Igor Sikorsky shoot him. He moved to France where he was offered a contract for the design of a new, more powerful Muromets-type plane. But in November 1918 the war ended and the French government stopped subsidizing military orders, he arrived in the U.S. a few months later in 1919. With financial backing from his sister Olga, Sikorsky returned to Paris, the center of the aviation world at the time, in 1909. Sikorsky met with aviation pioneers, to ask them questions about aircraft and flying. In May 1909, he returned to Russia and began designing his first helicopter, which he began testing
Sikorsky S-3 early in December. The S-3 made its last flight on December 13, 1910 when at an altitude of 90 feet the engines distributor shifted to a retarded position and lost power. The aircraft landed hard on a frozen pond, broke through the ice and sank causing serious damage. The S-3 was salvaged and some parts including the engine were used in the construction of the S-4. Sikorsky S-3 The Sikorsky S-3 was an early Russian single seat biplane design by Igor Sikorsky. Work on the machine started in July 1910 and was completed in late November. The S-3 was a