Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition AeroVelo's Atlas human-powered helicopter conducted a flight that met all the requirements of the AHS International competition, and received the $250,000 prize. In the history of the prize, dozens of teams have designed and built human-powered helicopters, although few have made it airborne. The AHS competition was named in honor of Igor Sikorsky, one of the founders of the technical society. AHS initiated the prize purse at $25,000, but later raised it to $250,000. The first HPH to get off the ground was the "Da Vinci III" in 1989, designed and built by students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Sikorsky VS-44 Sikorsky VS-44 The Sikorsky VS-44 was a large four-engined flying boat built in the United States in the early 1940s by Sikorsky Aircraft. The VS-44 was designed primarily for the transatlantic passenger market, with a capacity of 40+ passengers. Three units were produced: "Excalibur", "Excambian", and "Exeter". In the early 1930s, the primary mode of long-distance air travel over oceans was in flying boats, due to the ease of constructing docking facilities on shore without having to construct runways, and the possibility of malfunction forcing a sea landing. One flying boat designer was Russian immigrant Igor Sikorsky who had founded