Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich biography children. Igor Sikorsky - the lost genius of Russia

Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich, born in 1889 in Kyiv, died on October 26, 1972 in Easton (Connecticut, USA). American aircraft designer, creator of the world's first helicopter.

The 22-year-old from Kiev became famous throughout in 1911. when he lifted into the sky an aircraft of his own design S-5 with a 50 hp engine. s., speed of 125 km/h and flight range of 85 km with a maximum flight ceiling of 500 m.

The young aircraft designer was invited to St. Petersburg, where he worked in 1912-1914. created 4-engine aircraft "Grand" (1913) and "Ilya Muromets" (1914), which marked the beginning of multi-engine aviation in 2 directions at once - passenger and bomber, because they could carry up to 40 people or up to 2.8 tons of cargo.

It was an unprecedented breakthrough when, in 1914, the first Ilya Muromets aircraft flew from Moscow to cover a distance of 1020 versts in just 13 hours and 10 minutes.

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Our compatriot, one of the largest aircraft designers of the 20th century, Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, lived several years before the eyes of one generation. amazing lives and each was great in its own way. Various and, moreover, unexpected achievements of design thought are associated with his name, each time deducing world aviation to a new level.

The first flights of Russian airplanes, the first original designs of multi-engine heavy aircraft, the first "flying boats" and amphibians, classic single-rotor helicopters and much more became possible thanks to Sikorsky's talent. After the revolution, he left Russia with pain in his heart. A significant part of what he did was for the benefit and glory of the United States. Sikorsky's company, which still exists there to this day, is considered the leading manufacturer of helicopters. But until the end of his life, Sikorsky remained a patriot of Russia.

Vocation

He was born on May 25 (June 6), 1889 in Kyiv and became the fifth child in the family of a doctor of medicine, a professor at the University. St. Vladimir Ivan Alekseevich Sikorsky. The elder Sikorsky, who gained worldwide fame thanks to numerous works on psychiatry, general psychology and neuropsychiatric hygiene, was involved in the scandalous "Beilis case". In 1913, a strange murder of a boy was investigated in Kyiv. The authorities turned to Ivan Alekseevich as a psychiatrist for help. He scrupulously studied all the circumstances and decided to assume that this was a ritual murder. The consequences are known - a wave of anti-Semitism and a violent reaction to this from the Russian intelligentsia. The elder Sikorsky fell ill and never returned to the university.

Igor Ivanovich by that time was an established person, he was 24 years old, and all his mental strength was directed to the creation of the world's first multi-engine aircraft. His father raised him according to his own methodology and passed on to him devotion to the Church, the Throne and the Fatherland, helped him develop an unshakable will and unique perseverance in achieving the goal.

The mother of the future aircraft designer, Maria Stefanovna (nee Temryuk-Cherkasova), who, like her father, had medical education, instilled in little Igor a love of music, literature and art. It was from her that he first heard about the projects of the aircraft of the great Leonardo da Vinci. Jules Verne's novel "Robur the Conqueror" became his favorite book, which told about a giant airship - the prototype of a helicopter. Flying in an airship once dreamed of him and became a dream of a lifetime.

Igor Ivanovich began to study at the 1st Kyiv Gymnasium, but soon wished to follow in the footsteps of his older brother and entered the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg. He liked the environment naval officers where he found real friends. However, every year he became more and more aware of his true calling. At the end of general education classes, he leaves the building in order to enter a higher technical institution and become an engineer. But the year was 1906, Russian educational institutions were experiencing the consequences of revolutionary events and actually did not work. In order not to waste time, the young Sikorsky leaves to study in Paris, at the Duvigno de Lano Technical School.

A year later, he returns and enters the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. However, he is so taken with the idea of ​​building a flying machine that he forgets about his studies. He received an engineering diploma in 1914. "Honoris Causa" at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute for the creation of multi-engine airships.

Like many other aviation pioneers, Sikorsky began with flying models. He built his first model at the age of twelve. It was a helicopter - he was already interested in vertically taking off vehicles. In 1908-1909. he consults with leading domestic and foreign experts, visits France and Germany, buys the engine and the necessary parts of the structure. And in July 1909, in the courtyard of his Kyiv house, a twenty-year-old student completes the assembly of the first helicopter in Russia, brought to the stage of full-scale tests. However, its lifting force was still insufficient. In early spring next year, Sikorsky builds a second helicopter according to the same scheme. This rotorcraft was able to lift its own weight. At the same time, Sikorsky successfully experiments with snowmobiles of his own design. On them, as well as on helicopters, he learns to design and build propellers, and then directs all his energy to create more promising machines at that time - aircraft.

Together with another student of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, F.I. Bylinkin, at the Kurenevsky airfield in Kyiv, Sikorsky is building a shed-workshop, where their first aircraft is born - a small two-pillar BiS-1 biplane. Alas, the engine power was not enough for takeoff, he could only bounce. Sikorsky managed to take to the air for the first time only on June 3, 1910 on another machine - BiS-2 (S-2). The capricious Anzani engines prevented this aircraft, as well as the modifications that followed it, from becoming truly manned vehicles. But the young designer did not lose hope. The family supported him in all endeavors.

Success came when in the spring of 1911 the fifth Sikorsky aircraft, the S-5, was built, which surpassed the previous ones in size, power and reliability of the power plant. On this biplane, Sikorsky passed the exam for the title of pilot, set four all-Russian records, made demonstration flights and even gave passengers a ride. At the beginning of September 1911, military maneuvers took place. A talented young designer took part in them and demonstrated the superiority of his aircraft over foreign aircraft. Around the same time, he built several light aircraft in his own workshop on the orders of his friends - Kyiv students. He liked to be not only a designer and constant tester of his aircraft, but also a training pilot. Newspapers and magazines started talking about the aviation workshops and the flight school of the Kyiv student, he was called the "Russian Farman".

In the same year, 1911, Sikorsky developed his sixth aircraft (C-6) with a more powerful engine and a three-seater cabin. On it, he set a world speed record in flight with two passengers. Working on improving the aerodynamic characteristics of this model, the designer built a small aerodynamic laboratory. The modernized C-6A aircraft deserved the Big gold medal Moscow Aeronautical Exhibition in April 1912, and shortly before that, the Russian Technical Society awarded Sikorsky Medal of Honor"for useful work on aeronautics and for the independent development of an airplane of his system, which gave excellent results."

