Igor Sikorski and the Helicopter (Part 2)

Igor Sikorski's Helicopter firsts (Part 2)

• 1939 VS-300 First single main rotor helicopter successfully produced in the World and literally set one World's Record after another with each flight .

• 1940 Igor Sikorsky is awarded Connecticut Helicopter License No. 1 1941 VS-300 breaks the World helicopter endurance record, 1 hour, 32 minutes and 26.1 seconds

• 1941 VS-300 fitted with rubber floats was the World's First practical amphibian helicopter

1942 XR-4 World's First production helicopter is delivered and this is the first cross-country flight of a helicopter in the United States
1943 R-4 First mass produced helicopter

                                  

• 1943 R-4 First helicopter to land on a ship - Bunker Hill
• 1944 R-4 First Combat Rescue using a helicopter piloted by Lieutenant Carter Harman

• 1945 R-5 First helicopter equipped with armament
• 1945 S-51 First Civilian Rescue using a helicopter piloted by Dimity "Jimmy" Viner

                                
                                                                    S-51

• 1945 R-4 is the only helicopter to serve in World War II
• 1947 S-51 piloted by Jimmy Viner performed the First Naval Rescue
• 1948 S-51 First amphibious assault with a helicopter

                                
                                                                   S-52

• 1949 S-52 established a World Helicopter Speed Record of 129.5 mph
• 1949 S-52 First helicopter to perform a loop
• 1949 S-52 World's first production helicopter with metal rotor blades
• 1950 S-51 First helicopter to be equipped with a three-axis automatic flight-control system
• 1950 S-51 holds all the World recognized international helicopter records
• 1953 S-52 First turbine-powered helicopter

                
                                                                     USMC S-52s

• 1951 S-55 First helicopter to retrieve an aircraft
• 1952 S-55 First anti-submarine warfare helicopter
• 1952 S-55 First helicopter to fly across the Atlantic Ocean establishing a World Record
• 1952 S-55 First helicopter equipped with pre-tracked interchangeable rotor blades
• 1953 S-55 is the only transport-type helicopter certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration for commercial operations

                                                           
                                                                        S 56 (CH-37C)

                             

• 1953 S-56 established World Speed and Altitude Records
• 1953 S-56 First helicopter with automatic blade and tail folding
• 1953 S-56 First helicopter with power-operated loading
• 1955 S-56 First production twin-engine helicopter

                                     
                                                                                    S 56 Civilian

                                                                                 US Army S 56

                                  

                                                                       German S 58

• 1956 S-58 First helicopter to use an automatic flight control system
• 1956 S-58 First helicopter with automatic hover positioning system

                                      

• 1957 S-58 was used by President Eisenhower to become the First American President to use a helicopter built specifically for his needs
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                                                                 The Ampbibious S-62

• 1958 S-62 First helicopter with a amphibious hull
• 1958 S-61 First helicopter with energy-absorbing landing gear
• 1958 S-61 First helicopter CAA certified for automatic stabilization
• 1958 S-61 First helicopter with dipping sonar
• 1959 S-58 The First helicopter to be used for power-line construction
• 1959 S-60 First helicopter with aft-facing control station
• 1959 S-61 World's largest amphibious helicopter
• 1959 S-61 First helicopter that could both search out and destroy enemy submarines
• 1960 S-62 made Los Angeles Airways the First carrier in the World to use a turbine engine helicopter
• 1960 S-58 was the First helicopter to fire a radio-controlled missile
• 1960 S-61L First helicopter designed specifically for airline use
• 1960 S-55 First aerial recovery by helicopter of parachute
• 1961 S-58 First helicopter to retrieve an U.S. astronaut, Commander Alan Shephard, America's First man in space

                

                                                          S 61

• 1961 S-61L was the World's First Multi-turbine helicopter certified for passenger transport
• 1961 S-61 made the fastest helicopter crossing of the  USy (average speed of 150 mph)
• 1962 S-61 established a World helicopter speed record of 210.65 mph, This was the First time a helicopter traveled faster than 200 mph on a established course
• 1962 S-61 established five helicopter World Speed Records

                              

• 1962 S-64 First production flying crane helicopter
• 1962 S-64 First production helicopter with aft-facing control station
• 1962 S-64 First helicopter with a fly-by-wire control system

• 1964 S-65 First six-blade main rotor
• 1964 S-65 First helicopter with a suction fuel system
• 1964 S-65 First helicopter with a collective bias-droop compensation control

                            
                                                                  S64 (HH-53)

• 1965 RH-53D First production mine-countermeasures helicopter

                              

• 1965 S-61F First experimental compound helicopter with a full complement of aircraft control surfaces
• 1965 S-61 First aerial refueling of a helicopter from a standard tanker airplane
• 1965 S-61 Rotor-Prop First helicopter to demonstrate conversion of tail rotor to propeller
• 1965 S-61 made the First nonstop, transcontinental, flight setting a World's record for distance of 2,105 miles
• 1965 S-61N made the First transatlantic crossing by a commercial helicopter

                              

• 1965 S-64 claimed three World's Altitude Records
• 1966 S-64 First helicopter with engine inlet particle separator 
• 1968 S-65 First large helicopter to loop and roll
• 1968 S-65 First titanium-spar rotor blade
• 1969 S-65 First helicopter with an infrared suppressor system
• 1970 S-65 First helicopter transpacific crossing

                              
                                                                  S-67 Blackhawk

                                

• 1970 S-67 First prototype gunship with wings and dive brakes
• 1970 S-67 set a World Speed Record
• 1970 S-67 First helicopter with swept-tip rotor blades

• 1971 S-70 First helicopter with a canted tail rotor
• 1973 S-69 First to fly the Advancing Blade Concept (ABC)
• 1973 S-70 First successful flight of an all composite, bearingless tail rotor

                               
                                                                     S-70 Blackhawk

                                
                                                            Australian S70 Blackhawk

• 1973 CH-53E First three-engine helicopter
• 1973 CH-53E First seven-blade main rotor helicopter

                               
                                                            SH-53 Super Stallion

                              


                               
                                                                     S-76

• 1977 S-76 First helicopter designed for civil transportation
• 1980 S-70 first helicopter qualified to fly into know moderate icing conditions
• 1984 S-75 First all-composite airframe (ACAP)
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                                                                        S-75 ACAP

•  1985 First helicopter with single-pilot research cockpit, fly-by-wire, sidearm controls, voice interaction (SHADOW) 
• The Sikorsky Helicopter Advanced Demonstrator and Operator Workload (SHADOW), 1985
• A heavily modified S-76, with a highly advanced single-pilot cockpit grafted to the nose used to investigate the feasibility of producing a one-man helicopter that could do more than a two-man aircraft:

                       

                                       

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Igor Sikorsky and Helicopters: Anniversary of the first successful chopper flight

Igor Sikorsky and the helicopter: Happy birthday today ?
The Aircraft genius at work:

Heard on the radio today that it was the anniversary of Sikorsky's first successful helicopter flight. I've had a look at this extraordinary gentleman's history, and the history of the helicopter in general

                                                


The Russian-born scientist, engineer, pilot and entrepreneur made fixed and rotary wing aviation history with a mix of genius, determination and humanity. An established Russian aviation pioneer, arrived in New York or March 1919. His passport revealed he entered America to "construct aircraft". He made several attempts to re-enter aviation in his new country without success.

Airplanes and engines built for World War I were available at extremely low prices and aviation was described to him by some as a "dying industry". Soon his money was running out and he resorted to teaching Russian immigrants mathematics; later, astronomy and aviation lessons were included.

He also started to lecture to various groups which brought him in contact with people who shared his enthusiasm for aviation and convinced him to start his own aeronautical enterprise. March 5,1923, saw the creation of the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation.

The company was dedicated to building the S-29A (Sikorsky type 29, America) and was based at fellow immigrant Victor Utgoff s farm near Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y.

One biographer summarized that  Igor Sikorsky had three careers in aviation:

• Constructing and flying fixed-wing aircraft in Russia, 
• Constructing and flying fixed wing aircraft , including seaplanes in America, 
• and helicopters, actually his first love. 
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He was fascinated by science in general, and in many ways was a classical philosopher. It has been said that he was initially inspired by a Jules Verne novel as a very young boy

He passed away peacefully in his sleep in 1972 at the age of 83 after putting in a typical day at his office at Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky Aircraft has a proud and rich history of aircraft design and construction dating to the early part of the last century, making it one of America's pioneering aerospace companies.

A list of Sikorsky's firsts:

In Russia:

1909 H-1, Constructed his First helicopter "This machine was a failure to the extent that it could not fly. In other respects it was a very important and necessary stepping stone."

1910 S-2, Igor Sikorsky Flew for the First time

1911 S-5, Igor's First pilot license issued from the Imperial Aero Club of Russia

1912 S-6A won First place in the Moscow Aircraft Competition, pilot Igor Sikorsky

1913 S-9 First monocoque fuselage constructed in Russia

1913 S-10 establish a Russian Aviation Record flying 500 kilometers in 4 hrs and 56 min

1913 S-12 First Russian aircraft capable of a loop

1913 S-12 Established a Russian Altitude Record of 3,680m

1913 Igor Sikorsky flew the S-21 "Grand" the World's First successful four-engine plane

1913 S-21 set a World's Record for duration and literally set one World's Record after another for a four-engine plane with each fligh

1913 S-10 & S-11 won First and Second place in the Petrograd Military Competition

1914 S-27 set two World Records for payload and flight duration

1914 S-27 with pontoons was the largest seaplane built in the World

1916 S-27G with 880 horsepower was the largest plane produced in the World

LAUNCHING THE FLYING-BOAT IN THE US

1923 Igor founded Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation

1924 S-29A First twin-engine airplane capable of flying on one engine and First all metal aircraft

1925 S-29A World's First airplane to broadcast a radio musical program in-flight

1926 S-29A World's First airplane to show a motion picture in-flight

1929 S-37 First airplane to fly over the Andes Mountains

1929 S-38 Used in pioneering Central and South American air routes by Pan American Airways

1929 S-38 Piloted by Charles Lindbergh inaugurated air mail service between the US and Panama

1931 S-40 "American Clipper" was the Worlds largest airliner produced

1934 S-42 First production aircraft with wing flaps: allowed high flight speeds and low landing speeds.

1934 S-42 Established ten World Records, of which eight were set on one flight. This flight of August 1st vaulted the United States into First place holder of World Aviation Records

1935 S-42 First transoceanic air service, flying the first airmail from Honolulu to the mainland.

1937 S-42 made the First regular airline crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean and pioneered the transpacific route to Asia

1936 S-43 Established four World Altitude Records

1937 S-44 (XPBS-1) long range bomber first flown August 13, 1937. It had a max range of 4,000 miles and superior performance but lost out to a lower cost competitor.

1942 VS-44 Civilian version of the S-44 first flew in January 1942. It was the wold's longest range commercial aircraft and the only aircraft to have flown commercial scheduled non-stop across the north and south Atlantic. This was the last fixed wing aircraft built by Sikorsky.