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-8 fabric covering between the wing root and first rib. On the evening of 17 September 1912, Sikorsky piloted the S-8 on a ninety minute night flight from the Korpusnoi Aerodrome near Saint Petersburg. He landed with help of fires set at the airfield. Sikorsky S-8 The Sikorsky S-8 "Malyutka" (baby) was a small Russian single engine aircraft built by the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works shortly after Igor Sikorsky became chief engineer of the aircraft manufacturing division in 1912. The S-8 was a two bay biplane trainer powered by a Gnome air-cooled rotary engine with the main wings and landing