Career

The half-educated student immediately received two very flattering offers from St. Petersburg: firstly, he was invited to the post of chief engineer of the naval aviation being established; secondly, - to the position of designer of the newly formed aeronautical department of the joint-stock company "Russian-Baltic Wagon Plant" (RBVZ). He accepted both and moved with a group of closest collaborators from Kyiv to the capital of the empire.

Thanks to this combination of circumstances, Sikorsky managed to make a great contribution to the creation of a special kind of troops - Russian aviation navy, and he can rightfully be considered one of its founders. However, after serving only a year, he retired from the naval service, giving himself entirely to work at the RBVZ. From the summer of 1912, he became both the chief designer and manager at this plant. Big influence the fate of Igor Ivanovich was influenced by the outstanding organizer of the domestic engineering industry, the chairman of the board of the RBVZ, M.V. Shidlovsky. He made a bet on a twenty-three-year-old student and was not mistaken. At RBVZ, one after another, new Sikorsky aircraft appear - biplanes and monoplanes - which arouse invariable admiration both among the general public and specialists and bring Russia fame as one of the leading aviation powers. The creation of each aircraft meant an important leap forward. During only 1912 and 1913. thanks to the talent and work of Sikorsky, the following appeared in Russia: the first seaplane; the first aircraft sold abroad; the first specially designed training aircraft; first production aircraft; the first monocoque aircraft; the first aerobatic aircraft, etc. Three aircraft designed by Sikorsky came out as winners at international competitions for military aircraft, proving in a bitter struggle their advantages over the latest foreign aircraft. The S-10 reconnaissance aircraft had a dozen and a half modifications, which by the beginning of the First World War formed the basis of the naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet. The maneuverable S-12 was also mass-produced and then successfully used at the front. At the same time, licensed production of some types of foreign aircraft was established at the plant. Thus, Sikorsky can rightly be counted among the founders of the domestic aviation industry.

"Russian Knight" and "Ilya Muromets"

On Russian soil, Sikorsky was destined to give life to one of his greatest creations. Back in 1911, after a forced landing that almost cost him his life, Igor Ivanovich thought about ways to improve the reliability of aircraft and directions for their further development. By the middle of next year, he had already thoroughly developed the concept of a promising aircraft, specially designed for operation in the vast Russian expanses in our difficult climate.

In accordance with this concept, the device was designed multi-engine, with a crew of several people, access to the main parts of the structure for repair in the air was also provided. The possibility of such a gigantic aircraft was dismissed at the time by most aviation authorities. Nevertheless, the chairman of the board of RBVZ supported his twenty-three-year-old chief designer. And in March 1913, the world's first four-engine air giant was built.

At first it received the name S-9 "Grand", and after some modifications - "Russian Knight". The rumor about the air giant rolled across Russia. In Europe, they were surprised and did not believe. Emperor Nicholas expressed a desire to examine it. The plane was transferred to Krasnoe Selo, the king boarded. Soon Sikorsky was transferred from him memorable gift- gold watch. The aircraft, which was superior in size and take-off weight to all those built so far, marked the beginning of a new direction in aviation - heavy aircraft construction. It became the prototype for all subsequent passenger airliners, heavy bombers and transport aircraft.

The creation of multi-engine giant aircraft brought Sikorsky world fame. He became national hero Russia. Cars similar to the Russian Knight appeared abroad only a few years later. Further development of the design of the Russian Knight is the four-engine Ilya Muromets. He took to the air already in December of the same 1913. Rearranged on floats, he remained until 1917 the largest seaplane in the world. For the first time in the world, serial production of air giants began at RBVZ.

During the First World War, the Muromets were effectively used as heavy bombers and long-range reconnaissance aircraft. Of these, the "Squadron of Airships" was formed - the first connection strategic aviation. Sikorsky himself participated in the organization of the squadron, trained the crews and practiced their tactics. combat use. He spent a lot of time at the front, watching his aircraft in action, and making the necessary changes to their design. A total of 85 Muromtsevs of six main types were built. Each type had a number of modifications.

In addition to heavy bombers, Sikorsky created in 1914-1917. light fighters, naval reconnaissance, light reconnaissance fighter, twin-engine fighter-bomber and attack aircraft, i.e. an almost complete fleet of aircraft of all types used in the World War. In addition, under the leadership of Igor Ivanovich, aircraft engines, equipment and weapons were developed and mass-produced, new factories were built for their production. A powerful diversified domestic aviation industry was being formed. Total in Russia in 1909-1917. Sikorsky created two and a half dozen basic aircraft models (not counting their modifications and joint developments), two helicopters, three snowmobiles and one aircraft engine.

The government appreciated the man who multiplied the power and glory of the country. At the age of 25, Sikorsky became a knight of the Order of St. Vladimir IV degree, equal in value to the Order of St. George, but in the civil sphere. By the age of 28, he was already a national hero. But all this did not turn his head. He was full creative plans and far from worldly fuss.

Emigration

The revolution abruptly changed the fate of the famous designer. From the middle of 1917, all work at the RBVZ practically stopped. None of the aircraft of the new design (S-21 - S-27) was completed. Production was in a fever with rallies and strikes. Soldiers at the front and workers in the rear began cracking down on officers and engineers they disliked. Sikorsky was known for his devotion to the throne. He has been threatened before. But with the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the last hopes for the restoration of the former order disappeared. Igor Ivanovich accepts the invitation of the French government to continue working at the Allied factories. Leaving his young wife and newly born daughter Tatyana in the care of relatives, he sails in March 1918 from Murmansk abroad.

The First World War ended before Sikorsky had time to build the French version of Ilya Muromets. There were no more jobs in France. Russia is engulfed in civil war. In 1919, Igor Ivanovich decides to move to the USA, where, as he believed, there are more prospects for heavy aircraft construction.

