The Sikorsky Legacy

This book traces the history of Sikorsky aviation and its founder, Igor I. Sikorsky, one of the most talented and versatile aeronautical pioneers in history. Sikorsky s aviation 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. More than 200 photographs, many from the Sikorsky family archives, document the genius of Sikorsky s intuitive engineering and his lifelong interest in the challenge of the helicopter, which many historians consider to be his crowning achievement."