Born May 25th, 1889, in Kiev, Ukraine, Igor Sikorsky was a pioneer of aviation.  After studying at the Naval War College in St. Petersburg under the Russian Empire, Sikorsky constructed and test-piloted the first four-engine planes.  His planes were used a Russian bombers during World War I.  In 1919, after the war had ravaged Russia, Sikorsky moved to the United States, where he performed the first successful helicopter flight with a single three-blade rotor and a 75 horsepower engine.  Today, the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is still one of the world’s leading helicopter manufacturers.

*posted August 29 - September 2, 2005