6 June 1889
He was born in Kyiv, into a family of scientists. Igor Sikorsky — aircraft designer, father of helicopter construction.
Aeronautics was neither a science nor an industry. It was a miracle.
I became fascinated with inventions as a child. I built my first helicopter model at age 12, based on Leonardo da Vinci's designs. Around the same time, I found a revolutionary leaflet about how to make a bomb: I tried it and it worked. But I nearly died during the test.
At 18, he entered the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where he attended the aeronautics section. He designed and built six helicopters, none of which were very successful.
The first of these machines couldn't even lift itself. The second one could lift itself, but not me.
Sikorsky found success in aircraft construction: at just 21, he flew the first aircraft of his own design. He trained as a pilot himself so he could pilot his future inventions.
Even Nicholas II came to watch the young inventor fly.
At 24, he designed the world's first four-engine aircraft, the "Russian Knight." A year later, he designed the Ilya Muromets bomber, which was soon used in the war.
In 1920, the world's first passenger aircraft was built using this same aircraft, which operated regular flights between Sarapul and Yekaterinburg. It featured a comfortable passenger cabin with sleeping quarters, a bathroom, and a toilet.
However, Sikorsky himself had already left the country by that time, since the Bolsheviks wanted to shoot him as a friend of the Tsar.
He settled in New York and founded a company that, over the course of 20 years, designed approximately 15 types of aircraft for the United States, including for military use. In 1939, he returned to his dream and flew the world's first helicopter.
When the time comes, the helicopter can be offered for sale. Its applications are virtually unlimited.
Serial production began as early as 1943, and since 1957, Sikorsky's aircraft have been transporting American presidents. They participate in rescue operations and are sold successfully worldwide.
He died in 1972 in the USA.