Today Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich personifies the successful development of the three most important types of modern aircraft. Large four-engine aircraft, giant flying boats and multi-purpose helicopters, which played an important role in the development of aviation, appeared thanks to the genius of the legendary aircraft designer.
Igor Sikorsky: biography
Aviation pioneer was born on May 25, 1889 in Kiev, Ukraine (then - the Russian Empire). His father, Ivan Alekseevich, was a doctor and professor of psychology. Mother also had a medical education, but she never practiced. Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich considered his nationality to be established - his ancestors from the time of Peter I were ministers of the Russian Orthodox Church, therefore, were Russian. One of his earliest recollections was his mother's account of Leonardo da Vinci's attempts to design an aircraft. From that moment, the dream of flying captured his imagination, despite the fact that he had been repeatedly told about the proved impossibility of this. Finally, at the age of 12, Igor Sikorsky built a model of a helicopter. Working on the energy of twisted gum, the structure took to the air. Now the boy knew that his dream was not a reckless fiction.
Inspirational journey
A few years later, when Igor and his father rested in Germany, he learned about the first launches of airships carried out by Count von Zeppelin. He also read about the Wright brothers' successful flights and was amazed that the newspaper reported such a great achievement in small print on the last page. At that moment, Sikorsky decided to devote his life to aviation. His special goal was to develop an apparatus capable of hovering over one point or flying in any desired direction - a helicopter.
He immediately began to conduct his experiments in a small hotel room, creating a rotor and measuring its lifting force. Upon returning to Kiev, Igor left the Polytechnic Institute and began extensive research in the emerging branch of science. He was not even twenty, he had great enthusiasm and many ideas, but little practical experience and money.
Aeronautics school
Soon Igor Sikorsky went to Paris to buy an engine and other parts for his helicopter. There, on the local airfield, the smell of burnt castor oil and the appearance of the imperfect, early models of aircraft trying to fly left an indelible mark on his soul. Sikorsky soon entered the newly created, very informal French aeronautics school, however, an impatient student never got a chance to fly into the air. When buying Anzani's three-cylinder engine, he met Louis Bleriot, who also bought the engine for his new monoplane. A few weeks later, the brave Bleriot entered the history of aviation, having made its first flight through the English Channel. This historical event deeply influenced the further development of aviation.
First designs
By mid-1909, Igor Sikorsky completed his first helicopter. But, no matter how strongly its double rotor rotating in opposite directions cuts through the air, the device did not show the slightest desire to move. Sikorsky finally built a biplane and in June of that year he lifted it several meters into the air. For twelve seconds he tasted success. In the following months, Igor created other prototypes, made short flights on them and often crashed them, which was not uncommon at the dawn of aviation. But he, using intact details, built the following, improved model. Sikorsky was not discouraged by the first failures, because he learned a lot about helicopters and was sure: if not the next aircraft, then the one that comes after him will someday take off.
Confession
By the beginning of spring 1910, the second rotorcraft was prepared for testing, over which Sikorsky worked tirelessly. The helicopter turned out to be as stubborn as its creator. The persistence of the designer was admirable, but gradually he came to the sad conclusion that perhaps he was ahead of his time and should build traditional airplanes.
Over the years of his aviation career, Sikorsky never forgot about his dream of building a truly successful helicopter. Soon he received a pilot’s diploma from the Imperial All-Russian Aero Club and demonstrated his S-5 aircraft at military maneuvers near Kiev. There, the aircraft designer met Tsar Nicholas II. The next S-6A model received the highest award at an air show in Moscow. But a minor incident, when a fuel line became clogged due to a mosquito, and Sikorsky was forced to make an emergency landing, turned out to be fatal.
"Ilya Muromets" - a giant plane
This incident led the aircraft designer to the idea of improving the reliability of the aircraft by using several engines - an unusual and radical concept at that time. Sikorsky proposed to build a four-engine biplane of a huge (at that time) size. The plane received the nickname "Grand". The front of the aircraft had a large open balcony. A roomy passenger compartment was located behind the cockpit.
In May 1913, the aircraft designer made the first test flight on it. This flight was a moment of great personal satisfaction, as many told Sikorsky that such a huge aircraft could not fly. His faith in his ideas and determination to adhere to his own convictions was rewarded handsomely. Tsar Nicholas II came to inspect the Grand and presented an engraved watch to the aircraft designer for developing the first four-engine airplane. Inspired by Sikorsky built an even larger aircraft, called "Ilya Muromets." The plane had an open bridge over the fuselage, where courageous passengers could stand and enjoy the scenery below. The big ship was a sensation in military circles, and representatives of the Russian Navy arrived in Petrograd to inspect a specimen equipped with pontoons.
World War I
After the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Russia was mired in the First World War. Ilya Muromets was transformed into a bomber, which became the basis of the Russian air attack against the Germans. In total, aircraft participated in more than 400 sorties, and only one was damaged by anti-aircraft fire. When in 1917 the Bolshevik revolution swept the empire, the hero of our story decided to leave the country. In the summer of 1918, Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich, whose family remained in Russia, having left all his personal belongings, went to Paris, where he began to design a large bomber for the United States Army air service. But the end of the war put an end to his work. A few months later, having emigrated to the USA, Sikorsky will realize the dream of his life. In the United States, he had no friends and no money. But he was inspired because he believed that in this country a person with standing ideas has a chance of success.
