Sikorsky S-38

infobox Aircraft
name = S-38
type = Flying boat
manufacturer = Sikorsky Aircraft



caption = Sikorsky S-38 being positioned for display at AirVenture, Oshkosh in 2006. This is a replica.
designer =Igor Sikorsky
first flight = May 1928
introduction = October 1928
retired =
status =
primary user = Pan American Airways
more users = New York Rio & Buenos Aires Lines
produced =
number built = 101
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

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-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.

urvivors

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.

pecifications (S-38-A)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref=
crew= Two
capacity=10 passengers
length main= 40 ft 3 in
length alt= 12.27 m
span main= 71 ft 8 in
span alt= 21.85 m
height main= 13 ft 10 in
height alt= 4.22 m
area main= 720 ft²
area alt= 68.6 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 6,000 lb
empty weight alt= 2,727 kg
loaded weight main= 10,480 lb
loaded weight alt= 4,764 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
engine (prop)= Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp
type of prop=9-cylinder air-cooled radial engines
number of props=2
power main= 400 hp
power alt= 298 kW
power original=
max speed main= 104 knots
max speed alt= 120 mph, 192 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 648 nm
range alt= 750 miles, 1,200 km
ceiling main= 16,000 ft
ceiling alt= 4,878 m
climb rate main= 750 ft/min
climb rate alt= 229 m/min
loading main= 14.5 lb/ft²
loading alt= 69 kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.08 hp/lb
power/mass alt= 0.13 kW/kg
more performance=
armament=
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=

similar 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

sequence=;Sikorsky:
S-34 -
S-35 -
S-36 -S-38 -
S-39 -
S-40 -
S-41

lists=

see also=