The Sikorsky S-12 was a Russian single engine trainer aircraft completed in the spring of 1913 by the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works while

Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, (25 May 1889 – 26 October 1972) was a Russian-American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. His first success came with the Sikorsky S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construc ...

was the chief engineer of the aircraft manufacturing division.

Design and development

The S-12 was a single seat mid-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with wire-braced wings and powered by a

Gnome Lambda The Gnome 7 Lambda was a French designed, seven-cylinder, air-cooled rotary aero engine that was produced under license in Britain and Germany. Powering several World War I-era aircraft types it was claimed to produce from its capacity of alt ...

air-cooled

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its ...

rated at . It was smaller and lighter than the S-11 on which it was based, and was specifically designed to be highly maneuverable.

Operational history

The S-12 was the most successful monoplane Sikorsky designed during his time in Russia and twelve examples were produced. In September 1913 an S-12 became the first Russian aircraft to perform an

inside loop Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dogfights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others. Nearly all aircraft are capab ...

at the Kolomyazhskiy

hippodrome Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...

north of St. Petersburg. Later an S-12 set an altitude record of . During World War I and the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

S-12s served with the Russian Air Force and some were still in service until 1922.

Specifications

References

{{Sikorsky Aircraft S-11 Single-engined tractor aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1913 Rotary-engined aircraft