Sikorsky Aircraft facts for kids

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Sikorsky

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Aviation Defense industry
Founded	1923; 102 years ago (1923)
Founder	Igor Sikorsky
Headquarters	Stratford, Connecticut , United States
Key people	Paul Lemmo (President)
Products	Helicopters, other aircraft
Number of employees	15,975 (2014)
Parent	Lockheed Martin
Divisions	Sikorsky Development Flight Centre, West Palm Beach, Florida, US (founded 1977)
Subsidiaries	Schweizer Aircraft (closed 2012) PZL Mielec (now a Lockheed Martin subsidiary)

Sikorsky Aircraft is an American company that builds aircraft. It's located in Stratford, Connecticut. A famous aviation expert named Igor Sikorsky started the company in 1923.

Sikorsky was one of the first companies to make helicopters for both everyday use and for the military. For a short time, they also made vehicles like trains and boats.

Sikorsky used to be owned by United Technologies Corporation. But in November 2015, it was sold to Lockheed Martin, another big aerospace company.

Sikorsky's History
- Company Growth and Changes
- Sikorsky Joins Lockheed Martin
AHS Sikorsky Prize
Sikorsky Products
Gallery
See also

Sikorsky's History

On March 5, 1923, the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation began near Roosevelt Field in New York. It was founded by Igor Sikorsky, who came to the United States from Kyiv, Ukraine.

In 1925, the company changed its name to Sikorsky Manufacturing Company. After a successful aircraft called the S-38, the company was reorganized. It became the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation in 1929. This allowed them to buy land and build a modern factory in Stratford.

In July 1929, Sikorsky Aviation Corporation became part of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. This company later became United Technologies Corporation (UTC).

An advertisement for the Sikorsky S-42 Clipper flying boat from 1937.

Igor Sikorsky first focused on building large land-based airplanes and then planes that could land on water. In the late 1930s, plane sales slowed down. United Aircraft then combined Sikorsky's division with another company called Vought Aircraft.

After this, Igor Sikorsky started working on a practical helicopter. He first flew the VS-300. Then, in 1942, he developed the Sikorsky R-4. This was the first stable, single-rotor, and fully controllable helicopter to be mass-produced. Most helicopters today are based on its design.

Sikorsky Aircraft is still a top helicopter maker. They produce famous models like the UH-60 Black Hawk and SH-60 Seahawk. They have also made experimental aircraft like the Sikorsky S-72.

Since 1957, Sikorsky has provided the Presidential helicopter. The VH-3 and VH-60 models are used for this important role today.

Company Growth and Changes

In 1998, Sikorsky bought Helicopter Support Inc. (HSI). HSI helps with parts and repairs for Sikorsky products outside of the U.S. government.

In 2004, UTC bought Schweizer Aircraft Corp.. Schweizer then became a part of Sikorsky. The two companies made different types of aircraft. Sikorsky focused on medium and large helicopters. Schweizer made small helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), gliders, and light planes.

In late 2005, Sikorsky also bought Keystone Helicopter Corporation. Keystone used to maintain and finish Sikorsky S-76 and S-92 helicopters before the sale.

The Sikorsky Aircraft logo used until November 2015.

In 2007, Sikorsky opened the Hawk Works. This center was for quickly building prototypes and finishing military aircraft. That same year, Sikorsky bought the PZL Mielec factory in Poland. This factory now puts together the S-70i for customers around the world.

In February 2009, Sikorsky created Sikorsky Global Helicopters. This new part of the company focused on building and selling helicopters for everyday use. It combined Sikorsky's main civil helicopters with the helicopter business from Schweizer Aircraft.

Sikorsky's main office and factory are in Stratford, Connecticut. They also have other facilities in Connecticut, Texas, Florida, and Alabama. Sikorsky also owns companies in other parts of the world.

In 2023, Sikorsky Aircraft celebrated its 100th birthday!

Sikorsky Joins Lockheed Martin

In 2015, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) thought Sikorsky was not making as much profit as its other businesses. They considered selling it.

On July 20, 2015, Lockheed Martin announced they would buy Sikorsky from UTC for $9.0 billion. Many different governments had to approve this deal. The sale was officially completed on November 6, 2015.