However, overseas, as in post-war Europe, the aircraft industry was rapidly declining. Sikorsky, who arrived in New York, found himself without a livelihood and was forced to work as an evening school teacher. In 1923, he managed to put together a company of Russian emigrants involved in aviation - engineers, workers and pilots. They formed the backbone of the small aircraft manufacturing firm Sikorsky Aeroengineering Corporation established in New York. Life somehow got better. Two sisters and a daughter came from the USSR. His wife refused to emigrate, and Igor Ivanovich entered into a second marriage with Elizaveta Alekseevna Semenova. The marriage was happy. Four sons appeared one after another: Sergei, Nikolai, Igor and George.

The first Sikorsky S-29 aircraft built in exile was assembled in 1924 in a chicken coop that belonged to one of the founders of Russian naval aviation, V.V. Uthgofu. Many of our emigrants provided assistance to the "Russian firm". S. V. Rakhmaninov at one time was even listed as the vice-president of the corporation.

This twin-engine biplane became the largest in America and one of the best in its class. He immediately gained world fame, which was an unpleasant surprise for the Bolsheviks, who did not expect new success from the “tsar's godson and Black Hundreds” they hated. "Aviation White Guard" - this is how the Soviet press responded to reports of the emergence of a "Russian company" in the United States. The name of Sikorsky was given political anathema.

But the 20s were coming. The time for heavy transport aircraft had not yet come - there was almost no demand for them. Sikorsky had to switch to light aviation. First, a single-engine reconnaissance aircraft appeared, then a single-engine passenger, an aviette and a twin-engine amphibian. All aircraft (S-31-S-34) were sold, but experience has shown that the American aircraft market is already well supplied light cars. The designer again began to try his luck on heavy biplanes. This time they were intended for a flight across the Atlantic. In case of success, the creators of the first transoceanic aircraft were expected not only by world fame, but also by solid orders. Having learned about this, Russian emigrants scattered all over the world perceived the construction of the giant S-35 as the most important national cause and began to send Sikorsky their modest savings from all over the world. In the future, it was supposed to use such aircraft to form a national Russian airline under the auspices of the heir to the throne - Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. Alas, Sikorsky failed: the S-35 crashed under mysterious circumstances at the time of launch. And when the next giant was built, the transatlantic flight had already been completed. This aircraft, like the previous ones, remained only in a few copies.

For the development of the company, it was necessary to create a machine that was in great demand. She became a ten-seat twin-engine amphibian. Newspapers wrote that the S-38 amphibious "revolutionized aviation" that it flew, landed and splashed down "where only Indian pies and hunter boats used to be." There were legends about the reliability and safety of the amphibian.

"Sikorsky Aviation"

"Russian company" Sikorsky, renamed "Sikorsky Aviation Corporation", received a lot of orders and reliably "got on the wing." The firm moved from Long Island, where it rented premises, to its own plant in Stratford, near Bridgeport, Connecticut.

In June 1929, she was accepted into the powerful corporation United Aircraft and Transport (now United Technologies), of which she exists today. Having lost its independence, Sikorsky's firm received reliable economic support on the eve of the Great Depression. It is interesting to note that in 1929, three of the five aircraft manufacturing firms that were part of the corporation (Sikorsky, Hamilton and Chance-Vout) had "white émigrés" as chief designers.

"Sikorsky Aviation" quickly gained strength, its staff increased. Its main creative backbone was still made up of emigrants from Russia. Sikorsky's reliable support, his first assistant and deputy, was the outstanding designer and scientist, aerodynamicist Mikhail Evgenievich Glukharev. His younger brother Sergei was also a talented designer and organizer. In addition to the Glukharev brothers, talented engineers Mikhail Byuvid, Boris Labensky and Nikolai Gladkevich spent their entire emigre life next to Sikorsky. About his closest friends and associates, the chief designer said: "They are ready to die for me, just as I am for them." For a long time, the legendary pilot Boris Vasilyevich Sergievsky worked as the chief pilot of the company, the heads of various services were Vyacheslav Kudryavtsev, Baron Nikolai Solovyov, Georgy Meirer, Vladimir Bari, Leonid Lapin and many other well-known engineers and production managers in America and abroad.

Sikorsky's "Russian Firm" became a Mecca for emigrants. Many immigrants from the former Russian Empire who previously had nothing to do with aviation. Regular officers of the fleet, such as S. de Bosset, V. Kachinsky and V. Ofenberg, having worked hard as workers and draftsmen, headed various divisions of the company. A simple worker at the firm was Admiral B.A. Blokhin. A well-known historiographer of the white movement, Cossack General S.V.Denisov prepared his historical research while working as a night watchman for the Sikorsky Corporation. Some of the Russian emigrants subsequently left the firm and glorified their names in other enterprises and in other areas. Well-known aviation scientists came out of Sikorsky's firm - teachers of American universities N.A. Aleksandrov, V.N. Gartsev, A.A. Nikolsky, I.A. Sikorsky and others. Baron Solovyov created his own aviation company on Long Island. Sergievsky founded a helicopter design company in New York. Meirer organized production at another "Russian" aircraft manufacturing company, Seversky. V.V. Utgof became one of the organizers of the US Coast Guard Aviation. The first priest of the factory church, Father S.I. Antonyuk, received the post of archbishop of Western Canada. Sergey Bobylev, the head of the model shop of the company, founded a large construction company. Cavalry General K.K.Agoev organized in Stratford a stable of tribal horses known throughout America.

The existence of the Sikorsky firm in Stratford contributed to the emergence of a powerful Russian colony in this city. Exiles from our country settled closer to their own. Many of them have never worked for the Sikorsky Corporation, but nevertheless they always treated the head and founder of this enterprise with great respect. Igor Ivanovich until the end of his life remained one of the most respected residents of the city. He did a lot for the colony of compatriots. Emigrants opened a club, a school, built Orthodox church St. Nicholas and even created a Russian opera. Since then, some areas of Stratford have Russian names: Churaevka, Russian Beach, Dachi, etc. It is interesting to note that some emigrants who lived in this city and moved only in the Russian environment never learned English.

