The Sikorsky

Sikorsky Aircraft

The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...

 S-29-A was an all-metal

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

, twin-engine biplane

Biplane

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...

 airliner

Airliner

An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...

, first flown in 1924

1924 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1924:- Events :* Violating the Treaty of Versailles, Germany establishes a secret training base for German pilots at Lipetsk in the Soviet Union...

. It was the first aircraft that aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky

Igor Sikorsky

Igor Sikorsky , born Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was a Russian American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft...

 designed and built after coming to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, hence the special "-A" suffix signifying "America". The pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

 and mechanic sat in an open cockpit

Cockpit

A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...

 between the upper wing and the tail, while up to 16 passengers were accommodated within the streamlined fuselage

Fuselage

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...

.

With the airline industry only just emerging in the United States at that time, the S-29 failed to attract the customers that Sikorsky had hoped. It was eventually sold, however, and had a varied career in merchandising (Curlee Clothing), acting (among other roles) as a flying cigar store.

After being bought by Roscoe Turner

Roscoe Turner

Roscoe Turner was an aviator who was a three time winner of the Thompson Trophy.-Background:Turner was born in Corinth, Mississippi, the eldest son of a poor but respectable farmer. He came to realize that he did not want to be a farmer and found that he was attracted to mechanical devices instead...

 in 1929

1929 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1929:- Events :* Greatest number of fatal civil aircraft crashes in US history.* Cubana de Aviación begins service.* Pan American World Airways begins service.* The Canadian Siskins aerobatic team is formed....

, it appeared in the Hollywood movie

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...

' Hell's Angels

Hell's Angels (film)

Hell's Angels is a 1930 American war film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jean Harlow, Ben Lyon, and James Hall. The film, which was produced by Hughes and written by Harry Behn and Howard Estabrook, centers on the combat pilots of World War I...

, taking the part of a Gotha

Gothaer Waggonfabrik

Gothaer Waggonfabrik was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building.-World War I:...

 bomber. The S-29-A crashed during filming and was damaged beyond repair.

General characteristics

• Crew: two, pilot and mechanic
• Capacity: up to 16 passengers
• Length: 49 ft 10 in (15.19 m)
• Wingspan: 69 ft 0 in (21.04 m)
• Height: ft in ( m)
• Wing area: ft² ( m²)
• Empty: lb ( kg)
• Loaded: lb ( kg)
• Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
• Powerplant: 2x Liberty engines, 400 hp (298 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 115 mph (207 km/h)
• Range: miles ( km)
• Service ceiling: ft ( m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
• Power/Mass: hp/lb ( kW/kg)