Igor Sikorsky...
 

Are there any peers at his level? He sure started the ball rolling....
https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/25-may-1889/

Thanks for that .... I have always been very interested in helicopter history and have most of the books written through the years.

A good book was written by engineer William Hunt who worked with Igor in the early days and contributed a lot of ideas which Igor implemented.

The one mistake Mr Hunt made was the title of his book ...... Heelicopter: Pioneering with Igor Sikorsky .... he spelled Helicopter the way Igor pronounced it (Heelicopter) thus it never comes up in helicopter searches or book indexes..

I think there are still some used copies available for those who are interested in the history.

Thank you

In addition to Igor, I would think the contributions of Frank Piasecki are also more than noteworthy. The tandem rotor helicopter required a certain kind of design genius to make it work. And work it does!

Arthur Young probably also deserves an honourable mention.

One of Igor Sikorsky's financial backers was a famous musician. Without Googling, who knows who this was?

Answer

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Frank Robinson? := := :=

Juan Cierva, Raoul Hafner. Definition of a genius is someone capable of original thinking.

Larry Bell, Stanley Hiller and Charles Kaman all come to mind as leaders and innovators in the helicopter business. Each leaving a significant heritage that originated with them directly.

What about Flettner and Focke Achgelis ?

Another one that history overlooked for a long time was Jacob Ellehammer from Denmark . Around 1913 he was flying his co-axial helicopter .... his was not the first helicopter of course but he incorporated cyclic control similar to modern day machines. He was a clockmaker by trade and was a competent machinist & fabricator.

History overlooked him because there was no "proof" his machine actually flew until many years later a picture was found showing a hover demonstration in front of Denmark's Royal Family and was determined to be around 1913 - 1914

During the early 1900's he also built his own radial engine and was flying his own fixed-wing plane around 1907 ..... almost parallel to The Wright Bros first flights. However he was never looking for publicity , simply experimenting his ideas , flew on a remote level sandy beach with few (if any) witnesses.

Trivia: Aprox 1995 when the internet was full of good stuff .... the great great great grandaughter of Ellehammer was a university student ..... Danish students had their own websites and she did an excellent history site based on all Ellehammer's notes and paperwork the family had preserved. . I was in contact with her many times and encouraged and thanked her for what she did. .... Alas none of it survived , probably when she finished university her website was closed.

Better throw in Ciervo DeLaSelle the inventor of the swash plate, without which the Helicopter would've never evolved :confused: