| Vought-Sikorsky OS2U Kingfisher |
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Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division's OS2U
Kingfisher was the U. S. Navy's primary
ship-based, scout and observation airplane
during World War II. Rex Beisel, a design
engineer at Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Company,
crafted the OS2U in 1937. Beisel also
designed the Vought F4U Corsair fighter.
Beisel's Navy scout was a two-seat monoplane
that employed revolutionary spot welding
construction to create a smooth, non-buckling
fuselage structure. He also used old
technology to save weight and increase
performance when he covered the wings with
fabric aft of the main spar.
The Kingfisher handled well in slow flight,
thanks to several innovative control
features. In addition to the deflector plate
flaps that hung from the trailing edge of the
wing, the ailerons also drooped at low
airspeeds to function much like extra flaps.
Beisel also incorporated spoilers to
supplement aileron control at low speeds. The
Kingfisher could carry a respectable load.
For antisubmarine work, ordnance men could
suspend two 45 kg (100 lb) bombs or two 146
kg (325 lb) depth charges. A fixed .30
caliber machine gun was mounted in front of
the pilot to fire forward. A gunner seated
several feet behind the pilot fired another
.30 caliber machine gun on a flexible mount.
The Navy contracted for the prototype XOS2U-1
on March 22, 1937, and this airplane first
flew in July 1938, equipped with an
air-cooled Pratt & Whitney R-985-4 Wasp
Junior radial engine. The first production
Kingfisher, the OS2U-1, was delivered early
in 1940 and assigned to the battleship "USS
Colorado." The Kingfisher could perform a
variety of tasks - training, scouting,
bombing, tactical and utility missions such
as towing aerial gunnery targets and chasing
practice torpedoes, and even anti-submarine
warfare in the Atlantic Ocean. Most OS2Us
operated in the Pacific Theater where
Kingfisher pilots rescued many downed airmen.
In 1942, a Navy pilot flying a Kingfisher
rescued America's World War I ace, Capt.
Eddie Rickenbacker, and the crew of a B-17D
Flying Fortress forced to ditch in the
Pacific. With Rickenbacker and two other
passengers, the bomber and its five-man crew
had left Hickam Field, Hawaii, bound for
Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands group,
2,898 km (1,800 miles) southwest of Hawaii.
The Flying Fortress wandered off course and
the crew got lost. When the aircraft
eventually ran out of fuel and ditched, the
eight survivors put to sea aboard three life
rafts. Several weeks passed without food or
water. By chance, a Kingfisher crewed by Lt.
Willam F. Eadie, pilot, and L.H. Boutte,
radioman, spotted the raft carrying
Rickenbacker and two other crewmen. Eadie
strapped the sickest man into the gunner's
seat, and then he lashed Rickenbacker and
another man to each wing. A Kingfisher could
never takeoff with such a load, so Eadie
began to taxi toward his base on Funafuti
Island, about 64.4 km (40 miles) distant.
Soon a Navy Patrol Torpedo boat met the
airplane and the other five men were soon
rescued. Only one of the eight failed to
recover from the long ordeal.
General characteristics
Crew: Two, pilot and observer
Length: 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 11 in (10.95 m)
Height: 15 ft 1.5 in (4.61 m)
Wing area: 262 ft² (24 m²)
Empty weight: 4,123 lb (1,870 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 6,000 lb (2,721 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-2
radial engine, 450 hp (336 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 164 mph (264 km/h)
Range: 805 mi (1,296 km)
Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,960 m)
Armament
2x .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine
guns
650 lb (295 kg) of bombs
Tags : Vought Sikorsky OS2U Kingfisher seaplane aircraft aviation history ww2 |
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Affichage : 11200
Durée : 71 s |
| Sikorsky S-35: The plane that should have beat Lindberg |
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A captain of the Air Service Reserve, Homer
M. Berry, decided he would take a crack at
the Ortiz prize, and he organized a company
for that purpose, Argonauts, Inc., with the
help of New Hampshire paper magnate Robert
Jackson. Berry and Jackson then contracted
with the recent émigré Igor Sikorsky to
build a plane that could make the
trans-Atlantic flight.
