Sikorsky Russky Vityaz

Russky Vityaz
Improved version with four propellers.
Role four-engine passenger aircraft
Manufacturer Igor Sikorsky
Designer Igor Sikorsky
First flight 10 May 1913
Number built 1

The Sikorsky Russky Vityaz (Russian: Русский витязь), or Russian Knight, also called Le Grand, was the first four-engine aircraft in the world, designed by Igor Sikorsky and built at the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works (Russo-Baltiiskyi Vagonnyi Zavod or R-BVZ), in early 1913.

Contents

Development

Sikorsky conceived the S-21 design in 1911, when no known aircraft could lift more than 600 kilograms. The carrying capacity record belonged to a French pilot Ducis, who had flown 800 meters with a load of 600 kg. On hearing about the ongoing construction of the Russky Vityaz in the early spring of 1913, the experts and the media around the world were predicting its complete failure. However, the first aerial test of the Russky Vityaz on 10 May 1913 was successful. At the time, many people in other parts of the world considered it to be a newspaper hoax, and did not believe it. Observers believed that an aircraft with such dimensions would never leave the ground.

Design

The Russky Vityaz was a four-engine multi-bay biplane with unequal-span wings. The dual-spar wings had a rectangular planform and a chord of 2.5 m. The distance between the wings (wing gap) was also 2.5 m. Its fuselage represented a girder of rectangular section, covered with plywood sheets. The aircraft had a cabin with a dual control column, two passenger cabins and a storage room for spare parts. There was also an area in the pilot's cabin equipped with a searchlight and machine gun. The ailerons on the upper wings provided for airplane’s stability. The Russky Vityaz was powered by four engines installed in tandem pairs (it was originally designed as a two-engine plane).[1]

Operational history

After the Russky Vityaz's first test flights between 10 May and 27 May 1913, it was established that a passenger could even walk around the cabins without causing any problems to stability. The aircraft left the ground after a 700-meter takeoff run.

Unfortunately, Sikorsky’s aspirations for the Russky Vityaz proved to be short-lived. While parked on the runway on 23 June 1913, the aircraft was crushed by an engine, which had fallen off a landing single-seat Morane aircraft. Sikorsky decided not to repair the seriously damaged Russky Vityaz and began working on his next brainchild – the famous Ilya Muromets.

Specifications (Russky Vityaz)

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General characteristics

Performance

References

  1. ^ "Man And His Machines: A Russian "Airbus"". The World's Work: A History of Our Time XLIV (2): 360. July 1914. http://books.google.com/?id=zegeQtMn9JsC&pg=PA360. Retrieved 2009-08-04. 

See also

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