Amphibians Sikorsky

Sikorsky created successful serial amphibians: a five-seat "flying yacht", a sixteen-seat amphibian and a forty-five-seat "air clipper" S-40. Four-engine aircraft of this type became the first serial heavy passenger airliners that were operated on long-distance regular airlines. When testing the first "clipper", Sikorsky, having entered the passenger compartment, suddenly discovered that in reality he sees a complete repetition of the dream that he had in childhood. The dream came true after 30 years!

On amphibians and "flying boats" of Sikorsky, the world-famous airline "Pan American" became established. She also ordered the aircraft designer multi-engine passenger airliners designed for regular transoceanic transportation. The first elegant "flying boat" S-42 arrived in 1934 on a passenger line connecting both continents of America, the second in 1935 opened flights across the Pacific Ocean. In 1937, the first passenger flights across the Atlantic began on serial aircraft of this type. So Sikorsky's "flying boat" became the first aircraft to reliably connect the continents. Based on the four-engine S-42, the designer created a smaller twin-engine amphibian, which was widely used in different parts of the world and acquired by many countries, including Soviet Union. The purchased "White émigré" amphibian was even filmed in the famous movie "Volga-Volga", symbolizing the success of socialist construction.

Sikorsky's last aircraft was the large four-engine "flying boat" S-44, created in 1937. It was quite a good aircraft, but the time of "air clippers" has irrevocably passed, the giant amphibious S-45 remained in the project. Orders for boats and amphibians plummeted. The board of United Aircraft even decided to merge Sikorsky with Chane Vout. To restore independence, the fifty-year-old designer had to urgently “change the genre”, look for a more promising niche. And here again, as before, he was helped by the support of old comrades-in-arms, Russian emigrants. They rejected seemingly tempting invitations to return to their homeland, to Soviet Russia, and began in 1938 to develop a fundamentally new and at that time still unknown to anyone aircraft- helicopter. The great designer for the third time began his creative career practically from scratch, in the backyard of the united Vout-Sikorsky plant. Waiting for him ahead new glory perhaps surpassing anything he had previously achieved.

Helicopters again

The first experimental helicopter Sikorsky took to the air under his control on September 14, 1939. It had a single-rotor scheme with a swashplate and a tail rotor. At present, this scheme has become a classic, over 90% of helicopters around the world have been built according to it, but then most aircraft designers considered it unpromising.

After two years of intense testing and fine-tuning of the experimental apparatus, in 1942, an experimental two-seat helicopter S-47 (R-4) was created, which soon entered mass production. It was the only helicopter of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition used on the fronts of the Second World War. Sikorsky's shares went up again. The board of United Aircraft restored the independence of Sikorsky Aircraft, which soon received a new production base of its own in Bridgeport. This base remained the main center of the Sikorsky firm until 1955, when, due to a large increase in orders, a new plant was built in Stratford, where Sikorsky returned his residence.

Over time, more advanced Sikorsky light helicopters appeared. Particularly great success fell on the lot of the post-war S-51. It was widely used in many states for both combat and civilian purposes, withstood intense competition with aircraft from other helicopter companies. This helicopter especially distinguished itself in operations to save human lives. It was this appointment that Sikorsky considered the main one for the helicopter. With the acquisition of a license for the S-51, serial helicopter production began in the UK. The light S-52 became the first helicopter in the world to perform aerobatics.

As before in aircraft construction, the greatest success awaited Sikorsky in the field of creating heavy machines. Here he had no equal. In contrast to the opinion prevailing at that time, he built a three-and-a-half-ton helicopter in 1949 according to the classical single-rotor scheme, and in 1953 a fourteen-ton helicopter, proving the possibility of using such a scheme for helicopters of any weight class. Brilliantly changing the lineup, Sikorsky created transport helicopters that were extremely successful for their time. With a license for the S-55, the serial helicopter industry of France began. Indirectly, Sikorsky also influenced the development of the helicopter industry in his homeland. The successful use of the Sikorsky helicopter in Korea, the first transatlantic flight forced Soviet leaders to pay attention to rotorcraft.

All attempts by competitors to create something close in performance to the S-56 were unsuccessful. He had no analogues at all. It was the largest and most lifting helicopter equipped with piston engines. Having set world records, he was recognized not only as the most lifting, but also the fastest. Subsequently, Sikorsky built an experimental fuselageless crane helicopter, which allows to increase the weight of the transported cargo and simplify loading operations.

The best helicopter created by Sikorsky took to the air in 1954. It was the S-58. It was built by a number of countries, and many of its copies are still in operation. According to their flight technical and economic characteristics it surpassed all helicopters of its time. He became the "swan song" of the great aircraft designer. In 1958, when the serial production of this helicopter reached its peak - 400 machines per year, Sikorsky retired, retaining the position of adviser to the company.

At an unreachable height

He left the post of head when the firm was in a flourishing state. None of the competing helicopter firms could compare with it in terms of technological and laboratory equipment, in terms of the number of employees, the volume and variety of products, and the number of guaranteed orders.

The powerful groundwork left by Sikorsky and constant consultations with him contributed to the creation in the late 50s and early 60s at the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation of successful helicopters of a new, second generation, main feature which was applied gas turbine engines instead of pistons.

The founder of the world helicopter industry for a long time remained at an unattainable height. Under his leadership, helicopters of all existing classes were created and brought to serial production. He was called "helicopter pilot number 1." In the USA, he created 17 basic types of aircraft and 18 helicopters.

The great designer never hid his negative attitude towards the events that took place in his homeland, but at the same time he always remained a patriot of Russia. “We need to work, and most importantly, to learn what will help us restore the Motherland when it demands it from us,” he said, referring to his compatriot emigrants. He did a lot to promote the achievements of Russian culture and science in America, remaining a permanent member of the board of the Tolstoy Foundation, the Society of Russian Culture, etc. He provided moral and financial support to immigrants from Russia, various public and political emigrant organizations. He gave lectures and reports, and not necessarily on aviation topics. Being a deeply religious person, Sikorsky greatly contributed to the development of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA, supported it not only financially. He wrote a number of books and pamphlets (in particular, The Invisible Encounter, The Evolution of the Soul, and In Search of Higher Realities), which are considered by experts to be among the most original works of Russian theological thought abroad.

