Aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky: biography, inventions

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 multipurpose helicopters, which played an important role in the development of aviation, appeared thanks to the genius of the legendary aircraft designer.

Igor Sikorsky: biography

The pioneer of aviation was born on May 25, 1889 in Kiev, Ukraine (then - the Russian Empire). His father, Ivan Alekseevich, was a doctor and a professor of psychology. My 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 memories is the mother's account of Leonardo da Vinci's attempts to design an aircraft. From that moment the dream of flight captured his imagination, despite the fact that he was repeatedly told about the proven impossibility of this. Finally, at the age of 12, Igor Sikorsky built a helicopter model. Working on the energy of twisted rubber bands, the design rose into the air. Now the boy knew that his dream was not a foolish invention.

Inspiring journey

Several years later, when Igor and his father were vacationing in Germany, he learned about the first launches of airships, carried out by Count von Zeppelin. He also read about the successful flights of the Wright brothers and was amazed that the newspaper reported such a great achievement in the small print on the last page. At that moment, Sikorski decided to devote his life to aviation. Its special purpose was to develop an apparatus capable of hovering over a single 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 his return to Kiev, Igor dropped out of the Polytechnic Institute and began extensive research in the nascent branch of science. He was not even twenty, he had great enthusiasm and many ideas, but little practical experience and money.

School of Aeronautics

Soon, Igor Sikorski 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 imperfect, early models of aircraft trying to fly left an indelible mark on his soul. Soon Sikorski entered the newly created, very informal French ballooning school, however, the impatient student never got a chance to get into the air. When buying an Anzani three-cylinder engine, he met Louis Bleriot, who also bought a motor for his new monoplane. A few weeks later the brave Bleriot entered the history of aviation, making the first flight across the English Channel. This historic event deeply influenced the further development of aviation.

First constructions

By the middle of 1909, Igor Sikorsky completed his first helicopter. But, no matter how much his double rotated in opposite directions the rotor cut through the air, the apparatus did not show the slightest desire to move. Sikorsky finally built a biplane and in June of the same year he lifted it a few meters into the air. For the whole twelve seconds he tasted success. In the following months, Igor created other prototypes, made short flights on them and often broke them, which was not uncommon at the dawn of aviation. But he, using undamaged parts, built the next, improved model. Sikorsky was not discouraged by the first setbacks, because he learned a lot about helicopters and was sure: if not the next aircraft, then the one that will be after him, someday will necessarily take off.

Confession

By the beginning of the spring of 1910, the second rotorcraft was prepared for testing, over which Sikorsky worked tirelessly. The helicopter was just as stubborn as its creator. The perseverance 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 aircraft.

For many years of aviation career, Sikorski never forgot his dream of building a truly successful helicopter. Soon he received the diploma of the pilot of the Imperial All-Russian flying club and on military maneuvers near Kiev demonstrated his C-5 aircraft. There the aircraft designer met Tsar Nicholas II. The next model C-6A received the highest award at the air show in Moscow. But a minor incident, when a fuel line clogged the mosquito, and Sikorski was forced to make an emergency landing, proved to be fatal.

"Ilya Muromets" - a giant aircraft

This incident led the aircraft designer to the idea of increasing the reliability of the aircraft by using several engines - an extraordinary and radical at that time concept. Sikorsky proposed to build a four-engine biplane of a huge (at that time) size. The plane was nicknamed "Grand". In front of the aircraft was a large open balcony. A roomy passenger cabin 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 airplane can not fly. His faith in his ideas and determination to adhere to his own convictions was repaid a hundredfold. Tsar Nicholas II came to inspect the "Grand" and for the development of the first four-engine airplane gave the aircraft designer an engraved watch. The inspired Sikorsky built an even larger aircraft, called "Ilya Muromets". The plane had an open bridge over the fuselage, where brave passengers could stand and enjoy the scenery below. The big ship was a sensation in the military circles, and representatives of the Russian Navy came to Petrograd to inspect a specimen equipped with pontoons.

The First World War

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 offensive against the Germans. In total, the aircraft participated in more than 400 sorties, and only one was damaged by anti-aircraft fire. When in 1917 the Bolshevik revolution embraced the empire, the hero of our narrative decided to leave the country. In the summer of 1918, Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, whose family remained in Russia, leaving all his personal belongings, left for Paris, where he began designing a large bomber for the air service of the United States Army. But the end of the war put an end to his work. A few months later, having emigrated to the United States, 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 worthwhile ideas has a chance of success.

