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59-583: The Wings Club was founded in New York City on May 15, 1942. It was housed within the Yale Club and served World War II pilots as a place of leisure and occasional living quarters. The first board of directors included Juan Trippe , the founder of Pan American World Airways , and World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker . The first president was Caleb Bragg , a racer of automobiles and speedboats, aviation pioneer, and automotive inventor. Bragg had previously been

118-428: A 25 horsepower Anzani engine, the helicopter used an upper and lower two-bladed lifting propeller that rotated in opposite directions at 160 rpm . The machine could only generate about 357 pounds (162 kg) of lift, not enough to lift the approximate 457 pounds (207 kg) weight. Despite his progress in solving technical problems of control, Sikorsky realized that the aircraft would never fly. He finally disassembled

177-718: A governor of the Aero Club of America . He was made president of the Wings Club despite suffering from a longterm illness which led to his death later the next year. In the 1970s there were 1,500 members, including women for the first time. By 2011, membership had decreased to about 1,200. Members met at the Yale Club in the first few years, then in April 1946 the Wings Club relocated to the Biltmore Hotel where it stayed for 37 years. The Biltmore

236-481: A height of a few feet. On June 30 after some modifications, Sikorsky reached an altitude of "sixty or eighty feet" before the S-2 stalled and was completely destroyed when it crashed in a ravine. Later, Sikorsky built the two-seat S-5 , his first design not based on other European aircraft. Flying this original aircraft, Sikorsky earned his pilot license ; Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) license No. 64 issued by

295-632: A patent for another "direct lift aircraft", and was awarded patent No. 1,994,488 on March 19, 1935. His design plans eventually culminated in the first (tethered) flight of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 on September 14, 1939, with the first free flight occurring eight months later on May 24, 1940. Sikorsky's success with the VS-300 led to the R-4 , which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter, in 1942. Sikorsky's final VS-300 rotor configuration, comprising

354-451: A psychiatrist with an international reputation, and an ardent Russian nationalist . Igor Sikorsky was an Orthodox Christian . When questioned regarding his roots, he would answer: "My family is of Russian origin. My grandfather and other ancestors from the time of Peter the Great were Russian Orthodox priests." Sikorsky's mother, Mariya Stefanovna Sikorskaya (née Temryuk- Cherkasova ),

413-642: A single antitorque tail rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. Sikorsky modified the design into the Sikorsky R-4 , which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942. Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev, Russian Empire (now Kyiv , Ukraine ) on May 25, 1889. He was the youngest of five children. His father, Ivan Alexeevich Sikorsky, was a professor of psychology in Saint Vladimir University (now Taras Shevchenko National University),

472-600: A single main rotor and a single antitorque tail rotor , has proven to be one of the most popular helicopter configurations, being used in most helicopters produced today. Sikorsky was married to Olga Fyodorovna Simkovitch in the Russian Empire. They were divorced and Olga remained in Russia with their daughter, Tania, as Sikorsky departed following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. In 1923, Sikorsky's sisters immigrated to

531-693: A small rubber band-powered helicopter. Sikorsky began studying at the Saint Petersburg Maritime Cadet Corps, in 1903, at the age of 14. In 1906, he determined that his future lay in engineering, so he resigned from the academy, despite his satisfactory standing, and left the Russian Empire to study in Paris. He returned to the Russian Empire in 1907, enrolling at the Mechanical College of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute . After

590-496: A swimming pool, and a barber shop, among other amenities. The heart of the clubhouse is the main lounge, a large room with a high, ornate ceiling and large columns and walls lined with fireplaces and portraits of the five Yale-educated United States presidents , all of whom are or were members of the Yale Club: William Howard Taft , Gerald R. Ford , George H. W. Bush , Bill Clinton , and George W. Bush . Outside

649-551: A worldwide membership of over 11,000. The 22-story clubhouse at 50 Vanderbilt Avenue, opened in 1915, was the world's largest clubhouse upon its completion and is still the largest college clubhouse ever built. The club is located at 50 Vanderbilt Avenue , at the intersection of East 44th Street, across Vanderbilt Avenue from Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building . After the Penn Club of New York (est. 1901) became