During his life, Sikorsky received over 80 various honorary awards, prizes and diplomas. Among them are the Russian Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree, which has already been mentioned here, as well as the medals of David Guggenheim, James Watt, a diploma from the National Gallery of Inventors' Fame. In 1948 he was presented with a rare award - the Wright Brothers Memorial Prize, and in 1967 he was awarded the John Fritz Medal of Honor for scientific and technological achievements in the field of fundamental and applied sciences. In aviation, besides him, only Orville Wright was awarded it. Sikorsky was honorary doctor of many universities.

What was he like, this outstanding aircraft designer? Of medium height, with a soft, even shy, manner of speaking and behavior, he possessed remarkable strength, moral and physical. He loved to travel, traveled all over America by car, visited many countries of the world. He was fond of mountaineering, conquered many peaks of America and Canada. Volcanoes were his special love - "a mighty and majestic phenomenon of nature", according to Sikorsky. He preferred solitude to human communication, driving away from the bustle of the city by car.

In 1917, Sikorsky married, but this marriage was short-lived. He had a daughter, Tatyana, a future professor of sociology at the University of Bridgeport. The second time Sikorsky married in 1924 to Elizaveta Alekseevna Semenova. Their first-born Sergey worked in his father's company, was its vice president. The remaining three sons chose other professions: Nikolai became a violinist, Igor - a lawyer, Georgy - a mathematician.

A deeply religious man, Sikorsky not only financially supported the Russian Orthodox Church in America, but was himself an author. Remembering your distress in the first years of his stay in America, he provided material assistance to various emigrant organizations.

Sikorsky died on October 26, 1972 and was buried in the town of Easton, Connecticut. During his life, he was awarded many honorary titles and awards, but his main award is the gratitude of people who widely use the machines he created. And among these grateful people are the presidents of the United States, who, starting with Dwight Eisenhower, fly helicopters with the inscription “Sikorsky” on the board.

“Nature” No. 9 1998 p. 71

Igor Sikorsky short biography outlined in this article.

Igor Sikorsky short biography

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky- Russian and American aircraft designer, scientist, inventor

He began his studies at the 1st Kyiv gymnasium. From 1903 to 1906 he studied at the St. Petersburg Naval School. In 1907 he entered the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. He built his first helicopter model at the age of 19.

In 1908-1911, he built his first two simplest coaxial helicopters without a swashplate. The carrying capacity of the apparatus built in September 1909 reached 9 pounds, none of the helicopters built could take off with a pilot, and Sikorsky switched to building aircraft.

In January 1910 he tested a snowmobile of his own design.

In 1910, he took to the air the first aircraft of his design C-2.

In 1911 he received a diploma of a pilot.

From 1912 to 1917 he worked as a chief designer in the department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works in St. Petersburg.

In 1912-1914, he created in St. Petersburg the Grand (Russian Knight), Ilya Muromets aircraft, which marked the beginning of multi-engine aviation.

In 1915, Sikorsky created the world's first mass-produced escort fighter, the C-XVI, for joint operations with Ilya Muromets bombers and protecting their airfields from enemy aircraft.

On February 18, 1918, Sikorsky, through Arkhangelsk, free from the Bolsheviks, left Russia, first to London, and then to Paris.

In March 1919, Sikorsky emigrated to the United States, settled in the New York area, at first earning money by teaching mathematics. In 1923, he founded the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation, an aviation firm, where he assumed the position of president.

Until 1939, Sikorsky created about 15 types of aircraft. Since 1939, he switched to the design of single-rotor helicopters with a swashplate, which became widespread.

The first experimental helicopter Vought-Sikorsky 300, created by Sikorsky in the United States, took off from the ground on September 14, 1939. In essence, it was a modernized version of his first Russian helicopter created back in July 1909.

The site browser studied the biography of the founder of Sikorsky Aircraft, Igor Sikorsky, who stood at the origins of the aviation industry in Russia and the United States and created many revolutionary developments.

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Childhood and studies

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was born in 1889 in Kyiv, in the family of Professor Ivan Alekseevich Sikorsky. The father of the future entrepreneur came from the family of a rural priest and went from a seminarian to one of the luminaries of world psychiatry. Igor's mother Maria Stepanovna (some sources call her Zinaida Stepanovna) had a medical education, but instead of working in her specialty, she was engaged in raising five children. Igor Ivanovich was the youngest in the family.

Igor's childhood passed in a calm and creative atmosphere. His parents instilled in him diligence and the ability to follow his dreams. Maria Sikorskaya introduced her son to the world of literature and talked a lot about famous people. The future aircraft designer was struck by Leonardo da Vinci and his aircraft, similar to a helicopter.

One of Igor's favorite books was Robur the Conqueror by Jules Verne, which tells about the inventor of the helicopter. Sikorsky even created a small model of a helicopter that could take to the air. There is also evidence that in childhood he had an unusual dream in which he was on board an airship.

Igor is already early age easily assimilated new information and willingly designed. After the First Kyiv Gymnasium, he voluntarily entered the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg. Theoretical studies seemed too tiring to the young man - going out to sea was an outlet for him.

Although training was easy for Igor, he did not see himself as a military man and left the cadet corps after completing the general course in 1906. I needed to continue my studies somewhere. Due to the revolution of 1905-1907, part of the higher educational institutions countries did not work. As a result, Sikorsky went to the Duvigno de Lano technical school in France. There he studied for six months and returned to Kyiv, where he entered the Polytechnic Institute.

He did not indulge teachers with his presence at lectures, as before, preferring practical classes. Igor set up a small workshop for inventions at home. Most of all, those around him were impressed by his steam motorcycle.

The first attempts to create a helicopter

Everything changed in 1908 and a trip to Germany for the holidays. Here information about the Zeppelins and the plane of the Wright brothers fell into the hands of Sikorsky. Struck by these discoveries, he thought about a new flying device that could hover motionless in the air, take off and land without acceleration. Right in the hotel room, he set about creating a model. Some ideas were tested experimentally and even achieved little success.

