Sikorsky S-38
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S-38
Sikorsky S-38 being positioned for display at AirVenture, Oshkosh in 2006. This is a replica.
Role	Flying boat
Manufacturer	Sikorsky Aircraft
Designed by	Igor Sikorsky
First flight	May 1928
Introduction	October 1928
Primary users	Pan American Airways New York Rio & Buenos Aires Lines
Number built	101

The Sikorsky S-38 was an American twin-engined 8-seat amphibious aircraft. It was sometimes called "The Explorer's Air Yacht" and was Sikorsky's first widely produced amphibious flying boat which in addition to serving successfully for Pan American Airways and the U. S. Army, also had numerous private owners who received notoriety for their exploits.

Design and development

The S-38 was developed from the Sikorsky S-34 and S-36. The S-38 first flew on May 25, 1928. The United States Navy ordered two aircraft (designated XPS-2) and Pan American Airways were an early customer.

A total of 101 aircraft were built, manufactured originally by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Corporation of Long Island, New York, and by the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sikorsky was acquired by United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (now United Technologies Corporation) in mid-production.

Variants

S-38A

11 Built

S-38B

80 Built

S-38C

10 Built

C-6

United States Army Air Force designation for the S-38A for evaluation, one aircraft later used as a VIP transport.

C-6A

United States Army Air Force designation for a C-6 with minor changes, 10 aircraft.

XPS-1

United States Navy designation for an S-38 for evaluation.

XPS-2

United States Navy designation for the S-38A, two aircraft later converted to XRS-2 transports.

PS-3

United States Navy designation for the S-38B, four aircraft later converted to RS-3 transports.

XRS-2

United States Navy designation for two XPS-2 converted as transports.

RS-3

United States Navy/Marine Corps designation for the S-38B transport version, three aircraft and conversions from PS-3.

RS-4

United States Navy designation for two civil S-38A impressed into service.

Operators

• American Airways
• Andean Corporation
• Canadian Colonial
• Colonial Western Airways
• Creole Petroleum Corporation
• Curtiss Flying Service
• Inter-Island Airways of Hawaii
• Martin and Osa Johnson
• New York Rio & Buenos Aires Lines (NYRBA Line)
• Northwest Airways
• Pan American Airways
• Pan American Petroleum Company
• Panair do Brasil
• United States Army Air Force
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Navy
• Western Air Express

Some famous owners include:

• Aviator Charles Lindbergh - Surveyed South American and Pacific Ocean routes for Pan Am with Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
• Newspaper publisher Robert R. McCormick - Surveyed commercial air routes between North America and Europe.
• Venture capitalist John Hay Whitney - Luxury Transport
• The Flying Hutchinsons - First attempted around the world flight by a family.
• Filmmakers Martin and Osa Johnson - In the zebra-striped S-38 "Osa's Ark", with companion giraffe-patterned S-39 "Spirit of Africa", explored Africa extensively, making safari movies and books.
• S. C. Johnson's Herbert Fisk Johnson, Jr. - Explored the northeastern part of Brazil in search of the carnauba palm, and to research carnauba wax, the source of the world's hardest natural wax. The "Spirit of Carnauba", a replica of this aircraft, exists and is flying today.

Survivors

One of the two remaining S-38s, N-28V, appears in the movie The Aviator, a story loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes. Hughes owned an S-38 during his lifetime.

Specifications (S-38-A)

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General characteristics

• Crew: Two
• Capacity: 10 passengers
• Length: 40 ft 3 in (12.27 m)
• Wingspan: 71 ft 8 in (21.85 m)
• Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
• Wing area: 720 ft² (68.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 6,000 lb (2,727 kg)
• Loaded weight: 10,480 lb (4,764 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, 400 hp (298 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 104 knots (120 mph, 192 km/h)
• Range: 648 nm (750 miles, 1,200 km)
• Service ceiling 16,000 ft (4,878 m)
• Rate of climb: 750 ft/min (229 m/min)
• Wing loading: 14.5 lb/ft² (69 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.08 hp/lb (0.13 kW/kg)

See also

Comparable aircraft

• Keystone-Loening K-84 "Commuter"
• Keystone-Loening K-85 "Air Yacht"
• Sikorsky S-39 - Single engine version
• Grumman G-44 "Widgeon"
• Grumman G-21 "Goose"
• Piaggio Aero P-136 Royal Gull