American dream

For a short while he worked at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, helping to 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 started reading lectures for Russian immigrants in mathematics and astronomy. At the same time, he visited local airfields and watched with longing for other people's airplanes. Igor began to give lectures on aviation and secured a financial opportunity to return to his favorite business. Sikorsky developed a twin-engine commercial aircraft capable of carrying between 12 and 15 passengers, a forerunner of a modern airliner.

The first American

After accumulating the necessary amount, Sikorsky began building 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, the times of the First World War. Finally, the great Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov helped the compatriot subscribe to the amount of $ 5000. When the new aircraft was ready for its first test flight, eight aircraft engine assistants crowded aboard. Igor Sikorsky knew that this was a mistake, but he could not refuse them. After a slow start, the engines refused, and Igor Ivanovich made an emergency landing, severely damaging the airplane. It seemed to be the end. But Sikorsky has long learned how not to lose heart and in a few months rebuilt the plane under the name S-29-A. The letter "A" here refers to the word "America". The S-29-A was a surprisingly good aircraft, which ensured the financial success of Sikorsky. Aviator Roscoe Turner purchased the aircraft for charter and scheduled flights. Later the device was even used as a flying tobacco shop.

In 1926, the entire aviation world was thrilled with the $ 25,000 prize, which 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 René Fonc who planned to receive the prize. The crew was in a hurry with the latest preparations before the end of the flight tests. During the takeoff, the overloaded aircraft moved across the embankment. In a few seconds he turned into a blazing hell. The fountain was saved by a miracle, but two crew members were killed. Almost immediately the brave Frenchman ordered another airplane to try for the second time to receive the prize. But before it was built, Charles Lindbergh , who was not known to anyone, completed his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, receiving the prize and admiration of millions of people.

"American clipper"

And again the company Sikorsky fought for its existence. Then he decided to build a twin-engine amphibian. The plane was 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 have executed. He reorganized his company and built a new plant in Stratford, Connecticut. A year later the enterprise became a subsidiary of the United Aircraft Corporation. Sikorsky was asked to design a huge seaworthy transport aircraft for Pan Am, which was to become a pioneer in the field of transoceanic transport. The majestic "American Clipper" became the second new type of aircraft, created by an aircraft designer. The dimensions of the aircraft were almost twice the size of other aircraft of that time. At the end of 1931, after Mrs. Herbert Hoover "baptized" the "Clipper", Charles Lindbergh made the first flight from Miami to the Panama Canal on it.

This large flying boat became a harbinger of a whole series of similar aircraft that paved the American air routes across all the oceans. Among the best was the C-42, completed in 1934 and possessing excellent characteristics, which enabled Lindberg to set 8 world records of speed, range and payload for the 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 across the Pacific to New Zealand. In 1937, another Clipper made the first regular air flight across the North Atlantic. Now the large transatlantic Sikorsky planes were engaged in commercial shipments through both major oceans.

The dream became a reality

Throughout these successful years, the aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky never forgot his desire to build a practical helicopter. He never thought of him as an aircraft, rather it was a dream he wanted to bring to life more than anything else. In 1939, Sikorsky finally realized the goal of his whole life, developing the first real helicopter. But the apparatus was such a completely new and complex problem that the designer had to devote himself entirely to its solution. It was a challenge that called for all of his intelligence, energy and love of flight. But this achievement was his chance to again be on the threshold of a new challenge, which Sikorsky had long dreamed of. 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 during 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 main rotor blades during its rotation. For an incredibly short six-month period of time, one of the unsolved problems of aviation was overcome.

Making changes in the design, in 1941 Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich set the first record of the duration of the flight - 1 hour 5 minutes and 14 seconds. Two days later, the device equipped with floats could already start on land as well as on water. So Sikorsky made his third important contribution to aviation, embodied in the dream of a strange flying machine that will still serve humanity well and will amaze the world with its excellent maneuverability in the air. Moreover, the helicopter will become a monument to a man with an unshakable faith in a great dream and an even greater faith in himself that has made it possible to achieve the goal.

Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich, whose inventions left a notable mark in the history of aviation, died October 26, 1972.