Igor Sikorsky 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. 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
Sikorsky XP2S Sikorsky XP2S The Sikorsky XP2S was an American biplane patrol flying boat developed for the United States Navy during the early 1930s. After selling a small quantity of PS / RS patrol / transport amphibians to the Navy, Sikorsky (then a division of United Aircraft Corporation) endeavoured to interest the service in a patrol flying boat. Having received a development contract in mid-1930, Sikorsky delivered a complete aircraft for testing in June 1932. The XP2S-1, as the prototype was designated, was a two-bay, equal-span biplane of mixed construction. Its two R-1340 Wasp radial engines were mounted in a single nacelle