AHS Sikorsky Prize

In 1980, the American Helicopter Society International offered a prize. It was for the first helicopter flight powered only by a human. The rules were strict: the flight had to last 60 seconds, reach a height of 3 meters, and stay within a 10 x 10 meter area. The prize money started at US$10,000 and soon grew to US$25,000.

In 2010, Sikorsky Aircraft promised to increase the prize money to US$250,000. Canadian engineers Dr. Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson, with a team from the University of Toronto, built the world's largest human-powered helicopter. They called it AeroVelo Atlas. It first flew in August 2012. On June 13, 2013, their 64-second, 3.3-meter flight won the big prize!

Sikorsky Products

Sikorsky gives almost all its aircraft models "S-numbers." Numbers S-1 through S-27 were designed by Igor Sikorsky before he left the Russian Empire. Later models, especially helicopters, often received different names from the military. These names depended on their purpose, like UH, SH, or MH. Even if the aircraft were almost the same, their names changed based on their job.

Airplanes

Sikorsky S-28: A planned four-engine airliner, Sikorsky's first American design (1919).
Sikorsky S-29-A: A twin-engine cargo plane, the first Sikorsky aircraft built in the U.S. (1924).
Sikorsky S-30: A planned twin-engine airliner/mailplane, never built (1925).
Sikorsky S-31: A single-engine biplane (1925).
Sikorsky S-32: A single-engine, two-passenger biplane (1926).
Sikorsky S-33 Messenger: A single-engine biplane (1925).
Sikorsky S-34: A twin-engine flying boat prototype (1927).
Sikorsky S-35: A three-engine transport plane (1926).
Sikorsky S-36 "Amphibion": An eight-seat, two-engine flying boat (1927).
Sikorsky S-37 "Guardian": An eight-seat, two-engine plane; Sikorsky's last land-based plane design (1927).
Sikorsky S-38: An eight-seat, two-engine flying boat (1928–1933).
- Sikorsky RS: A transport flying boat for the U.S. Navy.
Sikorsky S-39: A five-seat, single-engine version of the S-38 (1929–1932).
Sikorsky S-40: A four-engine, 28-passenger flying boat (1931).
Sikorsky S-41: A twin-engine flying boat (1931); a larger version of the S-38.
Sikorsky XP2S: A twin-engine patrol flying boat prototype (1932).
Sikorsky XSS: A Naval scout flying-boat (1933).
Sikorsky S-42 "Clipper": A four-engine flying boat (1934–1935).
Sikorsky XBLR-3: A bomber aircraft (1935-1936); Sikorsky's last fixed-wing design.
Sikorsky S-43 "Baby Clipper": A twin-engine, amphibious flying boat (1935–1937); a smaller, twin-engine version of the S-42.
Sikorsky VS-44 "Excalibur": A four-engine flying boat (1937).
Sikorsky S-45: A six-engine flying boat planned for Pan Am, never built (1938).
Sikorsky S-57/XV-2: A supersonic plane with a single blade rotor that could hide. Never built.