Igor Sikorsky had just fled the Russian
Revolution and, with the help of some
illustrious refugees (like Sergei
Rachmaninoff), was establishing an aircraft
manufacturing business on American soil. By
the end of 1925, Sikorsky had constructed for
the Argonauts the S-35, a huge biplane with a
101-foot (31m) wingspan and weighing nine
tons (8t) when fully fuelled (but without
crew and cargo); it was at first powered by
two Liberty engines, then by three
Gnome-Rhone Jupiter 450-hp engines.
Sikorsky built and serviced the plane—now
named New York-Paris—at Roosevelt Field on
Long Island, New York, and all of New York
(it seemed), including the flamboyant mayor,
Jimmy Walker came out to watch the plane put
through its paces. Berry no doubt thought
that he would pilot the plane, but late in
1925 the legendary French ace René Fonck
visited the hangar where the S-35 was being
built.
He made it clear to the Argonauts that he
would welcome an invitation to fly the plane,
and the Argonauts happily obliged, making
Berry the co-pilot. Fonck made all sorts of
demands on the design of the plane itself,
including insisting that the fifteen-foot
(4.5m) cabin be decorated in red satin, gold
fittings, and mahogany and leather panelling.
All this irked Sikorsky, who was depending on
the S-35 to make his reputation, but Fonck,
aside from being a hero of the war, had been
instrumental in procuring the Jupiter
engines. The crew had grown to five, and at
the last minute Berry was forced out in
favour of a navigator supplied by the U.S.
Navy. Finally, after anticipation had risen
to a fever pitch, the date for the take-off
was set for September 21, 1926, if weather
permitted.
Thousands of New Yorkers lined the field to
witness this historic moment. Fonck led the
grand procession to the plane, and all the
crew had baggage and gifts loaded onto the
plane. Fonck was given a basket of croissants
by Orteig, which he cheerfully tossed into
the cabin. Sikorsky watched nervously and
estimated that the gross weight of the plane
was well over fourteen tons (12.5t)—more
than ten thousand pounds (4,540kg) over
specifications.
Later there would be some question whether
Sikorsky said anything to Fonck, but at the
time it probably would not have mattered.
Fonck and the others were completely caught
up in the moment. During take-off, a wheel on
the undercarriage came loose when the plane
passed over a rough service road that crossed
the runway. Jacob Islamov, a friend of
Sikorsky and the plane's mechanic, was in
charge of releasing part of the landing gear
once the plane was airborne (to reduce the
load). Thinking the entire plane would roll
over, Islamov released the landing gear,
sending the plane hurtling over the hill at
the end of the runway. The crowd watched in
horror as the plane disappeared silently over
the hill; then a great explosion erupted and
shook the ground and lit up the sky.
Sikorsky ran the length of the field and
found Fonck and another crewman crawling away
from the burning wreckage; Islamov and the
radio man were trapped inside. Fonck stood
dazed, watching the fire and the frantic, but
futile, efforts of rescuers. "It is the
fortunes of the air," he pronounced, and
Sikorsky eyed him poisonously. At the
inquest, Fonck was accused by many
(including, naturally, Berry) of not being
competent to fly so large a plane and of not
aborting the take-off when the wheel fell
off.
Sikorsky was mildly reprimanded for not
carrying out the complete regimen of flight
tests with full loads (though the problem, it
was determined, had not been with the plane,
but with the runway and undercarriage), and
the navy man, a former aide to Admiral
Moffett, vouched for Fonck's abilities. The
coroner, possibly bowing to political
pressure, exonerated Fonck and ruled the
crash "an unfortunate accident." Most amazing
of all, perhaps, is that after the inquest
Sikorsky and Fonck announced that they would
build a new plane and try again the next
year.
Tags : Sikorsky S-35 New York Paris Raymond Orteig transatlantic Rene Fonck Charles Lindberg aviation history aircraft airplane |
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Affichage : 5082
Durée : 163 s |
| Nuri = S61A4 Sikorsky, RMAF/TUDM |
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The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has
shortlisted four helicopter makes to replace
its ageing S61A4 Sikorsky, better known as
the Nuri, fleet.
A defence industry source said physical
evaluation for each model would be carried
out soon.
He said that the four helicopters were
Eurocopter Cougar EC725, Sikorsky S92, Agusta
Westlands EH 101, and the Russian-made Mil MI
171.
The helicopter makers participated in a
tender at the last Langkawi International
Maritime and Air Show.
The Government would initially purchase 12
units of the new helicopters, of which eight
would go to the RMAF for the Nuri replacement
programme. Four would go to the navy, the
source close to the deal said.
