The Sikorsky S-3 was an early

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

single seat

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

design by

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 ...

. Work on the machine started in July 1910 and was completed in late November.

Design and development

The S-3 was a larger improved version of the S-2 with a more powerful

Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. Overview From his native Italy, ...

three-cylinder engine. The main wings were manufactured in a more uniform manner with the

ribs The rib cage or thoracic cage is an endoskeletal enclosure in the thorax of most vertebrates that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum, which protect the vital organs of the thoracic cavity, such as the heart, lungs and great vessels ...

held to a closer tolerance and the fabric covering was of better quality. Other refinements included larger

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

and faster-responding flight control surfaces.

Operational history

The S-3 exhibited performance superior to the S-2, and Sikorsky made a dozen successful flights starting early in December. The S-3 made its last flight on December 13, 1910 when at an altitude of 90 feet the engines

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

shifted to a retarded position and lost power. The aircraft landed hard on a frozen pond, broke through the ice and sank causing serious damage. The S-3 was salvaged and some parts including the engine were used in the construction of the S-4.

Specifications

References

{{Sikorsky Aircraft S-3 Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1910