Igor Sikorsky United States in 1919, Sikorsky founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923, and developed the first of Pan American Airways' ocean-conquering flying boats in the 1930s. 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. Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev, Russian Empire (in present-day Ukraine), the youngest of five children. His father, Ivan Alexeevich Sikorsky, was a professor of psychology of Kiev St. Vladimir University, a psychiatrist
Sikorsky S-34 Sikorsky S-34 The Sikorsky S-34 was a 1920s American six-seat sesquiplane, designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Corporation. Only one was built but the design led to the successful Sikorsky S-38. The S-34 was a sesquiplane amphibian with a boat hull, being powered by two tractor Wright Whirlwind J-4 engines. It had a boom-mounted twin-rudder tail unit and room inside the hull for five passengers. During a test flight in November 1927 one engine failed and the S-34 crashed and sank. Igor Sikorksy and the others onboard escaped without injury but the S-34 was destroyed. It was the first