Returning to Kyiv, Sikorsky continued to develop a model of his aircraft. He forgot about studying at the institute and did not pay attention to the money that was spent on experiments. I began to read thematic literature, but there were still too few such publications. The young man realized that in order to achieve a result, you need to go to Paris, where there is an opportunity to gain knowledge and acquire the necessary parts. Some of the relatives were skeptical about his impulse, but his father supported the idea.

In Paris, Sikorsky spent days on end at a local makeshift airfield, watching the first planes - among all of them, only copies of the Wright brothers' apparatus took off. Here he met one of the first aircraft builders, Ferdinand Ferber. Ferber was impressed by the young man who asked the right questions, and he invited him to his small school for the same enthusiasts. All you had to do was make a small donation. Sikorsky diligently outlined the information received.

True, he did not receive answers to all his questions this time either. Ferber and his students believed that creating a helicopter was unrealistic. But Igor asked one of the experts about the most suitable motor, bought Anzani on his advice, and in addition a few more books, and in 1909 returned to Kyiv. He turned a small house in the family garden into his factory, where he worked day and night on the first project.

The first attempt to create a helicopter ended ambiguously. The second version could take off without a pilot, and it was the first helicopter in Russia capable of lifting at least its own weight into the air. The achievements of Sikorsky were written in the press, but he was forced to postpone his project until better times. The engineer himself noted that at that time he simply did not have enough experience, resources and technical equipment.

At the head of a group of enthusiasts

Sikorsky's new undertaking was his own aircraft. In 1909, the Kiev Aeronautics Society was established, and it is easy to guess that Sikorsky was one of its leaders. The second head was Fedor Bylinkin, who created a copy of the Wright brothers' aircraft from a photograph - however, his model did not fly.

Two enthusiasts set to work, and in 1910 the C-1 aircraft, or BiS-1, was created. His maximum achievement, despite all the improvements, was a very short lift off the ground by half a meter. In June 1910, a new aircraft model, the S-2 (BiS-2), was ready. His tests were carried out on the third of June, and he was able to take off into the air and fly almost 200 meters at a height of about 1.5 meters. It was the third flight of an aircraft created in the Russian Empire. The first two tests had taken place the week before.

The next day, Sikorsky continued to test the car: this time he had to fly higher and fly a longer distance. Sikorsky raised the S-2 to a height of three meters, but after that he just fell to the ground. This went on several times. The most good luck allowed the tester to climb to the height of a four-story building, but it was followed by an unsuccessful landing, and the plane crashed again, this time also receiving severe damage.

The study of the causes and elimination of shortcomings began again. Almost a month later, on June 29, S-2 was able to fly from one end of the airfield to the other at a height of four meters. The next day, an attempt was made to fly in a circle. Sikorsky raised the S-2 to eight meters and stayed in the air for about eight minutes, but at the most crucial moment he fell and was practically destroyed. Fortunately, the aircraft designer himself was not injured, but everything had to be started all over again.

In 1928, the new S-38 model was ready, which provided Sikorsky Manufacturing with growth. It accommodated two pilots and ten passengers. The S-38 was also an amphibious aircraft. His tests made it possible to call the S-38 the best of its type. Orders from the ministry and the same Pan America soon fell on Sikorsky's company. Further even better - representatives of Canada and South American countries began to acquire the S-38. Soon there were so many orders that it was impossible to fulfill them.

Sikorsky began to expand production and set up a factory in Bridgeport. The company was renamed Sikorsky Aviation. Now it was possible to purchase all the necessary equipment and increase the staff. The Sikorsky plant was recognized as the best in the US in its industry, there was a lot of work, and things were going well. The Great Depression confused plans a little, but at that moment Sikorsky's companies were just offered to become part of United Aircraft. By agreeing, the aircraft designer secured himself financially and protected the company from the crisis.

In the early 1930s, Pan America ordered a large and roomy passenger aircraft. In 1931, Sikorsky created the S-40, which could carry 40 passengers and carry people 500 miles. A total of three such aircraft were ordered; as before, they were amphibious.

Pan America's next order was for a passenger aircraft that could fly 4,000 kilometers in 50 kilometers per hour headwinds. It was a new challenge to the genius of Sikorsky, but the aircraft designer completed the task. The S-42 was ready at the end of 1933, and in the spring of 1934 it began to be tested. The aircraft reached speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour, during test flights per day set eight world records, and their total number for this model reached ten.

In autumn, the S-42 officially entered service. Its first direction was the US-Argentina flights. The next aircraft in this series, the S-42 Pan America Clipper, was adapted in connection with the customer's comments. The range of his flight was 5 thousand kilometers, and he made flights in the direction of the USA - New Zealand.

Sikorsky, who received almost worldwide fame, began to travel to conferences and talk about his vision of the industry. In 1935, two new amphibians of his design were created. The first, the S-43, set several world altitude records. Among them, for example, the maximum height for amphibians is 7620 meters. More than 32 aircraft were bought together by Pan America and the US government. The development was not ignored by the USSR, having bought two S-43s.

Another S-44 model was developed as an experimental bomber, but failed to win the government competition. According to rumors, the failure was due to the influence of a third party. Then Sikorsky felt what it meant to be dependent on a large corporation. Production of the S-44 was cancelled, but not because of problems with the aircraft. United Aircraft sold engines to Consolidated, whose aircraft could not compete with Sikorsky's designs.

Consolidated management simply threatened that they would stop buying engines if the production of the S-44 did not stop. United Aircraft followed their lead, and after a while merged Sikorsky Aircraft with Vought, which was engaged in military development. Sikorsky found himself on the sidelines and no longer took an active part in the design of aircraft. There is a version that all these actions were taken due to the end of the amphibian era.

Creation of helicopters. Restoration of Sikorsky Aircraft positions

It was unbearable for Sikorsky to do ordinary work, so even before the end of the 1930s he turned to the management of United Aircraft with his old dream - the development of a helicopter. The Board of Directors gave permission for the project, especially since by this time the necessary developments were already enough. They just did not like the single-rotor system that the aircraft designer preferred.

Development of the first Sikorsky helicopter, called the VS-300, progressed very slowly. The first stage was bench tests - only after their satisfactory results, permission was received to create a helicopter model. The VS-300 was ready in September 1939 and was a rough test model: its shortcomings were noticed already in the first stages of testing. September 14, when the helicopter first took to the air, surfaced all its shortcomings, including control. During one of the flights, the helicopter rolled over and was badly damaged.

