ''[[Kyiv Post]]''. Retrieved: November 26, 2011.</ref> The Sikorsky's family house in the city's historical center is preserved to this day but is in a neglected condition pending restoration.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
 
In November 2012, one of the Russian [[supersonic]] heavy [[strategic bomber]] [[Tupolev Tu-160|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, the [[Russian Long Range Aviation|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 [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets|the first heavy bomber]] for Russia.<ref>Mikhailov, Alexei and Bal′burov, Dmitry. [http://izvestia.ru/news/539463 "Ту-160 присвоили имя американского авиаконструктора Сикорского (in Russian) (The Tu-160 was named after the American Sikorsky Aircraft Designer)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222020612/http://izvestia.ru/news/539463 |date=December 22, 2014}} ''[[Izvestia]]'' November 13, 2012.</ref> In 2013, ''[[Flying Magazine|Flying]]'' magazine ranked Sikorsky number 12 on its list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.flyingmag.com/photo-gallery/photos/51-heroes-aviation?pnid=41843 |title=Flyingmag.com |work=Flying |access-date=September 26, 2014 |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031190631/https://www.flyingmag.com/photo-gallery/photos/51-heroes-aviation/?pnid=41843 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In August 2016, the [[Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute|National technical university of Ukraine "Kyiv politechnical institute"]] was named ''National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"'' after its former student and outstanding aircraft designer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kpi.ua/en/almamater|title=The history of KPI &#124; Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute|access-date=February 2, 2020|archive-date=April 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418163521/https://kpi.ua/en/almamater|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On March 22, 2018, the [[Kyiv City Council]] officially renamed [[Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany)|Kyiv International Airport]] to "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport Zhuliany".<ref>[https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2018/03/22/7175492] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323030533/https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2018/03/22/7175492/|date=March 23, 2018}}. Pravda.com</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kyiv-airport.com/kyiv-zhuliany/|title=Kyiv Zhuliany Airport (IEV)|access-date=November 22, 2019|archive-date=February 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213103003/https://www.kyiv-airport.com/kyiv-zhuliany/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==Philosophical and religious views==
Sikorsky was a deeply religious [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] Christian,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/nyregion/faith-of-the-orthodox-born-in-russia.html |title=Faith Of the Orthodox Born in Russia |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 10, 1994 |access-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-date=December 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226141921/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/nyregion/faith-of-the-orthodox-born-in-russia.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and authored two religious and philosophical books (''The Message of the Lord's Prayer'' and ''The Invisible Encounter''). Summarizing his beliefs, in the latter he wrote:
{{Blockquote|text=Our concerns sink into insignificance when compared with the eternal value of human personality&nbsp;— 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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=f93mAAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+potential+child+of+God+which+is+destined+%22 "The Invisible Encounter".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404115408/https://books.google.com/books?id=f93mAAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+potential+child+of+God+which+is+destined+%22 |date=April 4, 2023}} ''The Universalist Leader,'' Volume 130, Issue 5, 1948, p. 115.</ref><ref>[http://avstop.com/history/aroundtheworld/russia/sikorsky.html "Igor I. Sikorsky."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707202231/http://avstop.com/history/aroundtheworld/russia/sikorsky.html |date=July 7, 2011}} ''AvStop Online Magazine''. Retrieved: July 17, 2010.</ref>}}
 
==Published works==
* Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Message of the Lord's Prayer''. New York: C. Scribner's sons, 1942. {{OCLC|2928920}}
* Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Invisible Encounter''. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1947. {{OCLC|1446225}}
* Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Story of the Winged-S: Late Developments and Recent Photographs of the Helicopter, an Autobiography''. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1967. {{OCLC|1396277}}
 
==See also==
* [[Aerosledge]] – Sikorsky built some of these propeller-powered [[snowmobiles]] in 1909–10
* [[Fedor Ivanovich Bylinkin]] – an early aircraft collaborator with Sikorsky, in 1910
* [[Sikorsky Prize]] – a prize for human powered helicopters named in his honor
* [[10090 Sikorsky]] – an [[asteroid]] named in honor of Igor Sikorsky
 
