Remembering Igor Sikorsky

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 10/27/2014 at 09:50 • Filed to: planelopnik

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Igor Sikorsky died on October 26, 1972. One of the great pioneers in aviation, he is best known for his successful development of the helicopter. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! writes:

Sikorsky was fascinated with flight even as a child in Russia, and a 1908 meeting with the Wright brothers determined the course of his life in aviation. After two early helicopter designs failed, Sikorsky turned his attention to fixed-wing aircraft. By 1913 he had developed the Il'ya Muromets, four-engine passenger aircraft that were converted to bombers for use in WWI. The Bolshevik Revolution forced Sikorsky and his family to emigrate to America in 1919 where he established the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation in New York. Over the next 20 years, Sikorsky's company built passenger planes and flying boats, including the S-40 American Clipper that was used to open new air routes across the Pacific. In the 1930s Sikorsky turned his attention again to helicopter design and on September 14, 1939, Sikorsky himself flew the VS-300 on its first test flight.

Ilya Muromets

S-40 American Clipper

VS-300, with Sikorsky at the controls

Sikorsky in the cockpit of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

spanfucker retire bitch > ttyymmnn 10/27/2014 at 09:53

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Thank you Russia, for giving America one of the most brilliant minds and inventors this country has ever seen.

505Turbeaux > ttyymmnn 10/27/2014 at 09:57

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Growing up in southern CT and knowing many people that work at Sikorsky, I know quite a bit of his history. Unfortunately his name rings synonymous with the Sikorsky Bridge, which was possibly the worst example of corruption between the government and big construction in a state rife with it. They put the steel deck of the entire bridge with the smooth side up, and the grip side down, and some inspector passed it even though everyone knew someone fucked up. Woe be the car having to slam on the brakes when it was raining out, forget about when it was icy. Took them more than 10 years to fix it because the original contractor went "bankrupt" (and then quickly renamed) right after "completion"

Opposite Locksmith > ttyymmnn 10/27/2014 at 10:08

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I dont trust helicopters at all, but its not logical, purely anecdotal. Family friend died in a landing crash due to heavy winds, and i just heard about a collision between a plane and a helicopter where all three passengers in the plane were released from the hospital, and both the helicopter passengers died on scene

ly2v8-Brian > ttyymmnn 10/27/2014 at 10:15

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He wasn't the only one building such things but he was able to make a stable and fairly robust platform that would be the template.

ttyymmnn > Opposite Locksmith 10/27/2014 at 10:16

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It's easy to focus on the lives lost in helicopter mishaps. I'd rather focus on the countless lives that have been saved, rescues that may have been impossible without the helicopter.

ttyymmnn > ly2v8-Brian 10/27/2014 at 10:16

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Right. He made it work.

Opposite Locksmith > ttyymmnn 10/27/2014 at 10:27

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Oh i hope you know im not doubting that, just explaining my phobia. I was airlifted from traffic on I35 in Texas due to having a massive seizure where i injured myself (as a passenger thank the universe)

ttyymmnn > Opposite Locksmith 10/27/2014 at 10:28

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I know. I think it's best to combat phobia by focusing on positives, not negatives. Glad you're okay!