Freeware Reviews

Specifications (S-38-A)

General characteristics
Crew: 2
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: 6,000 lb (2,727 kg)
Loaded: 10,480 lb (4,764 kg)
Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp, 400 hp (298 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 120 mph (192 km/h)
Range: 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)

Also known as the "Explorer's Air Yacht", the S-38 was the first widely produced amphibious aircraft from the Sikorsky Aircraft factories. The S-38 was used by Pan American and the U.S. Military, and was purchased by many other airlines, including Inter-Island Airways of Hawaii, Northwest Airways of Minnesota, Colonial Western, and Canadian Airways along with several private owners. Some of the more notable figures to own the S-38 were:

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 Johnson - Explored South America in search of and to research the carnauba wax palm, the source of the world's hardest natural wax. The "Spirit of Carnuba", a replica of this aircraft, exists and is flying today.
Howard Hughes purchased one for a flight around the world.

One of the two remaining S-38s, N-28V, appears in the movie The Aviator; Hughes actually flew an S-43.
The Navy and Marine designation for this aircraft was RS-3.
A total of 90 (or possibly 101, sources disagree) aircraft were built, manufactured by the Sikorsky Aircraft Company in Stratford, Connecticut. Sikorsky was acquired by United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (now United Technologies Corporation) in mid-production. The aircraft first flew in May 1928.

An S-38 owned by Papua Oil Development Company was sunk by a crocodile in New Guinea in 1937. The plane collided with the reptile while landing on the Kikori River.

The S.C. Johnson Company (Johnson's Wax) had an S-38 replica built which duplicated H.F. Johnson's pioneering expedition to Brazil in 1935. The "Carnauba" was flown from Racine, WI to Fortaleza, Brazil and back in October and November of 1998.

An S-38 owned by Papua Oil Development Company was sunk by a crocodile in New Guinea in 1937. The plane collided with the reptile while landing on the Kikori River.

The S.C. Johnson Company (Johnson's Wax) had an S-38 replica built which duplicated H.F. Johnson's pioneering expedition to Brazil in 1935. The "Carnauba" was flown from Racine, WI to Fortaleza, Brazil and back in October and November of 1998.

The visual model is completely original. It is based on plans obtained from Cleveland Model and Supply, Cleveland, OH.

The flight model was originally based on a model by Alexander Belov, with S-38 characteristics derived from "Sea Wings" (Doubleday, 1972) by Edward Jablonski. Since then there have been modifications, including some by Eliezer Rice.
The textures are original. The panel bitmap is by Eliezer Rice.

The gauges are all modified from XML gauges supplied in FS2004. Most come from the Vega, and some are from the DH Comet and the DC-3. The radio is not actually authentic, as well as some of the other gauges, but are done in an appearance that is representitive of the older days of aviation. Plus, you get a GPS to help you on your way.

Within the readme file are suggestions for sound packages for this model.

This is one of the finest amphibian classics that I've seen, and is also a blast to fly! The detail inside and out is incredible! You gotta love those wicker chairs for the passengers! I wonder where the trays went? The This file has been out there for awhile, so I thought I'd dust it off, and give you folks a chance to enjoy a great model! I found it very entertaining to travel some of the routes in the Caribbean and South America that this aircraft used to fly.

This is a beautiful aircraft that should be in the "collectable" category of your personal hanger!