Igor Sikorsky

1889 (Kyiv, Ukraine) – 1972 (Easton, CT, United States)

Sikorsky was a Ukrainian-American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

He designed and flew the world’s first multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft in 1913, and the first airliner, Ilya Muromets, in 1914. In 1939, Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. 

Sikorsky modified the design and created the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world’s first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.

Additionally, after immigrating to the United States in 1919, Sikorsky founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923 and developed the first of Pan American Airways’ ocean-conquering flying boat airliners in the 1930s.

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