Engineer I. I. Sikorsky developed the Russian Knight aircraft, which became the first aircraft in the world to have multiple engines. It was created primarily for long-range reconnaissance.
The emergence of an idea
"Russian Knight" - the aircraft, the development of which began in September 1912 by designer Igor Sikorsky to participate in the competition.
At this time in St. Petersburg there was a competition for domestically produced aircraft assembled by Russian designers. In mid-September 1912, I. I. Sikorsky received an invitation to meet from M. V. Shidlovsky, who was the chairman of the Russian-B altic Carriage Works. Proposals of this kind were made very rarely. This gave the designer a reason to think that this meeting would change his life. And so it happened. During the meeting, Sikorsky shared his plans to build a multi-engine aircraft. Shidlovsky suggested starting work on the project.
Doubts of others
The idea of creating a multi-engine aircraft for many specialists of that time seemed just a dream. Most of them claimed that such a model would not fly. Everywhere there were statements thatthe project is doomed to fail. Despite this, Sikorsky continued his work. And already in May 1913, the Russian Knight appeared in the sky above the airfield. The plane, which was flown by the engineer himself, flew several circles and landed smoothly.
Petersburg print media have repeatedly described this fact. Despite this, experts from other countries refused to believe in the possibility of creating this kind of aircraft. This news was preferred to be considered a fiction of journalists.
First developments
"Russian Knight" (whose photo is presented in the article) was a multi-column bilan with four motors. It was developed during 1912-1913. Initially it was called "Grand". In May 1913, the name was changed to "Big Russian-B altic" 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 wing. They had the shape of a rectangle with a width of two and a half meters. Moreover, 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 posts. Each wing was reinforced with two spars. The latter were a box 9 cm high and 5 cm wide made of 5 mm plywood. The shelves are made of pine up to two centimeters thick. Brass screws and wood glue were used as fasteners for the elements.
In order to improve stability and controllability, the length of the C-21 aircraftwas increased to twenty meters. This made the car stable during the flight. Even when a passenger moved around the cabin during the flight, stability did not deteriorate.
The fuselage was made in the form of a rectangle of wood, sheathed with plywood sheets. It contained the following elements:
- two passenger cabins;
- captain's cabin;
- compartment for tools and spare parts.
The Russian Knight is the first aircraft to have a large enclosed cockpit for the crew and a cabin for passengers. In addition, there were side entrances through which during the flight it was possible to go down to the lower wings and get to the engines. They could be repaired even in the sky.
In the bow, directly in front of the captain's cabin, a platform was left in the form of a balcony to accommodate a machine gun and a searchlight. Immediately behind it was a glass-covered cabin 5.75 m long and 1.85 m high. It housed two crew seats. This was followed by another glass partition separating the passenger area. It had wicker chairs and even a small table.
First model device
"Russian Knight" - an aircraft 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 were pulling. The first tests showed that the power of two hundred horsepower is too little. It was only enough for a flight with a range of up to one hundred meters.
The complex chassis wasfour skis. Between them were placed two carts, to which, in turn, eight wheels were attached. The wheels were connected to the bogies by means of steel springs, and to each other in pairs.
The steering wheel consisted of four surfaces that formed two pairs. Management was carried out by two steering wheels and pedals. The wiring was made of cable.
The unladen weight of the aircraft was three and a half tons.
Aircraft upgrades
Almost immediately after the first tests, Sikorsky decided to modify 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 push motors became pull motors.
Such changes have improved the performance of the S-21 aircraft. Tests carried out at the Corps airfield testified to this.
The new model took off for the first time on July 23, 1913. It has been proven that even when two engines on one side were switched off, the aircraft remained perfectly steered.
Thanks to this, in August 1913, the plane spent 114 minutes in the air. It became a world record. At that time, he had seven passengers on board. It was at this time that the plane received the name "Russian Knight".
Specifications
The Russian Knight aircraft (whose photo is in the article) had the following characteristics:
- Power unit of four Argus engines.
- The power of eachengine - one hundred horsepower.
- Number of passengers - up to seven people. Of these, three people are the crew.
- Wingspan - 27 meters.
- Wing area 120m2.
- Maximum speed is ninety kilometers per hour.
- The maximum flight distance is 170 kilometers.
- The plane is twenty meters long.
- Height - four meters.
- Empty aircraft weight - 3.5 tons.
- Maximum takeoff weight - 4, 2 tons.
- Full load weight - 700 kilograms.
Accident
Sikorsky's plane did not please its designer for long. It was destroyed during an unusual accident. When the military aircraft competition was held, Meller No. 2 flew over the airfield. The engine "Gnome", mounted on it, came off and fell right 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.
Russian designer I. I. Sikorsky managed to create an aircraft that was driven by four engines arranged in a row. And this is the Russian Knight, or, as it was also called, the Grand, which became the first of its kind in the world.
