Born on 25 May 1889 Igor Ivanovich was a Russian-American aviation pioneer. Sikorsky began studying at the Saint Petersburg Maritime Cadet Corps in Russia in 1903 when was only fourteen years old. In 1906, now only seventeen, he determined that his future lay in engineering and resigned from the academy and left the Russian Empire to study in Paris
His first success came with the S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5, won him national recognition as well as F.A.I. license number 64. His S-6-A received the highest award at the 1912 Moscow Aviation Exhibition. The aircraft won for its young designer, builder and pilot first prize in the military competition held at Saint Petersburg.
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-crossing flying boats in the 1930s. He was helped by several former Russian military officers.
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 into the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.
In 1966, Sikorsky was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame. He passed away aged 88 on 26 October 1972.
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