Sergei Sikorsky Visits Coast Guard Facility

Wings of Gold, Spring 2004

Sergei Sikorsky Visits Coast Guard Facility. Report by PA2 Kyle Niem.

The pictures that line the walls of Erickson Hall at Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama, depict various stages in the development of rotary wing aviation and major events in the history of the Coast Guard's helicopter aviation program. These attracted a distinguished guest who visited the Hall and addressed the command. Erickson Hall is named after the Coast Guard's first helicopter pilot, CAPT Frank Erickson. The guest: Sergei Sikorsky, son of the legendary Igor Sikorsky, a renowned aircraft designer and rotary wing pioneer. While on active duty during WWIl he served under CAPT Erickson. He was drafted in 1943 and served two and a half years helping develop Coast Guard missions while assigned to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was discharged as an AM2 in 1946. He ultimately became vice president of special projects for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and retired 10 years ago. he is now a consultant.

Many aviators at the command sought his autograph and posed for pictures with him, recognizing the legacy of the Sikorsky name in helicopter aviation. In fact, Sergei knew the details of the many photos on display better than anyone since CAPT Erickson.

Sikorsky gave a compelling address to the 300 members of the command, tracing rotary wing aviation from Leonardo da Vinci on forward. He was named an Honorary Chief Petty Officer by the CPO's Mess during his visit. A plaque on the hat box containing a chief's combination cover read, "For more than 60 years of dedicated service to the search and rescue helicopter industry."