Igor Sikorsky
Timeline of Aviation Firsts
Igor Sikorsky and his company Sikorsky Aircraft compiled an impressive list of “Aviation Firsts”
The Russian Years
1909: Igor Constructs his First Helicopter, the H-1
“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: Igor Sikorsky Flies for the First Time, in the S-2
1911: S-5, Igor Receives his First Pilot License, from the Imperial Aero Club of Russia
1911: First Flight of the S-5
1912: Piloted by Igor Sikorsky, the S-6A Wins First place in the Moscow Aircraft Competition
1913: First Monocoque Fuselage Constructed in Russia for the S-9
1913: S-10 Establishes a Russian Aviation Record, Flying 500 Kilometers in 4 hours 56 minutes
1913: S-12 is the First Russian-designed Aircraft Capable of a Loop
1913: S-12 Establishes a Russian Altitude Record of 3,680 meters
1913: Igor Sikorsky Flies the S-21 “Grand”, the World’s First Successful Four-Engine Airplane
1913: S-21 Sets a World Record for Aircraft Flight Duration
Given the S-21 is the first four-engine aircraft, it sets world records for a four-engine aircraft with each flight
1913: S-10 & S-11 Win First and Second Place in the Petrograd Military Competition
1914: S-27 Sets Two World Records for Payload and Flight Duration
1914: S-27 with Pontoons Is the Largest Seaplane Built in the World
1916: S-27G with 880 Horsepower Is the Largest Airplane Produced in the World
Launching the Flying Boat in America
1923: Igor founds the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation
1924: S-29A Is the First Twin-Engine Airplane Capable of Flying on One Engine
Also, the S-29A Is the World’s First All-Metal Aircraft
1925: S-29A Is the World’s First Airplane with In-Flight Entertainment
Passengers listen to a broadcast radio musical program while in-flight
1926: S-29A is the World’s First Airplane to Show a Motion Picture In-Flight
1929: S-37 Is the First Airplane to Fly Over the Andes Mountains
1929: S-38 Is Used Extensively in Pioneering Central and South American Air Routes by Pan American Airways
1929: Piloting an S-38, Charles Lindbergh Inaugurates Air Mail Service Between the United States and Panama
1931: S-40 “American Clipper” Is the World’s Largest Airliner Produced
1934: S-42 Is the First Production Aircraft with Wing Flaps
Wing flaps allow high flight speeds and low landing speeds
1934: S-42 Establishes Ten World Records, of which Eight Were Set on One Flight
This flight on August 1st Vaulted the United States into First Place for World Aviation Records
1935: S-42 Inaugurates the First Transoceanic Air Service
Flies the First Airmail from Honolulu to the mainland United States
1937: S-42 Makes the First Airline Crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean and Pioneers the Transpacific Airline Route to Asia
1936: S-43 Establishes Four World Altitude Records
1937: S-44 (XPBS-1) Long Range Military Patrol Bomber Flies on August 13, 1937
It had a maximum range of 4,000 miles and superior perfomance but lost out to a lower cost competitor.
1942: VS-44 Achieves First Flight in January 1942
A civilan version of the S-44, the VS-44 was the world’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
The Beginning of the Helicopter
1939: VS-300 achieves first flight on September 14, 1939
The VS-300 was first helicopter designed with a single main rotor and a tail rotor. Its first flight gave birth to the entire helicopter industry
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 Is Fitted with Rubber Floats and Becomes the World’s First practical Amphibious Helicopter
1942: Igor Sikorsky’s Book, The Message of the Lord’s Prayer, Appears in Print
1942: The World’s First Production Helicopter, the XR-4, Is Delivered
1942: XR-4 is the First Helicopter to Complete a Cross Country Flight
1943: R-4 Becomes the First Large Scale Mass-Produced Helicopter
1943: R-4 Is the First Helicopter to Land on a Ship, the USS Bunker Hill
1944: XR-4 Is the First Helicopter to Perform a Mercy Mission, Piloted by Commander Frank Erickson
On January 3 1944, after an explosion sank the destroyer USS Turner, Commander Frank Erickson flew amid snow squalls to deliver over 40 pints of blood plasma from Battery Park in Manhattan to a hospital in Sandy Hook, New Jersey
1944: R-4 Performs First Combat Rescue by a Helicopter, Piloted by Lieutenant Carter Harman
1945: R-5 Is the First Helicopter to Be Equipped with Armament
1945: S-51 Is the First Helicopter to Perform a Civilian Rescue, Piloted by Dimitry “Jimmy” Viner
1945: R-4 Is the Only Helicopter to Serve in World War II
1947: S-51, Piloted by Dimitry “Jimmy” Viner, Performs the First Naval Rescue
1947: Los Angeles Airways Starts the World’s First Helicopter Airmail Service with the S-51
1948: S-51 Is the First Helicopter to Perform an Amphibious Assault
1949: S-52 Establishes a World Helicopter Speed Record of 129.5 mph
1949: S-52 Is the First Helicopter to Perform a Loop
1949: S-52 Is the World’s First Production Helicopter with Metal Rotor Blades
1950: S-51 Is the First Helicopter Equipped with a Three-Axis Automatic Flight-Control System
1950: S-51 Is the First Helicopter to be Air-Towed by an Airplane
1950: S-51 Holds All of the World’s Recognized International Helicopter Records
1951: S-55 Is the First Helicopter to Retrieve an Aircraft
1952: S-55 Is the First Anti-Submarine Warfare Helicopter
1952: S-55 is the First Helicopter to Fly across the Atlantic Ocean, Establishing a World Record
1952: S-55 Is the First Helicopter Equipped with Pre-Tracked Interchangeable Rotor Blades
1953: S-56 Establishes World Speed and Altitude Records
1953: S-55 Is the Only Transport-Type Helicopter Certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration for Commercial Operations
1953; S-56 Is the First Helicopter with a Five-Blade Main Rotor
1953: S-56 First Is the Helicopter with Automatic Blade and Tail Folding
1953: S-56 Is the First Helicopter with Power-Operated Loading
1953: S-52 Is the First Turbine-Powered Helicopter
1954: Turbine-Powered S-59 Sets a World Speed Record of 156.005 mph and a World Altitude Record of 24,500 feet
1955: S-56 Is the First Production Twin-Engine Helicopter
1955: S-56 Is the First Radar-Equipped Helicopter
1956: S-58 Is the First Helicopter Approved by Navy for Instrument Flight Rating
1956: S-58 Is the First Helicopter to Use an Automatic Flight Control System
1956: S-58 Is the First Helicopter with Automatic Hover Positioning System
1957: S-58 Is the First Helicopter to Transport an American President, President Eisenhower
1958: S-62 Is the First Helicopter with a Amphibious Hull
1958: S-61 Is the First Helicopter with Energy-Absorbing Landing Gear
1958; S-61 Is the First CAA-Certified Helicopter for Automatic Stabilization
1958: S-61 Is the First Helicopter with Dipping Sonar
1959: S-58 Is the First Helicopter Used for Power-Line Construction
1959: S-60 First helicopter with aft-facing control station
1959: S-61 Is the 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
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 country (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
1962: S-64 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
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 Completes 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
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
1973: CH-53E First three-engine helicopter
1973: CH-53E First seven-blade main rotor helicopter
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)
1985: First helicopter with single-pilot research cockpit, fly-by-wire, sidearm controls, voice interaction (SHADOW)