Sikorsky S-35: The plane that should have beat Lindberg

[thebradfordcamps]

Any plane for this job would have been overloaded. Lucky's was WAY over gross. This was due to fuel, not gifts. The prob was lack of testing, and pressure by backers to win. Time taken to properly test the aux gear by water loading the tanks (then full dissasembly) would have taken months and cost the prize. People died OFTEN in early aviation; that risk made the winners our heros. Death in aiviation was not a felonious action back then, like it is now. ScreenRIOTer (below) got it right.

[carmium]

I find it quite incredible that the crew would blithely load 5 TONS of extras onto the plane. A plane of that era would likely have collapsed on the spot with that kind of ballast.

[SuperAncientmariner]

There was no way this could have Beaten Lindburgh and it's nothing to do with the plane. Lindburgh's record was for a Solo crossing. This had a crew of 2 and that 1st was already taken by Alcock & Brown. The only thing this plane could have done was take a time record.

[screenRIOTer]

Sikorsky's team was under great pressure from sponsors to make the run before it was fully tested, in Sept, 26. He had pressed to do it in the spring of 27, but the sponsors were afraid that they would lose their investment if they waited. And they very well might have. Yes, Sikorsky made mistakes, as do all pioneers, but to call him stupid, irresponsible, and unprofessional does such a disservice to a true giant of aviation. Consider too that Lindbergh learned from Sikorsky's mistake.

[oldfart387]

losers

[gotglasses]

Not very professional - In my High School Aviation courses we spent many hours learning how to carefully calculate the wing loading and cargo weight distribution which had to be done prior to takeoff. This was a basic requirement that the S-35 crew must have ignored. Lindburgh did not. He had a small plane built on a shoestring but managed by a careful team of engineers. More is often less.

[MrJamiedodson]

Had Sikorsky chosen the Wright J-5 engines vs. the Junipers, the S-35 would have won the race. However, we're better off that Slim won and popularized aviation.

Cheers! Jamie

[safetychoice]

It was the people who made the difference, not the machine. It is incredible that "the crew happily loaded gifts onto the plane". Where was Sikorsky when this was happening? It reflects a level of stupidity and irresponsibility which is beyond belief. By contrast, Lindbergh weighed every ounce, even cutting holes into his maps to save weight. No wonder he made it and they didn't.

[kolbpilot]

@safetychoice Agree.

[rockyPants4000]

Not sure how it "should have beat Lindbergh". It had no chance to, severely overloaded, damaged, on a poor runway, and never fully tested, it had ZERO chance of beating Lindbergh. None. Maybe you mean it would have been nice if it did?

The real question is why someone didn't take a Douglas World Cruiser, or the Vickers Vimy, both of which had the proven range - and simply go for the Ortiz prize. One certainly didn't need a new custom aircraft like Lindbergh's just to do an Atlantic crossing.

[rockyPants4000]

@rockyPants4000 Orteig prize, that is.

[skitzostudios]

Your collection of vintage films on air travel are amazing. I also appreciate the extra information you include with them. Truly enjoyable and educational to watch! Thanks!

[pizzaking85]

cool

[foncku]

hi my last name is fonck i live not far from the air feild were that plane took off from my father & brother worked at sikorsky in ct.

[Killfisch]

oh yeah

[hjhoi]

rene fonck is the cousin of my behold gran parent my name is axel fonck ( sorry i speak english a little bit) good bye thank's for the videos

[fourfortyroadrunner]

Igor most certainly affected world aviation to a large degree, especially in the field of flying boats and helicopter development.

[burningsponge]

well, the b-25 was going to fly so i only got a peek

[burningsponge]

i live near sikorsky airport and took a tour of a b-17 b-24 and a b-25 it was so amasing

[crw56674]

do you know that he was scool from st.Petersburg flight academy in Tsars Russia.