Igor Sikorsky Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (, "Ígor' Ivánovič Sikórskij"; May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972), was a Russian-American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. His first success came with the S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5, won him national recognition as well as F.A.I. license number 64. His S-6-A received the highest award at the 1912 Moscow Aviation Exhibition, and in the fall of that year the aircraft won for its young designer, builder and pilot first prize in the military competition at Saint Petersburg. After immigrating to the
Igor Sikorsky 1912. In early 1912, Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works ("Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod" or "R-BVZ") in Saint Petersburg. His work at R-BVZ included the construction of the first four-engine aircraft, the S-21 "Russky Vityaz", which he initially called "Le Grand" when fitted with just two engines, then as the "Bolshoi Baltisky" (The Great Baltic) when fitted with four engines for the first time, each wing panel's pair of powerplants in a "push-pull" tandem configuration previous to the four tractor-engined "Russki Vityaz". He also served as the test pilot for its