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Sikorsky's story is really fascinating to me. 4 years after immigrating from Russia he founded an aviation company in USA. And in 15 years he was already buildi

by readhn 8y ago

Sikorsky's story is really fascinating to me. 4 years after immigrating from Russia he founded an aviation company in USA. And in 15 years he was already building airplanes and then first ever helicopter! (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Igor_Sikorsky_300.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Igor_Sik...) If he stayed in Russia the course of human history might have been very different ... if he was developing all that technology for the USSR... and not USA. tell me about boot strapping!! : "In 1923, Sikorsky formed the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company in Roosevelt, New York.[36] He was helped by several former Russian military officers. Among Sikorsky's chief supporters was composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, who introduced himself by writing a check for US$5,000 (approximately $61,000 in 2007).[37] Although his prototype was damaged in its first test flight, Sikorsky persuaded his reluctant backers to invest another $2,500. With the additional funds, he produced the S-29, one of the first twin-engine aircraft in America, with a capacity for 14 passengers and a speed of 115 mph.[38] The performance of the S-29, slow compared to military aircraft of 1918, proved to be a "make or break" moment for Sikorsky's funding."

curiousjorge 8y ago
wow I did not know he was Russian, thats quite a feat. also fascinating is Mazda...the founder literally built it on ground zero in Hiroshima, using unexploded US munitions and whatever parts he could scavenge. It's like some people....they see adversity...and they make it their bitch. its awe inspiring.
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
He probably would have died in the gulag or at the very least not achieved what he did. Stalin was not fond of the aerospace industry so the guy who's at the leading edge of designing rotary winged aircraft would likely find his name high up on the wrong list and if he escaped that fate the money wouldn't have exactly been flowing his way.
- readhn 8y ago
  Its definitely a strong possibility that his talent would have gone unrealized! Imagine it didn't. Literally the outcome of WWII could have been very different. Of course "what if's" dont count. Still fascinating to me how much he's accomplished 100 years ago! Here we are today burning 100's of millions in cash of investors money with "0 results" (really). lol
  - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
    >Its definitely a strong possibility that his talent would have gone unrealized! Mikhail Kalashnikov wanted to design agricultural equipment because he wanted to help prevent famine. Who knows if he would have been any good at it but that door closed on June 22 1941. It's hard to say what would have happened had history been different.
eugene-s 8y ago
> If he stayed in Russia the course of human history might have been very different... if he was developing all that technology for the USSR... and not USA. I have serious doubts about this. His talents might be lost for humanity completely. Post-revolution and before WW2 there were a lot of constructors and engineers who were prosecuted, displaced or even worse by the Soviets. The wikipedia says "After the Bolshevik revolution began in 1917, Igor Sikorsky fled his homeland, because the new government threatened to shoot him." (the citation link is broken, unfortunately). This reminds me of Sergey Korolev's history. He was basically the father of Soviet rocket-building. He has survived the purges by pure luck. The leaders of his institute were executed, he was tortured to get the confession, lost his teeth, went through the gulag and got back. How many of these talented people ended up being not so lucky is hard to imagine. Even the work results might not have protected them. For example, take the chief engineer of T-34 engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Chelpan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Chelpan. He got awarded for the invention, arrested and executed the next year, and then rehabilitated a few years later. There were so many stories like these.
- blacksmith_tb 8y ago
  Similar also to the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution in China, many scientists and other intellectuals never came back from those camps[1]. Presumably modern China would look quite different if that hadn't been the case. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution#Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution#Education
scottlocklin 8y ago
The downfall of the Russian Empire was really good for American aviation. Other examples are Seversky who founded Republic aviation and Kartveli who designed many of the important aircraft for Seversky were both Russian noblemen who would have been killed by the Bolsheviks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_P._de_Seversky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_P._de_Seversky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kartveli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kartveli

by readhn 8y ago

curiousjorge 8y ago

wow I did not know he was Russian, thats quite a feat. also fascinating is Mazda...the founder literally built it on ground zero in Hiroshima, using unexploded US munitions and whatever parts he could scavenge. It's like some people....they see adversity...and they make it their bitch. its awe inspiring.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

He probably would have died in the gulag or at the very least not achieved what he did. Stalin was not fond of the aerospace industry so the guy who's at the leading edge of designing rotary winged aircraft would likely find his name high up on the wrong list and if he escaped that fate the money wouldn't have exactly been flowing his way.

readhn 8y ago
Its definitely a strong possibility that his talent would have gone unrealized! Imagine it didn't. Literally the outcome of WWII could have been very different. Of course "what if's" dont count. Still fascinating to me how much he's accomplished 100 years ago! Here we are today burning 100's of millions in cash of investors money with "0 results" (really). lol
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  >Its definitely a strong possibility that his talent would have gone unrealized! Mikhail Kalashnikov wanted to design agricultural equipment because he wanted to help prevent famine. Who knows if he would have been any good at it but that door closed on June 22 1941. It's hard to say what would have happened had history been different.

eugene-s 8y ago

> If he stayed in Russia the course of human history might have been very different... if he was developing all that technology for the USSR... and not USA. I have serious doubts about this. His talents might be lost for humanity completely. Post-revolution and before WW2 there were a lot of constructors and engineers who were prosecuted, displaced or even worse by the Soviets. The wikipedia says "After the Bolshevik revolution began in 1917, Igor Sikorsky fled his homeland, because the new government threatened to shoot him." (the citation link is broken, unfortunately). This reminds me of Sergey Korolev's history. He was basically the father of Soviet rocket-building. He has survived the purges by pure luck. The leaders of his institute were executed, he was tortured to get the confession, lost his teeth, went through the gulag and got back. How many of these talented people ended up being not so lucky is hard to imagine. Even the work results might not have protected them. For example, take the chief engineer of T-34 engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Chelpan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Chelpan. He got awarded for the invention, arrested and executed the next year, and then rehabilitated a few years later. There were so many stories like these.

blacksmith_tb 8y ago
Similar also to the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution in China, many scientists and other intellectuals never came back from those camps[1]. Presumably modern China would look quite different if that hadn't been the case. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution#Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution#Education

scottlocklin 8y ago

The downfall of the Russian Empire was really good for American aviation. Other examples are Seversky who founded Republic aviation and Kartveli who designed many of the important aircraft for Seversky were both Russian noblemen who would have been killed by the Bolsheviks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_P._de_Seversky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_P._de_Seversky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kartveli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kartveli