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708-522: Is in a neglected condition pending restoration. In November 2012, one of the Russian supersonic heavy strategic bomber Tu-160 , based at the Engels-2 Air Force Base, was named for Igor Sikorsky, which caused controversy among air base crew members. One of the officers said that Igor Sikorsky does not deserve it because he laid the foundations of the U.S., rather than Russian aviation. However,

767-645: The Housatonic River next to the Sikorsky corporate headquarters, is named for him. Sikorsky has been designated a Connecticut Aviation Pioneer by the Connecticut State Legislature. The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in Stratford, Connecticut, continues to the present day as one of the world's leading helicopter manufacturers, and a nearby small airport has been named Sikorsky Memorial Airport . Sikorsky

826-509: The Long Range Aviation command officer said that Igor Sikorsky is not responsible for the activities of his military aircraft, noted that Sikorsky had also designed the first heavy bomber for Russia. In 2013, Flying magazine ranked Sikorsky number 12 on its list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation. In August 2016, the National technical university of Ukraine "Kyiv politechnical institute"

885-584: The MetLife Building , formerly the headquarters of Pan Am. Following the record-breaking 1945 Japan–Washington flight made by three U.S. Army Air Force generals in Boeing B-29 Superfortresses , the generals and their crews were invited to a Wings Club dinner held in their honor at the Yale Club. B-29 generals Curtis LeMay and Emmett O'Donnell Jr were able to attend, as were other USAAF generals such as Carl Andrew Spaatz and Jimmy Doolittle . In 1956, Romanian inventor Henri Coandă spoke to

944-503: The S-42 "Clipper", used by Pan Am for transatlantic flights. Meanwhile, Sikorsky also continued his earlier work on vertical flight while living in Nichols, Connecticut . On February 14, 1929, he filed an application to patent a "direct lift" amphibian aircraft which used compressed air to power a direct lift "propeller" and two smaller propellers for thrust. On June 27, 1931, Sikorsky filed for

1003-618: The construction of Grand Central Terminal , it was largely paid for by money raised or contributed by President George C. Ide of Brooklyn (whose portrait by George Burroughs Torrey hangs in the building). Its location was chosen because it was believed to be where Yale alumnus Nathan Hale was hanged by the British Army for espionage during the American Revolution , although the site of Hale's execution has more recently been disputed. The Ken Burns documentary Prohibition said

1062-591: The "Distinguished Achievement Award", conferred at the annual dinner in October. The first awardee was aviation pioneer and USAF General Jimmy Doolittle. Beginning in 2010, the Wings Club began to recognize organizations or individuals each year to be honored with the "Outstanding Aviator Award", presented at the annual meeting in March. The first recipients were the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots to serve in

1121-702: The French forces in Russia, during the Russian Civil War . Seeing little opportunity for himself as an aircraft designer in war-torn Europe, and particularly Russia, ravaged by the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War , he emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on March 30, 1919. In the U.S., Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer, while looking for an opportunity to work in

1180-609: The French government stopped subsidizing military orders, whereupon he decided to move to the United States. On March 24, 1919 he left France on the ocean liner Lorraine arriving in New York City on March 30, 1919. With financial backing from his sister Olga, Sikorsky returned to Paris, the center of the aviation world at the time, in 1909. Sikorsky met with aviation pioneers, to ask them questions about aircraft and flying. In May 1909, he returned to Russia and began designing his first helicopter, which he began testing in July 1909. Powered by

1239-515: The Imperial Aero Club of Russia in 1911. During a demonstration of the S-5, the engine quit and Sikorsky was forced to make a crash landing to avoid a wall. It was discovered that a mosquito in the gasoline had been drawn into the carburetor , starving the engine of fuel. The close call convinced Sikorsky of the need for an aircraft that could continue flying if it lost an engine. His next aircraft,

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1298-522: The S-21 Russky Vityaz , which he initially called Le Grand when fitted with just two engines, then the Bolshoi Baltisky (The Great Baltic) when fitted with four engines in two "push-pull" pairs, and finally Russki Vityaz in its four engine all tractor-engined configuration. He also served as the test pilot for its first flight on May 13, 1913. In recognition for his accomplishment, he

1357-551: The S-29, slow compared to military aircraft of 1918, proved to be a "make or break" moment for Sikorsky's funding. In 1928, Sikorsky became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The Sikorsky Manufacturing Company moved to Stratford, Connecticut in 1929. It became a part of the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (now United Technologies Corporation ) in July of that year. The company manufactured flying boats , such as

