Igor Sikorsky

Hello, my name is Igor Sikorsky. I was born a long time ago, in the year 1889, in a city called Kyiv. When I was a young boy, my mother would tell me amazing stories about an inventor named Leonardo da Vinci, who dreamed of building flying machines hundreds of years ago. Her stories sparked a big dream inside of me. I loved watching dragonflies hover in the air, moving up, down, and sideways so easily. I dreamed of building a machine that could lift straight into the sky just like them. I spent many hours drawing my ideas for a special flying machine.

When I was old enough, I decided to build my dream. Around 1909, I built my first helicopter, but it just couldn't get off the ground. I was disappointed, but I knew I couldn't give up. I decided to build airplanes first to learn more about flying. In 1913, I had a great success when I built the world's first giant, four-engine airplane, which I named the 'Grand'. It was huge. A few years later, in 1919, I moved to a new country, America, to find more opportunities to keep my dream alive.

In America, I started my own company. We built 'flying boats,' which were special airplanes that could take off from and land on water. They were very useful, but I never forgot my dream of the helicopter. I kept working on my plans in my spare time. Finally, a very exciting day came on September 14th, 1939. I climbed into the pilot's seat of my new creation, the VS-300. It had one big rotor on top and a smaller one on the tail. I started the engine, and it lifted me right off the ground. My dream had finally come true.

My helicopters soon became heroes. Starting in 1942, they were used to rescue people from places that were hard to reach, like mountains or the ocean. Today, helicopters are still used all over the world by helpers to save lives every single day. I lived to be 83 years old, and I was so happy to see how my invention was used to help so many people. So, the next time you see a helicopter in the sky, remember the boy who was inspired by a dragonfly.