HISTORY
Sikorsky was founded in 1925 by
aircraft engineer Igor Sikorsky, a
Kiev-born American immigrant. The
company, named "Sikorsky
Manufacturing Company", began
aircraft production in Roosevelt,
New York that year. In 1929 the
company moved to Stratford,
Connecticut. It became a part of
United Aircraft and Transport
Corporation (now United Technologies
Corporation) in July of that year.
In the
United States, Igor Sikorsky
originally concentrated on the
development of multi-engined
landplanes and then amphibious
aircraft. In the late 1930s, sales
declined and United Aircraft merged
his division with Vought Aircraft.
He took this opportunity to begin
work on developing a practical
helicopter. After first flying the
VS-300 he developed the Sikorsky
R-4, the first stable, single-rotor,
fully controllable helicopter to
enter large full-scale production
(in 1942), upon which the majority
of subsequent helicopters were based
(though Sikorsky did not invent the
helicopter itself).
Sikorsky
Aircraft remains one of the leading
helicopter manufacturers, producing
such well-known models as the UH-60
Black Hawk and SH-60 Seahawk, as
well as experimental types like the
Sikorsky S-72 X-Wing. It is a
leading defense contractor. Sikorsky
has supplied the helicopter for the
President of the United States since
1957. Sikorsky's VH-3 and VH-60
currently perform this role.
The company
acquired Helicopter Support Inc.
(HSI) in 1998. HSI handles non-U.S.
government after-market support for
parts and repair for the Sikorsky
product lines.
UTC acquired
Schweizer Aircraft Corp. in 2004,
which now operates as a subsidiary
of Sikorsky. The product lines of
the two firms are complementary, and
have very little overlap, as
Sikorsky primarily concentrates on
medium and large helicopters, while
Schweizer produces small
helicopters, UAVs, gliders, and
light planes. The Schweizer deal was
signed on August 26, 2004, exactly
one week after the death of Paul
Schweizer, the company's founder and
majority owner. In late 2005,
Sikorsky completed the purchase of
Keystone Helicopter Corporation,
located in Coatesville,
Pennsylvania. Keystone had been
maintaining and completing Sikorsky
S-76 and S-92 helicopters prior to
the sale.
In 2007,
Sikorsky opened the Hawk Works, a
Rapid Prototyping and Military
Derivatives Completion Center
(RPMDCC) located west of the
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport in
Big Flats, New York. That same year
Sikorsky purchased the PZL Mielec
plant in Poland. The plant is
assembling the S-70i for
international customers.
Sikorsky's
main plant and administrative
offices are located in Stratford,
Connecticut. Other Sikorsky
facilities are in Shelton, and
Bridgeport, Connecticut; Fort Worth,
Texas; West Palm Beach, Florida; and
Troy, Alabama. Other Sikorsky-owned
subsidiaries are in Trumbull,
Connecticut; Coatesville,
Pennsylvania; and Grand Prairie,
Texas; among others around the
world.
In
February 2009,
Sikorsky
Global Helicopters
was created as a business unit of
Sikorsky Aircraft to focus on the
construction and marketing of
commercial helicopters. The business
unit combines the main civil
helicopters that were produced by
Sikorsky Aircraft and the helicopter
business of Schweizer Aircraft that
Sikorsky has acquired in 2004. It is
based at Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
On July 20, 2015, Lockheed Martin
announced plans to purchase Sikorsky
Aircraft from United
Technologies Corporation at
a cost of $7.1 billion. The
Pentagon criticized
the acquisition as causing a
reduction in competition. In
November 2015, the acquisition
received final approval from the
Chinese government, with
a total cost of $9 billion. Dan
Schulz was named the president of
Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky company.
Source:
Wikipedia
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