1416-749: The S-6 held three passengers and was selected as the winner of the Moscow aircraft exhibition held by the Russian Army in February 1912. In early 1912, Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works ( Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod or R-BVZ ) in Saint Petersburg . His work at R-BVZ included the construction of the first four- cylinder aircraft,

1475-629: The U.S., bringing six-year-old Tania with them. Sikorsky married Elisabeth Semion (1903–1995) in 1924, in New York. Sikorsky and Elisabeth had four sons; Sergei, Nikolai, Igor Jr. and George. Sikorsky died at his home in Easton, Connecticut , on October 26, 1972, and is buried in Saint John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cemetery located on Nichols Avenue in Stratford . In 1966, Sikorsky

1534-472: The US Army Air Corps. during World War II. Since 2000, the club has awarded scholarships to aviation and aerospace students, beginning with Maurice Stanley who was studying aviation management at Dowling College , Long Island, New York. The first Sight Lecture was delivered by Igor Sikorsky on November 16, 1964, under the title "Recollections and Thoughts of a Pioneer". Sikorsky spoke primarily about

1593-603: The United States in 1919 because of the Russian Revolution , Sikorsky founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923, and developed the first of Pan American Airways ' ocean-crossing flying boats in the 1930s, including the Sikorsky S-42 "Flying Clipper". In 1939, Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 , the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the single main rotor and

1652-593: The Wings Club about his early aircraft prototype, the Coandă-1910 , ascribing to it novel features so that history would see it as a jet engine experiment. This was part of an extended effort by Coandă to redefine his legacy and frame his work as a major stepping stone of the jet age. Some aviators such as Martin Caidin believed him, but aviation historian Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith , joined later by Frank H. Winter , disputed his claims, noting that his "turbo-propulseur" patent

1711-454: The Yale Club has over 11,000 members worldwide. In 1972, Frank Mankiewicz famously described John Lindsay as "the only populist in history who plays squash at the Yale Club." Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky ([Игорь Иванович Сикорский] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |a= ( help ) , Ukrainian : Ігор Іванович Сікорський , romanized :  Ihor Ivanovych Sikorskyi ; 25 May 1889 – 26 October 1972)

1770-406: The Yale Club stocked sufficient liquor to see the club through the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. In July 1999, the Yale Club became the first of New York's Ivy League university clubs to change its dress code to business casual , a move that upset some members and was received with polite scorn from other clubs. Today, the dress code remains business casual, except in the athletic facilities. In

1829-621: The Yale Club, and Brown shares the Cornell Club. The Yale Club shares its facility with the similar Dartmouth and University of Virginia club ( Columbia University shares a clubhouse with the Penn Club, while Brown shares the Cornell Club). The neighborhood is also home to the University Club of New York , and the flagship stores of J. Press and Paul Stuart , which traditionally catered to

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1888-723: The Yale Club: the Dartmouth Club, the Virginia Club, and the Delta Kappa Epsilon Club. Members of these other clubs have the same access to the clubhouse and its facilities as members of the Yale Club itself. According to a book published for the club's 1997 centennial, members at that time included George H. W. Bush , Hillary Clinton , Bill Clinton , Gerald Ford , John Kerry and George Pataki . Among others were architect Cesar Pelli and author David McCullough . Today,

1947-538: The academic year, Sikorsky again accompanied his father to Germany in the summer of 1908, where he learned of the accomplishments of the Wright brothers ' Flyer and Ferdinand von Zeppelin 's rigid airships . Sikorsky later said about this event: "Within twenty-four hours, I decided to change my life's work. I would study aviation." By the start of World War I in 1914, Sikorsky's airplane research and production business in Kyiv

2006-432: The aircraft in October 1909, after he determined that he could learn nothing more from the design. In February 1910, he undertook to build a second helicopter, and his first airplane. By the spring, helicopter No. 2 could lift its weight of 400 pounds (180 kg), but not the additional weight of an operator. I had learned enough to recognize that with the existing state of the art, engines, materials, and – most of all –

2065-594: The aircraft won first prize for its young designer, builder and pilot in the military competition at Saint Petersburg. In 1913, the Sikorsky-designed Russky Vityaz (S-21) became the first successful four-engine aircraft to take flight. He also designed and built the Ilya Muromets (S-22 – S-27) family of four-engine aircraft, an airliner which he redesigned to be the world's first four-engine bomber when World War I broke out. After immigrating to

