"Russian Knight" (airplane): history, description, technical characteristics

Engineer I.I. Sikorsky developed the plane "Russian Knight", which became the first car in the whole world, having several motors. He was created primarily for long-range reconnaissance.

The emergence of the idea

"Russian Knight" - the aircraft, the development of which began in September 1912, the designer Igor Sikorsky to participate in the competition.

At this time in St. Petersburg there was a competition of domestic aircraft assembled by Russian designers. In mid-September 1912, I.I. Sikorsky was invited to meet from MV. Shidlovsky, who was the chairman of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Factory. Proposals of this kind were made very rarely. This gave the designer an excuse to think that this meeting would change his life. And it happened. During the meeting, Sikorski shared his plans for the construction of a multi-engine aircraft. Shidlovsky suggested starting work on the project.

Doubts of others

The idea of creating a multimotor aircraft for many specialists of that time seemed only a dream. Most of them argued that such a model would not fly. Everywhere people heard statements that the project was doomed to failure. Despite this, Sikorski continued his work. And already in May 1913 in the sky above the airfield appeared "Russian Knight". The plane, which the engineer himself ran, flew several laps and smoothly landed.

The Petersburg press repeatedly described this fact. Despite this, experts from other countries refused to believe in the possibility of creating such a kind of aircraft. This news was preferred to be considered an invention of journalists.

First development

"Russian Knight" (the photo of which is presented in the article) was a multi-staged bilan with four motors. It was developed during the years 1912-1913. Initially it was called "Grand". In May 1913 the name was changed to "Big Russian-Baltic" from the name of the plant, where it was developed. A month later he received the name "Russian Knight".

The upper wing was made larger than the lower one. They had the form of a rectangle with a width of two and a half meters. And the distance between the wings was equal to the length of the wings themselves and was also 2.5 meters.

The wing box had four stanchions. Each wing was reinforced with two spars. The latter were a box with a height of 9 cm and a width of 5 cm from a five-millimeter plywood. The shelves are made of pine up to two centimeters thick. As fasteners elements were used brass screws and joiner glue.

In order to improve stability and controllability, the length of the S-21 aircraft was increased to twenty meters. This made the car stable during the flight. Even when the passenger moved through the cabin during the flight, the stability did not deteriorate.

The fuselage was made in the form of a rectangle made of wood, covered with sheets of plywood. It contained the following elements:

• Two cabins for passengers;
• Cutting for the captain;
• Compartment for tools and spare parts.

"Russian Knight" - the aircraft, which became the first, having a large closed cabin for the team and a passenger lounge. In addition, there were side entrances, through which during the flight it was possible to descend to the lower wings and get to the engines. They could be repaired even in the sky.

In the bow, just before the captain's cabin, was left a platform in the form of a balcony to accommodate the machine gun and searchlight. Just behind her was a glass-enclosed cockpit of 5.75 m long and 1.85 m high. It contained two seats for the crew. Then followed another glass partition separating the passenger zone. It had wicker chairs and even a small table.

Device of the first model

"Russian Knight" - a plane with two engines "Argus" with a capacity of 100 horsepower, placed on the lower wing. They were installed in pairs. The motors rotated four shafts with a diameter of 2.6 m. Two shafts were pushing, two pulling. The first tests showed that the power of two hundred horsepower is too low. It was enough only for a flight of up to a hundred meters.

Complex chassis was four skis. Between them were two trolleys, to which in turn eight wheels were attached. The wheels with the trolleys were connected at the expense of steel springs, and with each other - in pairs.

The steering wheel consisted of four surfaces, which formed two pairs. Management was carried out at the expense of two steering wheels and pedals. The wiring was made of a cable.

The weight of the aircraft without load was three and a half tons.

Modify the aircraft

Almost immediately after the first tests Sikorsky decided to finalize the four-engine aircraft. The place and method of installing engines was changed. In the new version they were placed in a row under the lower wing along the leading edge. Thus, the rear thrusters became pulling.

Such changes have improved the performance of the S-21 aircraft. This was evidenced by tests conducted at the Corps airfield.

The new model took off for the first time on July 23, 1913. It was proved that even with the disconnection of the two engines on one side the aircraft was perfectly responsive to the steering.

Thanks to this in August 1913, the aircraft spent 114 minutes in the air. This became a world record. At this time, he had seven passengers on board. It was at this time that the plane received the name "Russian Knight".

Specifications

The plane "Russian Knight" (the photo of which is in the article) had the following characteristics:

• Power unit of four Argus engines.
• The power of each engine is one hundred horsepower.
• The number of passengers is up to seven people. Three of them are crew.
• The wing span is 27 meters.
• The area of the wings is 120 m ² .
• The maximum speed is ninety kilometers per hour.
• The maximum range of flights is 170 kilometers.
• The length of the plane is twenty meters.
• The height is four meters.
• The mass of the empty aircraft is 3.5 tons.
• The maximum take-off weight is 4, 2 tons.
• The weight of the full load is 700 kilograms.

Accident

The Sikorsky plane pleased its designer very briefly. It was destroyed during an unusual accident. When there was a competition of military aircraft, "Meller No. 2" flew over the airfield. The engine "Gnome", installed on it, broke away and fell directly on the "Russian Knight". It happened on September 11, 1913.

Sikorsky decided not to restore the plane. At this time, he was already developing a new improved model. He worked on a series of aircraft "Ilya Muromets", which replenished the Imperial Air Force.

The Russian designer I.I. Sikorsky was able to create an airplane, which was driven by four motors, arranged in a row. And this is the plane "Russian Knight", or, as it was called, "Grand", which became the world's first of its kind.