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-11 Sikorsky S-11 The Sikorsky S-11 " Polukroogly " (Half Round) was a Russian single engine prototype reconnaissance aircraft completed in July 1913 by the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works while Igor Sikorsky was the chief engineer of the aircraft manufacturing division. The S-11 was a two seat mid-wing monoplane with wire-braced wings powered by a Gnome Monosoupape air-cooled rotary engine rated at . It was smaller and lighter than the S-7 on which it was based, and had a conventional wooden fuselage. The cockpit featured side-by-side seating with controls for the pilot only on the left. Originally built with ailerons