2124-590: The aviation industry. In 1932, he joined the faculty of the University of Rhode Island to form an aeronautical engineering program and remained with the university until 1948. He also lectured at the University of Bridgeport . In 1923, Sikorsky formed the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company in Roosevelt, New York . He was helped by several former Russian military officers. Among Sikorsky's chief supporters

2183-491: The building. The first president of the Yale Club was attorney Thomas Thacher , founder of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett . The first clubhouse was a rented brownstone at 17 East 26th Street. In 1901, the club built a 12-story clubhouse at 30 West 44th Street , which today is home to the Penn Club of New York. The current clubhouse opened in June 1915. Designed by architect and Yale alumnus James Gamble Rogers in conjunction with

2242-486: The club in federal court . Bork alleged that, while trying to reach the dais to speak at an event for The New Criterion magazine, he fell because the club negligently failed to provide steps or a handrail between the floor and the dais. Bork claimed that his injuries required surgery, immobilized him for months, forced him to use a cane, and left him with a limp. He sought judgment for $ 1 million in damages plus punitive damages and attorney's fees. In May 2008, Bork and

2301-406: The club reached a confidential, out-of-court settlement. To be eligible for membership, a candidate must be an alumnus/alumna, faculty member, full-time graduate student of Yale University, or a child of one. The club sends out a monthly newsletter to members. Yale College did not allow women to become members until 1969. Wives of members had to enter the club through a separate entrance (today

2360-670: The club set. The building is a New York City-designated landmark . The 22-story clubhouse contains three dining spaces (the "Tap Room," the "Grill Room," and the Roof Dining Room and Terrace), four bars (in the Tap Room, Grill Room, Main Lounge, and on the Roof Terrace), banquet rooms for up to 500 people (including the 20th-floor Grand Ballroom), 138 guest rooms, a library, a fitness and squash center with three international squash courts and

2419-627: The fall of 2012, the club began to allow denim to be worn in the library, the Grill Room, and on the rooftop terrace during the summer, but nowhere else, as long as it is "neat, clean, and in good repair." Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Heisman Trophy , traditionally presented at the Downtown Athletic Club , was presented at the Yale Club in 2002 and 2003. The 2002 winner

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2478-570: The first alumni clubhouse to join Clubhouse Row for inter-club events at 30 West 44th Street after Harvard Club of New York City (est. 1888) at 27 West 44th, then New York Yacht Club (est. 1899) at 37 West 44th , and Yale Club of New York City (est. 1915) on East 44th (and Vanderbilt) and Cornell Club of New York (est. 1989) at 6 East 44th on the same block, with Princeton Club of New York joining in 1963 at 15 West 43rd (the only alumni clubhouse who wasn't on 44th Street, whose members, part of

2537-492: The future role of the helicopter; he was certain that it would remain an important type of aircraft despite experiments with VTOL fixed-wing designs. Yale Club of New York City The Yale Club of New York City , commonly called The Yale Club , is a private club in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . Its membership is restricted almost entirely to alumni and faculty of Yale University . The Yale Club has

2596-631: The lounge above the main staircase hangs a posthumous portrait of Elihu Yale by Francis Edwin Elwell and a portrait of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor . The Yale Club was created in 1897 by the Old Yale Alumni Association of New York, a 29-year-old organization that wanted a permanent clubhouse. One of the incorporators was Senator Chauncey Depew , whose 1890 portrait by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury hangs in

2655-444: The program to completion. Also in 1964, founding club member, former club president and retired USAF General Harold Ross Harris implemented the annual "Sight Lecture" series at which a leading aviation notable was to be invited to deliver a lecture adhering generally to "insights, foresights and hindsights" of aviation. Beginning in 1975, the Wings Club selects one or more organizations or individuals each year to be honored with

2714-470: The service entrance), and were not allowed to have access to much of the clubhouse. Once Yale opened to women, however, the club quickly followed suit on July 30, 1969, although the club did not open its bar, dining room, or athletic facilities to women until 1974 and did not open its swimming pool (known as "the plunge") to women until 1987. Now, women constitute a large percentage of the club's membership. Three other, smaller clubs also are in residence at