"What the RMAF is looking for is not only a
carrier helicopter that can carry up to 25
people but one that can also be used for
limited combat and search and rescue," he
said.
Meanwhile, in phasing out the Nuri
helicopters, he said 17 of the 29 still
flyable units would go to the army as utility
aircraft.
He said the Nuri, which has a long lifespan,
would complement the army's aim of having all
three flying platforms; the light observation
helicopter, utility helicopter and attack
helicopter ready for a full air operation.
Tags : nuri helicopter s61a4 sikorsky rmaf tudm royal malaysian airforce tentera udara diraja malaysia eugenekhf |
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Affichage : 7747
Durée : 148 s |
| Sikorsky S-40 Flying Boat |
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The Sikorsky S-40 was an amphibious flying
boat built in the early 1930s, and the
largest commercial airliner of its time.
Flying for Pan American Airways, a total of
three aircraft were built, manufactured by
the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the
United Aircraft Corporation in Stratford,
Connecticut. All three were scrapped during
World War II. The aircraft first flew on
November 19, 1931 and was piloted by Charles
Lindbergh from Miami, Florida to the Panama
Canal Zone. The S-40 was the first of many
aircraft known as Flying Clipper and Pan Am
Clipper.
The S-40 was nicknamed the "Flying Forest"
for its maze of support struts.
General characteristics
Crew: four
Capacity: 40 passengers
Length: 76 ft 8 in (23.37 m)
Wingspan: 114 ft 0 in (34.76 m)
Height: 23 ft 10 in (7.27 m)
Wing area: 1,875 ft² (174.3 m²)
Empty: 24,748 lb (11,249 kg)
Loaded: 34,000 lb (15,455 kg)
Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
Powerplant: 4x Pratt & Whitney R-1690 radial
engines, 575 hp (429 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 135 mph (217 km/h)
Range: 875 miles (1,408 km)
Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,963 m)
Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
Wing loading: 18 lb/ft² (89 kg/m²)
Power/Mass: 0.07 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)
Flight test report:
To: MR. I. I. SIKORSKY
cc: Mr. Neilson
Capt.Sergievsky
Mr. S. Gluhareff
Mr. N. Sinitzin
Files (2)
Date: August 31, 1931
From: M. GLUHAREFF
Subject: FLIGHT REPORT ON S-40 AMPHIBION -
GROSS WEIGHT 32,000#
Weather: clear, approximately 12 wind (N.W.)
Temperature: 75
Barometer pressure: 30.04
Time: start 2:15 P.M.; finish 4:13 P.M.
Take-off time on water - 30 seconds
Cruising on 1650 R.P.M. all engines - average
speed 100.5 M.P.H.
Cruising on 1750 R.P.M. all engines - average
speed 107.75 M.P.H.
High speed, full throttle, 2010 R.P.M. all
engines - average speed 130.25 M.P.H.
Cross wind interfered with the speed test
flight; it was exactly 90 degrees to the
course.
The fairing on the landing gear axles came
off, building a screeen about 1-1/2 sq. feet
flat plate area on each side.
Landing at New Haven Harbor about 3:20 P.M.
the fairings from the axles were removed
entirely.
Climb to Altitude Time
Speed Ind. R.P.M.
500 30 sec.
90 1850
1000 1 min. 17 sec.
95 1800
2000 3 min. 7 sec.
95 1820
3000 4 min. 40 sec.
96 1820
4000 6 min. 25 sec.
95 1800
5000 8 min. 10 sec.
97 1800
5800-6000 10 min.
At 6000 ft. altitude - three engines - flight
was tested - rate of climb approximately
200 ft. per min. (R.P.M. - 1830)
At 2000 ft. altitude - two engines - flight
was tested - during five (5) minutes 600 ft
was lost - (R.P.M. - 1820)
At 2000 ft. altutude - three engines - flight
was repeated - during 1 minute exactly,
the ship gained 200 ft. (from 2100 to 2300
ft.) (R.P.M. - 1820).
Pilot: Captain Sergievsky
Observers: S.Gluhareff
M.Gluhareff
Signed
M. GLUHAREFF
Tags : Igor Sikorsky S-40 Flying Boat Aviation History aircraft airplane seaplane Pan Am Clipper |
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Affichage : 10938
Durée : 112 s |
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