==References==
=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}
 
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}
 
==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* Delear, Frank J. ''Igor Sikorsky: His Three Careers in Aviation''. New York: Dodd Mead, 1969, Revised edition, 1976. {{ISBN|978-0-396-07282-9}}.
* Hacker, Barton C. and Margaret Vining. ''American Military Technology: The Life Story of a Technology.'' Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-8018-8772-7}}.
* Ikenson, Ben. [https://archive.org/details/patentsingenious0000iken/page/24 <!-- quote=igor sikorsky. --> ''Patents: Ingenious Inventions, How They Work and How They Came to Be''.] New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-57912-367-3}}.
* Lake, Jon. ''The Great Book of Bombers: The World's Most Important Bombers from World War I to the Present Day.'' St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7603-1347-4}}.
* Leishman, J. Gordon. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140713201846/http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~leishman/Aero/history.html#The_Dream_of_True_Flight "The Dream of True Flight."] Online summary: ''Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-521-85860-7}}.
* Murphy, Justin D. ''Military Aircraft, Origins to 1918: An Illustrated History of Their Impact'' (Weapons and warfare series). Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. {{ISBN|1-85109-488-1}}.
* Sikorsky, Igor Ivan. ''The Story of the Winged-S: Late Developments and Recent Photographs of the Helicopter, an Autobiography''. New York: Dodd, Mead, originally published 1938 (updated editions, various years up to 1948), Revised edition, 1967.
* Spenser, Jay P. ''Whirlybirds, A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers''. Seattle, Washington, USA: University of Washington Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-295-97699-3}}.
* Woods, Carlos C. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kz4rAAAAYAAJ "Memorial Tributes", pp. 253–266.] ''Igor Ivan Sikorsky''. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Engineering (The Academy), 1979.
* {{cite journal |last=Ukrainian Congress Committee of America|author-link=Ukrainian Congress Committee of America |date= 1978|title=Sikorsky |journal= The Ukrainian Quarterly|volume= 34-35|issue=1 |issn=0041-6010}}
* {{US patent|2318259}}
* {{US patent|2318260}}
{{Refend}}
 
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.sikorskyarchives.com Official Sikorsky historical archives]
* {{IMDb name|0797756}}
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/archive/covers/0,16641,1101531116,00.html Igor Sikorsky]. Time magazine. 16 November 1953. (Cover)
* [http://www.alexanderpalace.org/aerialrussia/ Igor Sikorsky] Aerial Russia – the Romance of the Giant Aeroplane – early days of Igor Sikorsky online book
* [http://neam.org/cont_about.htm New England Air Museum] in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, has extensive Sikorsky exhibits
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050113054609/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/archive/covers/0,16641,1101531116,00.html Igor Sikorsky]. Time magazine, November 16, 1953. (Cover)
* [https://www.neam.org/exhibits.php The New England Air Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116032847/https://www.neam.org/exhibits.php |date=November 16, 2017}} in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, has extensive Sikorsky exhibits
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=vdkDAAAAMBAJ&dq=defiant&pg=PA380 Wingless Helicopter Flies Straight Up] September 1940 [[Popular Mechanics]] article showing Sikorsky flying his first helicopter and introducing him to the general public
 
{{Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation}}
{{Winners of the National Medal of Science|engineering}}
{{ASME Medal|state=collapsed}}
 
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1889 births|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:1972 deaths|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Aviation magnates|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Aviation pioneers|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Natives of Kiev|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Russian inventors|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Ukrainian inventors|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Russian people in the United States|Sikorsky, Igor]]
[[Category:Aeronautical engineers|Sikorsky, Igor]]
 
[[da{{DEFAULTSORT:Igor Sikorsky]], Igor}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[de:Igor Iwanowitsch Sikorski]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[he:איגור סיקורסקי]]
[[Category:Aircraft designers]]
[[nl:Igor Sikorsky]]
[[Category:American aerospace engineers]]
[[ja:イーゴリ・シコールスキイ]]
[[Category:American inventors]]
[[pl:Igor Sikorski]]
[[Category:American people of Russian descent]]
[[ru:Сикорский, Игорь Иванович]]
[[Category:ASME Medal recipients]]
[[sk:Igor Ivanovič Sikorsky]]
[[Category:Aviation history of Russia]]
[[uk:Сікорський Ігор Іванович]]
[[Category:Aviation history of the United States]]
[[Category:Aviation inventors]]
[[Category:Aviation pioneers]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in aviation]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States]]
[[Category:Kyiv Polytechnic Institute alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Early Birds of Aviation]]
[[Category:National Medal of Science laureates]]
[[Category:People from Easton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Engineers from Kyiv]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir]]
[[Category:Russian aerospace engineers]]
[[Category:Russian inventors]]
[[Category:Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States]]
[[Category:University of Bridgeport faculty]]
[[Category:University of Rhode Island faculty]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian engineers]]
[[Category:20th-century American engineers]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Russian scientists]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Sikorsky"