2773-467: The shortage of money and lack of experience... I would not be able to produce a successful helicopter at that time. Sikorsky's first aircraft of his own design, the S-1 used a 15 hp Anzani 3-cylinder fan engine in a pusher configuration , that could not lift the aircraft. His second design called the S-2 was powered by a 25 hp Anzani engine in a tractor configuration and first flew on June 3, 1910 at

2832-502: The staff, and in-residence club, Williams College Club of New York, were absorbed into Penn Club following a previous visiting reciprocity agreement between the Princeton-Penn Clubs, before Princeton's went out of business during COVID). Despite being in New York City, Columbia University Club of New York (est. 1901) left Princeton after residence agreement issues to become in-residence at The Penn Club, while Dartmouth shares

2891-402: Was a Russian–American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft . His first success came with the Sikorsky S-2 , the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5 , won him national recognition and F.A.I. pilot's license number 64. His S-6-A received the highest award at the 1912 Moscow Aviation Exhibition, and in the fall of that year

2950-496: Was a physician who did not work professionally. She is sometimes called Zinaida Sikorsky. While homeschooling young Igor, she gave him a great love for art, especially in the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci , and the stories of Jules Verne . In 1900, at age 11, he accompanied his father to Germany and through conversations with his father, became interested in natural sciences . After returning home, Sikorsky began to experiment with model flying machines, and by age 12, he had made

3009-433: Was awarded an honorary degree in engineering from Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute in 1914. Sikorsky took the experience from building the Russky Vityaz to develop the S-22 Ilya Muromets airliner. Due to outbreak of World War I , he redesigned it as the world's first four-engined bomber , for which he was decorated with the Order of St. Vladimir . After World War I, Igor Sikorsky briefly became an engineer for

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3068-441: Was composer Sergei Rachmaninoff , who introduced himself by writing a check for US$ 5,000 (equivalent to $ 89,414 in 2023). 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 the U.S., with a capacity for 14 passengers and a speed of 115 mph. The performance of

3127-410: Was flourishing, and his factory made bombers during the war. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Igor Sikorsky fled his homeland in early 1918, because the Bolsheviks threatened to shoot him for being "the Tsar 's friend and a very popular person". He moved to France where he was offered a contract for the design of a new, more powerful Muromets -type plane. But in November 1918 the war ended, and

3186-413: Was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame . Sikorsky's and Andrei Tupolev 's professional careers were covered in the 1979 Soviet biopic The Poem of Wings ( Russian : Поэма о крыльях ) where Sikorsky was portrayed by Yury Yakovlev . A working model of Sikorsky Ilya Muromets was recreated for filming. The Sikorsky Memorial Bridge , which carries the Merritt Parkway across

3245-415: Was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1987. In October 2011, one of the streets in Kyiv was renamed for Sikorsky. The decision was made by the City Council at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine , which opened its new office on that street. The Sikorsky's family house in the city's historical center is preserved to this day but

3304-439: Was named National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" after its former student and outstanding aircraft designer. On March 22, 2018, the Kyiv City Council officially renamed Kyiv International Airport to "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport Zhuliany". Sikorsky was a deeply religious Russian Orthodox Christian and authored two religious and philosophical books ( The Message of

3363-488: Was quarterback Carson Palmer of the USC Trojans , and the 2003 winner was quarterback Jason White of the University of Oklahoma Sooners . Before the two Heisman Trophy ceremonies, the un-awarded trophy itself was displayed in the Yale Club's lobby, flanked by portraits of Yale's two Heisman winners, end Larry Kelley (1936) and halfback Clint Frank (1937). In June 2007, former United States Solicitor General and onetime Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork sued

3422-467: Was suitable for either air flow or water flow—it certainly did not ignite fuel to create combustion in the exhaust airstream. In early 1964, Joseph A. Walker , the chief test pilot for NASA , spoke about NASA's space program, especially about the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle for which he served as project manager. Walker expressed great confidence in the likelihood of a successful Moon landing but he died two years later in an air collision and never saw

3481-399: Was torn down in 1981, so the club moved to nearby 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, a 20-story building opposite Grand Central Terminal . The Wings Club maintained a library, kitchen and dining hall on the 18th floor until 2002 when they stopped keeping their own quarters and instead met only at the Yale Club. In 2011, the club again moved into a permanent home, consisting of offices and a boardroom inside

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