We’ve all seen the videos: men running off of cliffs with giant bird wings attached to their arms, funny oscillating machines hopping off the ground, and so on. Dreamers envisioned many different ways to get off the ground and experience flight, and going straight up was one of those ways. Leonardo da Vinci was perhaps the first person to come up with this idea, using an “aerial screw” powered by four men, on the concept of compressing air to take flight. The idea never left the ground, but that didn’t stop people from trying. Especially Igor Sikorsky.
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1889 to a family of physicians, Igor Sikorsky actually built his first helicopter at the age of 12. It was a small toy powered by rubber bands, but it would turn out to be his life’s work.
Sikorsky would attend schools in Paris and Ukraine, studying the sciences. Although he did well in academics, he lost interest due to the lack of practical application. He wanted to be more hands-on.