Production Helicopters

Model	Designation	From	Until	MTOW (lb, t)		Notes
S-47	R-4	1942	1944	2,581	1.17	The world's first helicopter to be mass-produced.
S-48/S-51	R-5/H-5	1944	1952	4,825	2.19	Could carry more, fly longer, faster, and higher than the R-4.
S-49	R-6	1945		2,600	1.18	An improved R-4 with a new body.
S-52	H-18/HO5S	1947		2,700	1.225	Had all-metal rotors.
S-55	H-19 Chickasaw	1949		7,500	3.41	A utility helicopter that could carry ten passengers.
S-56	CH-37 Mojave	1953		31,000	14.1	A large helicopter with two piston engines.
S-58	H-34 Choctaw	1954	1970	14,000	6.35	A larger, more advanced S-55 that could carry 18 passengers. Used for anti-submarine warfare and VIP transport.
S-61	SH-3	1959		19,000	8.62	A medium-lift transport and airliner helicopter.
S-61	SH-3 Sea King	1959	1970s	22,050	10	Used for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, or transport.
S-61	CH-124 Sea King	1963	2018	22,050	10	An export version for the Canadian Armed Forces.
S-61R	CH-3/HH-3	1963	1970s	22,050	10	An S-61 with a rear ramp for cargo. Includes the CH-3, HH-3 "Jolly Green Giant," and HH-3F Pelican.
S-62	HH-52 Seaguard	1958		8,300	3.76	An amphibious helicopter that could land on water.
S-64 Skycrane	CH-54 Tarhe	1962		42,000	19.05	A "flying crane" designed to lift heavy loads.
S-64	CH-54 Tarhe	1962		47,000	21	A transport helicopter for the U.S. Army.
S-65	CH-53 Sea Stallion	1964	1978	42,000	19.1	A medium to heavy-lift transport helicopter.
S-65	MH-53	1967	1970	46,000	21	A long-range search and rescue helicopter.
S-70	UH-60 Black Hawk	1974	current	23,500	10.66	A twin-turbine medium transport and utility helicopter. Chosen by the US Army in 1976. Many different models exist.
S-70	SH-60 Sea Hawk	1979	current	23,000	10.4	Used by the US Navy for anti-ship warfare, combat, search and rescue, support, and medical transport.
S-70	HH-60 Pave Hawk	1982	current	22,000	9.9	Used by the USAF for combat, search and rescue, and medical transport, with special electronics.
S-70	HH-60 Jayhawk	1990	1996	21,884	9.93	Used by the US Coast Guard for search and rescue and patrol.
S-76		1977	current	11,700	5.31	A twin-turbine, 14-seat commercial helicopter.
S-80	CH-53E Super Stallion	1974	1980s	73,500	33.3	A larger helicopter developed from the CH-53. The export version is the S-80.
S-92	H-92 Superhawk	1998	current	27,700	12.6	A twin-turbine medium-lift helicopter developed from the S-70.
S-92	CH-148 Cyclone	2018	current	28,650	13	A Canadian military version of the S-92, replacing the CH-124 Sea King.
S-95	CH-53K King Stallion	2018	current	84,700	38.4	A newer version developed from the CH-53E Super Stallion/S-80.
S-300C		1964	2018	2,050	0.93	A three-seat helicopter with a single piston engine. Now made by Schweizer RSG.
S-333		1992	2018	2,550	1.16	A single-turbine version of the S-300. Now made by Schweizer RSG.
S-434		2008	2015	3,200	1.45	An improved version of the S-333.

Prototype Helicopters

Model	Designation	Year	MTOW (lb, t)		Notes
S-46	VS-300	1939	1,150	0.52	The first helicopter in the U.S. with a single main rotor.
S-50					A planned small helicopter; only a wooden model was built.
S-53	XHJS-1	1947			A naval utility helicopter, two prototypes were made.
S-54		1948			An R-4B modified into a "sesqui-tandem" design.
S-59	XH-39	1953	3,361	1.53	Two H-18s changed to use one turbine engine, one prototype.
S-60		1959	21,000	9.5	A prototype "flying crane" based on the CH-37, crashed in 1961.
S-67	Blackhawk	1970	24,272	11	An attack helicopter prototype.
S-68					A proposed change to the S-58T, none were built.
S-69		1973	12,500	5.7	An experimental jet helicopter with two rotors spinning in opposite directions.
S-71	AAH				Sikorsky's entry for the US Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter competition.
S-72		1976	26,047	11.8	A NASA experimental jet hybrid aircraft.
S-73	HLH		118,000	53.5	Sikorsky's entry for the US Army's Heavy Lift Helicopter competition.
S-75		1984	8,470	3.82	An advanced all-composite helicopter, two prototypes were made.
S-97 Raider	AAS	2015	11,000	4.99	A proposed compound helicopter for the US Army's Armed Aerial Scout program.
S-100	SB>1 Defiant	2019			A compound helicopter prototype with rigid coaxial rotors for the US Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft competition.
S-102	Raider X	2023			A compound helicopter with rigid coaxial rotors for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft competition.
S-103	Defiant X				A compound helicopter with rigid coaxial rotors for the US Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft competition.
Firefly					An electric S-300 helicopter shown in 2010.
X2		2008	6,000	2.72	An experimental high-speed compound helicopter with coaxial rotors.

Other Aircraft and Products

Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche: A stealth attack helicopter project.
Sikorsky Cypher: A doughnut-shaped unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (1992).
Sikorsky Cypher II: A newer version of the Cypher (2001).
Vertical Take-Off and Landing Experimental Aircraft: A design for an aircraft that could take off and land vertically, but also fly like a regular plane.
UAC TurboTrain (1968): A high-speed train.
Sikorsky ASPB Assault Support Patrol Boat (1969): A type of boat used by the military.