H.Nowarra, G.Duval Russian Civil and Military Aircraft 1884-1969

Sikorski produced two machines in 1912, the S.7 monoplane and the S.8 biplane. The S.7, powered by a French Gnome rotary engine of 70 h.p., was quite successful, and capable of reaching 62-5 m.p.h., but its successor, with a 50 h.p. Gnome, proved to be seriously underpowered and was considered a failure.

A.Durkota, T.Darcey, V.Kulikov The Imperial Russian Air Service (Flying Machines)

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky

Sikorsky S-8 (Malyutka - Baby)

  Also known as the "Baby" because of its small size, the S-8 was developed as a training biplane with side-by-side seating arrangement. The forward fuselage consisted of an ash frame, covered with 0.25 inch thick plywood that was attached by screws and joiner's glue, and the rear fuselage was wire braced and fabric covered. The top deck of the fuselage had a broad half-round streamlined failing located behind the seats. The lower wings were left uncovered from the wing root to the first wing ribs to provide better visibility in flight. The wing structure was similar to that of the S-6A, with triple struts having inclined braces.
  This machine used a 50hp Gnome engine and obtained a top speed of 50 mph. With the S-8, Sikorsky made a night flight on September 17, 1912, which lasted 1.5 hours, and during which he attained an altitude of 4,921 feet. He landed back at the Komandantsky aerodrome with the aid of bonfires lit by his ground crew. The S-8 was used for training purposes until it was scrapped in late 1912.



Sikorsky Aircraft Data
Model: S-6B S-7 S-8 S-9 S-5A (twin float) S-5A (single float) S-10 (competition)
Year: 1912 1912 1912 1913 1912 1912 1913
Engine(s) type: 100hp Argus 70hp Gnome 50hp Gnome 100hp Gnome(1) 60hp Gnome 80hp Gnome 80hp Gnome
Length, m: 8.5 8.2 7.5 - 8 8 8
Wing Span, m: top/bottom 14.9/10.9 10 12/8 12 12/8.5 12/8.5 16.9/12
Wing Area, m2: 37.5 20 27 30 30 30 46
Wt. empty, kg: 590 449 - 690 - - 567
Wt. load, kg: 327 327 - 300 - - 444
Wt. flying, kg: 917 776 - 990 - - 1011
Wingload, kg/m2: 10.4 10.8 13 12.9 - - 22
Powerload, kg/hp: 16 10.2 8.9 7.2 - - 12.7
Speed, km/h: - - - - - - 99
Notes:
1. Gnome Monosoupape.