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-7 Sikorsky S-7 The Sikorsky S-7 was a Russian single engine experimental prototype aircraft built by the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works shortly after Igor Sikorsky became chief engineer of the aircraft manufacturing division. The S-7 was two place wire-braced monoplane powered by a Gnome air-cooled rotary engine. Construction began in early summer of 1912 and completed in July. The pilot sat in the rear cockpit with a passenger seated in a forward compartment in a tandem arrangement. The fuselage was enclosed in plywood and the aircraft used components taken from the S-6A including the main wing, tail and landing gear.