Igor Sikorsky demonstrated the first successful powered flight of a helicopter in 1939 with the VS-300.
Sikorsky had designed and built aircraft in Russia before emigrating to the United States. His VS-300, tested in Connecticut, used a single main rotor for lift and a smaller tail rotor for directional control. This configuration became the basis for many later conventional helicopters.
The VS-300 was not the first rotorcraft ever to leave the ground. Earlier pioneers made short flights in autogyros and experimental helicopters, including Paul Cornu’s 1907 machine. Sikorsky’s achievement was the development of a practical, controllable helicopter layout that could be refined for regular use.
The VS-300 is preserved at the Henry Ford museum in Michigan. Sikorsky’s work helped establish helicopters as useful machines for rescue, transport, military operations, and civilian aviation.