The Sikorsky Aircraft Centennial by Frank Colucci and John Bulakowski

Reviewed by LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)

"The jet may have made the world smaller. The helicopter made it bigger by allowing mankind to live and work in areas that would have been inaccessible by any other vehicle.” - Igor Sikorsky

In the 1970s, I boarded a San Francisco and Oakland Helicopter Airlines Sikorsky S-61L at Oakland for a cross bay flight to San Francisco International. The flight was part of my airline ticket out of SFO returning to San Diego following TAD at NAS Alameda. I was suitably impressed, having done a tour with HC-1 flying the H-3G; the Sea King was a great bird. Reading The Sikorsky Aircraft Centennial brought me right back to that flight. This book celebrates the 100th anniversary of Sikorsky aircraft, relays the helicopter airline saga, and much more. Frank Colucci and John Bulakowski have compiled an encyclopedia of Sikorsky aircraft history. A history aptly named A Tribute which takes the reader through 100 years of aviation evolution.

Have you ever heard of the Deuce, the Comanche, or an airliner with an outside promenade deck? If you have not heard of them or a hundred other things about Sikorsky aviation, then this is the book for you. From Igor Sikorsky’s start in 1890’s Russia - Ukraine actually - we learn that he is truly a “Renaissance Man” who understands the connection between science, engineering, mechanics, and people. We are taken on a beautiful ride embellished with hundreds of photos and illustrations. It is an adventure to travel through his work in Russia to his establishment in the U.S., showing us what he did before, during, and after founding Sikorsky Aero Engineering.

Did you know that he was a highly successful fixed-wing designer and engineer too? Sikorsky and his company’s growth, successes, and failures are documented categorically by era and mission. The book takes us fully through his airplane phase to his goal of a rotary-wing machine. We see in depth the trials and tribulations of such a controversial design leading to its ultimate success. We are led through Sikorsky helicopter’s growth within the Army, Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Do you have a Winged S on your aircraft? You learn the why, when, and how it came about. The trip takes military expansion from the piston era R-4, S-51/55/58, and behemoth HR2S into the turbine Kings, Stallions, and Hawks.

Commercial birth and growth are fully covered by Colucci and Bulakowski. We are taken from piston to turbine expansion in markets the world over. Sikorsky aircraft were introduced early on as cargo and passenger vehicles at JFK, and they expanded quickly across the country, to Chicago and LA, to overseas companies from Belgium and Italy to Pakistan and Australia, and more. Sikorsky helicopters were quickly covering the earth, with another major market being the oil fields in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Heavy use of helicopters by the airlines and oil companies led to the expansion of the S-55 and S-58 to the even larger and more capable turbine 61, 76, and 92, among others.

Our worldwide trip comes to a close with a deep dive into design, engineering, and production at Sikorsky during the digital age. You are taken on a comparative trip from the Grand to Clipper, from the 300 to UTTAS, and from the FVL X2 and Raider to the Defiant and beyond. But, just when we think the trip has ended, we are given a treasure trove of new information in two appendices. In Appendix One, we see all of the different Sikorsky plants and presidents since the company was founded. We see information about and pictures of all of the U.S. Sikorsky aircraft from the biplane S-29 to the S-100 Defiant. To keep the various aircraft straight, we’re also given a DOD cross reference guide for popular names and alpha-numerical designations from the larger seaplanes to all of the military service helicopters.

Appendix Two is devoted to Igor Sikorsky himself. Starting with a beautiful painting of him surrounded by some of his historic helo designs, we go through full page blowups of a half dozen of his critical fixed and rotary-wing patents, with pages showing every patent from 1935 to 1960. We are given a two-page color spread of his preserved office in Stratford with separate pictures and explanations of the many memorabilia items there.

Just when you think it’s all over, you are given the final nugget of treasure. We see the very last letter that he ever wrote followed by thirteen pages of his personal account of his experiences. The account is in his voice with no editing of his accentuation. I have an LP record of Mr. Sikorsky making a speech at an awards dinner in 1967. His personal recollection is indeed in his own words and a moving ending tribute to this book. I cannot recommend The Sikorsky Aircraft Centennial enough. If you are a history buff, or you just want to know more about the aircraft that you may be flying, then this is the book for you. Frank Colucci and John Bulakowski have given us a beautifully written and crafted accounting of a humble yet magnificent man and the aircraft he made famous. I give it five stars and two hearty thumbs up. Get it, read it, pass it on, but make it part of your library. You will not be disappointed.