Sikorsky gradually collected data and improved the VS-300. In 1940, the helicopter successfully made the first flight without a leash. Sikorsky hoped to get a contract from the US War Department, offering them the development of a modification of the VS-316, but a different model was preferred.

The aircraft designer was helped by his reputation: although the US government did not choose the VS-300, the officers reacted to the developments with great interest. The model was especially liked by Lieutenant Colonel Gregory, who was instructed to select suitable helicopter designs just in case.

The VS-300 was an excellent machine, but it still had its shortcomings - most notably the fact that it couldn't fly forward. The problem was solved for a long time, and Sikorsky joked that it was easier to rearrange the pilot's seat to the other side, because the helicopter flies perfectly backwards. Crashes continued due to the air resonance problem, and the VS-300 had more than one crash.

Nevertheless, the helicopter got better each time and in 1941 was already quite stable. The US government, in order not to put everything on one card, supported the development, and Sikorsky received funding for the VS-316. In the army, its code name was XR-4.

Before the start of production, testing of the VS-300 continued, which set several world records, including staying in the air. In 1941, its development finally finally ended. During this time, the helicopter was remade 18 times.

In 1941, the two-seat XR-4 helicopter was created, thanks to the data received, development was no longer such a difficult task. It first took off in mid-January 1942, and then testing began. In operation, the XR-4 performed well. The soldiers were happy new model, independently tested it and confirmed its suitability.

In December 1942, an order was received for 30 helicopters of this type. The serial model, unlike the experimental one, was called the R-4. A few months later, the British government ordered 200 R-4s, and later 800 more, but only about 130 were ever built. This helicopter has been widely used not only for military purposes, but also in rescue operations.

The success of the Sikorsky helicopters forced United Aircraft to reconsider its policy regarding the division, and it was again made a separate company within the holding.

In 1943, the R-5, also known as the S-48 and H-5, was ready. Technically, it was considered more advanced than its predecessor, but did not achieve much success due to the too compact cabin. This did not prevent the release and sale of more than 60 of these helicopters. The R-5 replaced the S-49, which was modified to take into account the shortcomings of its predecessor.

The end of the war complicated the company's position a little: over the years, 500 helicopters of various versions were produced, but now the military was not so in demand. Sikorsky's success in the helicopter industry interested not only American manufacturers, but also other countries. The level of competition has increased significantly, but this has not stopped the growth of the company. In 1946, Sikorsky Aircraft received an order for 379 helicopters of the new S-51 model, which even had an autopilot. This model began to be used for postal and passenger transportation.

In the mid-1940s, Sikorsky competed with might and main with Frank Piasecki. Their helicopters participated in the next competition, where the US Navy selected the ideal vehicle for aircraft carriers. The S-53 was not much inferior to its rival, but lost because of its smaller compactness.

Sikorsky found something to answer when creating the S-55 heavy helicopter. Unlike competitors, he used a single-screw design and succeeded. The carrying capacity of the S-55 was a ton, it went on its first flight in 1949, and two years later its serial production began.

Until 1964, more than 1200 S-55s were produced only for the United States, and many countries around the world bought a license to build it. Piasecki's heavy helicopters did not achieve such success and lost the competition. The next model of the Sikorsky S-56 had a carrying capacity of almost 5 tons and again outperformed all competitors. Piasetsky, with his YH-16, could not even get a production contract, and more than 150 S-56 helicopters were produced.

Even in the direction of medium helicopters, where Pyasetsky produced about 700 vehicles over the decade, Sikorsky outperformed him. S-58 and its modifications were included in the list best helicopters of its time, as a result, about 2108 pieces were produced. Sikorsky Aircraft had to open another plant to fulfill all the contracts that fell on them. It is the S-58 that is considered the latest development of Sikorsky.

The great aircraft designer retired in 1957, remaining as a consultant to the company until the end of his life. In particular, the famous S-60 crane helicopter was created with his participation. Sikorsky died in 1972 at the age of 82. His company now exists as a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin.

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky is one of the prominent people whose influence on the world is still felt today. Starting out of pure enthusiasm, he became one of the founders of the aviation industry. He went through all sorts of crises and failures, but never once doubted his vocation, nor that his projects would succeed.

Multi-engine heavy aircraft, amphibious aircraft and single-rotor helicopters - all this appeared thanks to Igor Sikorsky. Why the best designer of the country left his homeland, and how his fate was overseas - in our material

Aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky was born in Kyiv on May 25, 1889, in the family of the famous psychiatrist Ivan Alekseevich Sikorsky. The father, who brought up the future aircraft designer according to his own methodology, conveyed to him devotion to the Church, the Throne and the Fatherland, helped to develop a strong will and perseverance in achieving the goal. According to legend, Jules Verne's "Robur the Conqueror" was Sikorsky's favorite book, which tells about the prototype of a helicopter, and the future designer once dreamed of flying an unusual aircraft and became a dream of his whole life.

Sikorsky studied at the St. Petersburg Naval School, later at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, where the future designer attended the Aeronautics circle. By 1909, he built his first simple helicopter, but the rotorcraft could not take off with a pilot, subsequent attempts to lift the helicopter into the sky also did not bring results, and the inventor switched to creating aircraft. By the age of 22, Igor Sikorsky received a pilot diploma and took to the air the first aircraft of his design C-2.

In 1912, he was invited to St. Petersburg as a designer of the newly founded aeronautical department of the Russian-Baltic Wagon Plant joint-stock company. It is here that Sikorsky will create the world's first multi-engine heavy aircraft "Russian Knight" and "Ilya Muromets". His biplanes and monoplanes brought fame to Russia as one of the leading aviation powers.

However, in 1918 ingenious designer was forced to leave his homeland, fleeing the Red Terror. One of the workers of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works managed to warn the designer that his name was included by the Bolsheviks in the "black list" of monarchists and that he would be shot in the coming days. Leaving his young wife and little daughter in the care of relatives, Sikorsky moved to Murmansk, and from there on an English ship to Paris, he had previously received an invitation from the French government to continue working at the Allied factories. In 1919, the designer decides to go overseas, where, as he believed, there are more prospects for heavy aircraft construction.

