Over 200 photographs help paint the picture of the career of Igor I. Sikorsky, one of the most talented and versatile aeronautical pioneers in history. This book traces the history of Sikorsky aviation and its founder, Igor I. Sikorsky, whose career spanned over 60 years and was highlighted by three major achievements: the creation of the world's first four-engine airliner, the record-breaking Clipper Ships, with which Pan American Airways explored transpacific and transatlantic airline service, and the development of the helicopter. Sikorsky then led his engineers out of the piston-engine era and into the jet age with the design and development of some of the most widely used turbine-powered helicopters in aviation history. Hundreds of photographs, many from the Sikorsky family archives, document the genius of Sikorsky's intuitive engineering, including his lifelong interest in the challenge of the helicopter, which many historians consider to be his crowning achievement.
Sergei I. Sikorsky, the oldest son of Igor, started as an apprentice in the Sikorsky factory at the age of 16. He served as a helicopter mechanic with the United States Coast Guard in World War II, and spent the next 50 years in aviation. This book documents the achievements of his teacher and mentor: his father, Igor.