“Igor Sikorsky (May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972), born Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was a Russian American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. He designed and flew the world's first multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, the Russky Vityaz in 1913, and the first airliner, Ilya Muromets, in 1914. After immigrating to the United States in 1919, Sikorsky founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923, and developed the first of Pan American Airways' ocean-conquering flying boats in the 1930s. In 1939 Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. Sikorsky would modify the design into the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Westland Sikorsky H-5's, used by British European Airways Helicopters, which fly between London and Birmingham. The Sikorsky H-5, (aka R-5, S-51, HO3S-1, or Horse) (R-5 until 1948; company designation VS-327) is a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, formerly used by the United States Air Force, and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard (with the designations HO2S and HO3S). (Photo by Harrison /Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 22nd May 1951

Migrants react after boarding the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) ship MV Phoenix some 20 miles (32 kilometres) off the coast of Libya, August 3, 2015. Some 118 migrants were rescued from a rubber dinghy off Libya on Monday morning. The Phoenix, manned by personnel from international non-governmental organisations Medecins san Frontiere (MSF) and MOAS, is the first privately funded vessel to operate in the Mediterranean. (Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)

Pigeons walk in front of the Russian Foreign Ministry building (C) in Moscow on April 8, 2024. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Moscow's key diplomatic and economic partner China on April 8-9, his Ministry said in a statement. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

Thousands of travellers heading to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday to mark the end of Ramadan, wait in a traffic jam to board a ferry at the entrance to Gilimanuk port on Bali, Indonesia July 3, 2016 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. (Photo by Nyoman Budhiana/Reuters/Antara Foto)

Farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy in Karanganyar, near Solo, Central Java, Indonesia in this April 13, 2016 photo taken by Antara Foto. (Photo by Maulana Surya/Reuters/Antara Foto)

A man carries a dog and wades through a flooded street in Chennai, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Wednesday, December 2, 2015. Weeks of torrential rains have forced the airport in the state capital Chennai to close and have cut off several roads and highways, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded in their homes, government officials said Wednesday. (Photo by AP Photo)

A girl competes during a Hobby horsing competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Several dozen kids, 48 girls and one boy, from first-graders to teenagers gathered in a gymnasium in northern St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, for a hobby horsing competition. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)