Four-engine giants "Russian Knight" and "Ilya Muromets"

Even before the war, Sikorsky came to the conclusion that the future did not belong to small single-engine airplanes, but to large aircraft with two or more engines. According to the designer, such aircraft had an advantage in flight range and transport capabilities. In addition, an apparatus of this type was safer than single-engine counterparts - in the event of a breakdown of one engine, the rest continued to work.

In the winter of 1912, work began on the creation of a four-engine biplane. On May 10, 1913, the four-engine aircraft "Russian Knight" took to the skies for the first time. Three months later, on August 2, 1913, the Sikorsky biplane set a world record for flight duration - 1 hour 54 minutes. This aircraft, which exceeded all the machines of that time in size and take-off weight, became the ancestor of heavy bombers, transporters, reconnaissance aircraft and passenger airliners.

The fuselage of the aircraft was a rectangular frame covered with plywood. The device had two passenger cabins with a storage room for spare parts. In front of the cockpit was an open area with a searchlight and a machine gun.

"Russian Knight" was a real giant - the span of its upper wing was 27 meters, the lower - 20, their total area was 125 square meters. The device could carry 737 kilograms of cargo and fly at a speed of 77 kilometers per hour, accelerating to 90 kilometers per hour.

The "Russian Knight" did not live long. On September 11, 1913, at the competition of military aircraft, the engine that flew over the biplane of the Sikorsky Meller-II aircraft fell off, which fell on the left wing box of the Vityaz. Igor Sikorsky, who at that time was already focusing on the creation of the Ilya Muromets bomber, decided not to restore the damaged aircraft.

On December 23, 1913, the great-grandfather of modern bombers, the S-22, better known as the Ilya Muromets, took to the skies for the first time. It was a wooden biplane huge size with four motors, which were supposed to lift a car weighing more than five tons into the air. "Muromets" had two gun-machine gun platforms - one was located between the chassis skids, the second was to be placed on the fuselage.

During the first flight of the biplane, Sikorsky himself sat at the helm, and six months after testing the machine, the first order for ten aircraft for the Russian army was received. "Muromets" were of particular importance, so the flight crew was formed only by officers. Even the flight mechanic was required to have an officer's rank.

On December 23, 1914, by decree of Emperor Nicholas II, a squadron of airships "Ilya Muromets" was created, headed by Mikhail Shidlovsky. So the world's first connection of heavy four-engine bombers appeared and was "born" Long-range aviation Russia. Between 1914 and 1918, aircraft of the Ilya Muromets series carried out about 400 sorties for reconnaissance and bombardment of enemy targets. During this time, 12 enemy fighters were destroyed, while Russia lost only one Muromets.

By 1917, Sikorsky created drawings of a new, even more powerful "Muromets" "type Zh". It was planned to build up to 120 heavy bombers. But the February Revolution took place, and the gradual collapse of the unique structure of the squadron began. The last sortie "Ilya Muromets" made November 21, 1920. Later, the planes were used on the mail-passenger airline and at the aviation school.

American embodiment of the dream of a Russian genius

On March 30, 1919, Igor Sikorsky arrived in New York, where he got a job as a mathematics teacher at an evening school for Russian emigrants, and he also lectured on aviation and astronomy in various societies. In 1923, together with a group of Russian refugees, the designer founded the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation in the USA, later renamed Sikorsky Aviation. One of the emigrants provided him with a small shed and shed on his farm to work with. There, from improvised materials, Sikorsky built his first aircraft in America. The composer Sergei Rachmaninov helped the designer, who invested five thousand dollars in the company.

The first success of the "Russian company" was brought by amphibious aircraft. Several dozen of these cars were bought by Pan American. The first "flying boat" S-42 entered the passenger line connecting both continents of America in 1934. In the same year, one of the amphibians of the Russian designer set eight world records at once, after which the United States became a leader in world aviation. Three years later, the first passenger flights across the Atlantic began on production aircraft of this type. Later, the inventor admits that he saw the aircraft in a dream while still studying.

The last aircraft of Igor Sikorsky was the four-engine amphibian S-44, created in 1937. The designer's next aircraft, the giant amphibious S-45, remained just a project. Orders for "flying boats" fell rapidly, the time for amphibians is gone forever.

In 1938, Sikorsky had to start his career almost from scratch for the third time. The designer took up the design of a fundamentally new aircraft - a helicopter. A year later, the 50-year-old inventor created the world's first single-rotor helicopter, which became a model for all such machines. Sikorsky himself lifted a new car into the air. Up to this point, the creation of a helicopter with one propeller was considered impossible. “I felt that a vertically taking off apparatus could be an amazing means of saving human lives. Making this idea a reality became the main dream and the main business of my whole life,” Sikorsky told American journalists.

The designer was right, his car saved lives. In 1950, when Korean peninsula an armed conflict broke out, the Sikorsky S-51 helicopter became the only means of salvation for hundreds of American soldiers. The car promptly delivered the wounded to hospitals and helped the soldiers surrounded by the enemy to get to a safe place.

A year later, a revolution took place in combat tactics - the first squadron of the latest S-55 landing helicopters arrived at the front. With their help, the US Army successfully carried out the world's first helicopter-transport operation "Windmill", and a few days later, Sikorsky's vehicles conducted the first helicopter assault operation. In a matter of hours, S-55s delivered a company of marines and eight tons of equipment and ammunition to one of the most inaccessible areas in Korea.

These machines were also in demand in peacetime. Since 1957, almost all US presidents have flown Sikorsky's helicopters. The Russian aircraft designer became the founder of the US helicopter industry, which is by far the most powerful in the world.

Igor Sikorsky died on October 26, 1972, he is buried in the town of Easton. The designer brought all his dreams to life in the USA, but continued to experience the tragedy that befell Russia in the 20th century until his death. The inventor was awarded many honorary titles and awards, but Sikorsky's main achievement is the saving of more than a million human lives, which would have been impossible without single-rotor helicopters.