The American dream
For a short time, he worked at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, helping develop a super-bomber. But at that time, aircraft construction was considered a dying industry, and the unemployed Sikorsky returned to New York. Not finding a job in aviation, he began lecturing for Russian immigrants in mathematics and astronomy. At the same time, he visited local airfields and longingly watched other people's airplanes. Igor began to give lectures on the topic of aviation and secured a financial opportunity for himself to return to his beloved business. Sikorsky has developed a twin-engine commercial aircraft that can carry 12 to 15 passengers, the forerunner of a modern airliner.
First american
Having accumulated the required amount, Sikorsky began the construction of an aircraft in a poultry farm on Long Island. But there was not enough money for all spare parts, and he used many suitable parts from local landfills. The engines were old, from the time of the First World War. Finally, the great Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov rescued his compatriot by signing up for $ 5,000. When the new aircraft was ready for its first test flight, eight assistants to the aircraft crowded on board. Igor Sikorsky knew that this was a mistake, but could not refuse them. After a slow start, the engines failed, and Igor Ivanovich made an emergency landing, severely damaging the airplane. This seemed to be the end. But Sikorsky had long since learned not to lose heart and after a few months he restored the aircraft under the name S-29-A. The letter "A" here means the word "America." The S-29-A turned out to be a surprisingly good aircraft, which ensured the financial success of Sikorsky's company. Aviator Roscoe Turner purchased a plane for charter and scheduled flights. Later, the device was even used as a flying tobacco shop.
In 1926, the entire aviation world was thrilled by the $ 25,000 prize that was offered to the first to make a direct flight between New York and Paris. Sikorsky was asked to build a large three-engine biplane for the French war hero Rene Fonck, who planned to receive a prize. The crew was in a hurry with the final preparations before the end of flight tests. During the take-off run, an overloaded plane moved through the embankment. In a few seconds, he turned into a burning hell. Fonk miraculously escaped, but two crew members died. Almost immediately, the brave Frenchman ordered another airplane to try to get a prize for the second time. But before it was built, the unknown Charles Lindbergh completed his solitary flight across the Atlantic Ocean, receiving a prize and admiration for millions of people.
"American clipper"
And again, Sikorsky's company fought for its existence. Then he decided to build a twin-engine amphibian. The plane proved to be very practical and reliable, and Sikorsky created a whole fleet of such aircraft. Almost immediately, Pan American Airways used amphibians to lay new air routes to Central and South America.
Soon Sikorsky had more orders than he could fulfill. He reorganized his company and built a new plant in Stratford, Connecticut. A year later, the company became a subsidiary of the United Aircraft Corporation. Sikorsky was asked to design a huge naval transport aircraft for Pan Am, which was to become a pioneer in the field of transoceanic transportation. The majestic American Clipper was the second new type of aircraft created by an aircraft designer. The size of the aircraft was almost double that of other aircraft of that time. At the end of 1931, after Mrs. Herbert Hoover “baptized” “Clipper”, Charles Lindbergh made his first flight from Miami to the Panama Canal.
This large flying boat became the harbinger of a series of similar vehicles that laid American air routes across all oceans. Among the best was the S-42, completed in 1934 and possessing excellent characteristics, which allowed Lindberg to set 8 world records of speed, range and payload per day! Soon after, Pan Am used a flying boat to open air links between the US and Argentina. Six months later, another Clipper flew out of Alameda, California, and opened an air route to Hawaii. This was followed by other air routes through the Pacific to New Zealand. In 1937, another Clipper made its first regular flight through the North Atlantic. Now, the large overseas Sikorsky aircraft were engaged in commercial transportation across both major oceans.
A dream come true
Throughout these successful years, aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky never forgot about his desire to build a practical helicopter. He never thought of him as an aircraft; rather, it was a dream that he wanted to realize more than anything else. In 1939, Sikorsky finally realized the goal of his life by developing the first real helicopter. But the device was such a completely new and complex problem that the designer had to completely devote himself to solving it. It was a challenge that his whole intellect, energy and love of flying called for. But this achievement was his chance to be again on the verge of a new challenge that Sikorsky had been dreaming of for so long. The helicopter was the personal goal of the aircraft designer for three decades. And so, in the spring of 1939, he began to construct it, using the ideas accumulated over all this time. By September, the device was ready for the first tests. The machine had one main and a second small screw at the end of the tubular part of the fuselage - to counter the torque. In addition, it used a unique system for changing the angle of the rotor blades during its rotation. For an incredibly short half-year period, one of the insoluble problems of aviation was overcome.
Making changes to the design, in 1941 Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich set the first record of flight duration - 1 hour 5 minutes and 14 seconds. Two days later, the apparatus equipped with floats could already start both on land and on water. So Sikorsky made his third important contribution to aviation, embodied from the dream of a strange flying machine, which still does an excellent service to humanity and will amaze the world with its excellent maneuverability in the air. Moreover, the helicopter will become a monument to a person with an unshakable faith in a great dream and an even greater faith in himself, which allowed him to achieve his goal.
Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich, whose inventions left a noticeable mark in the history of aviation, died on October 26, 1972.