This Flight Simulator 2004 aircraft was produced with FS Design Studio 3.5.1, FS Panel Studio, and Paint Shop Pro X.
Installation:
Extract the contents of the main zip file S40NC81V.zip into FS2004's Aircraft folder. This should create a structure something like the following:
- c:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9
--- Aircraft
----- Sikorsky S-40 Amphibian
-------- Model
-------- Panel
-------- Sound
-------- Texture.NC80V
-------- Texture.NC81V
Once these files are extracted, Flight Simulator should exhibit two new entries under Aircraft/Select Aircraft on the menu bar:
Aircraft Manufacturer: Sikorsky
Aircraft Model: S-40 American Clipper amphibian
Aircraft Model: S-40 Caribbean Clipper amphibian
This model is an amphibian in FS2004. It can fly from land or from water. If handled carefully, it can land on water, drop the landing gear in the water and hop onto land.
Features of this S-40:
- Gear raise and lower with G key.
- Exterior doors open with Shift-E. Interior doors open with Shift-E, then number 2.
- Additional views created using num pad keys: 5-1 lounge; 5-2 cabin 2; 5-3 cabin 3; 5-4 left float; 5-6 radio operator; 5-7 cabin 1; 5-8 overhead panel; 5-9 right wing.
- Camera views created for FSX, using "A" key.
- Reasonably accurate passenger seating arrangement. Passenger compartments are walnut paneled. There is a lounge in the back with restrooms and a game table.
- Flight characteristics are fairly realistic. It takes about 30 seconds to get off the water. The ceiling is about 12,500 feet, and you can't get it much higher than that. Cruise is right around 115 mph at 6000 feet altitude, with engines at 1750 rpm and 20 inches manifold pressure. Fuel consumption of 125 gallons per hour is about right for 7 hours of cruise with full fuel. Max cruising speed at sea level is 134 mph, 1950 rpm.
- S-40 had no flaps.
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Sound.
To save space, this model comes with a sound.cfg file that points to a default sound package.
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Known issues:
- Cockpit instrument arrangement is largely fictional. Only one photo available, of part of center instrument panel.
- Auto-pilot included, but no indication that actual plane had one.
- Nav radios and RMI indicators probably anachronistic.
- Interior colors are guesswork. Upholstery patterns are roughly accurate.
- Initial passenger and cargo load of model are based on maximum fuel load. In actual conditions, fuel load was greatly reduced and more passengers were carried. On average, S-40s carried 25 passengers per trip, which means no more than 600 gallons of fuel were carried on normal flights.
- This model has passenger cabin 1 in the luxury arrangement with two curtained sections for two passengers each. In actual use, this was quickly changed to more conventional seating for eight passengers.
- In FSX, the plane sits with its nose too high in the water. An alternate aircraft.cfg file is provided.
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History
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The Sikorsky S-40 NC80V was built in 1931, the first of 3, which all served with Pan American in the Caribbean. NC80V was christened "American Clipper," NC81V was the "Caribbean Clipper," and NC752V was the "Southern Clipper." The S-40 was the largest amphibian plane in the world at the time, and still holds that record.
Initially the S-40s were used as amphibians, but later they had the landing gear removed and were used as flying boats. By removing the weight of the gear (1800 pounds) the plane gained payload capacity.
The S-40 had a wingspan of 114 feet and weighed 34,000 pounds loaded. It had 4 Pratt & Whitney Hornet 'B' (R-1860) engines of 575 horsepower each. Total fuel capacity was 1040 gallons. Two main tanks in the wing held 280 gallons each, and the wing floats each held 240 gallons.
Fuel consumption was 125 gallons per hour for cruising, or 187 pounds per hour per engine.
Passengers enjoyed plush seating in several compartments, with 8-foot ceilings and picture windows. Behind the passenger compartments were two toilet compartments, and aft of that there was a teak-paneled lounge with easy chairs and a folding game table.
In 1935 the S-40s were upgraded to "S-40A" status with 660-hp P&W Hornet T2D1 engines (R-1690). The landing gear were permanently removed. Fuel capacity was increased to 1066 gallons, and cargo capacity increased to 2150 pounds. Speed increased by about 5 miles per hour, and gross weight increased by 600 pounds. The upgrade engineering was done by Sikorsky, but performed at the Pan Am overhaul center.
The S-40s flew routes in the Caribbean and Central and South America throughout the 1930's. The route from Kingston, Jamaica to Barranquilla, Colombia (600 miles) was the longest overwater route in the world in 1932.
The three S-40s together flew about 10 million miles, an incredible total for the time.
American Clipper
S-40 NC80V was christened "American Clipper" on October 12 1931 by First Lady Mrs. Herbert Hoover in Anacostia, MD. It served into 1940 with Pan Am, and was retired from regular commercial flights in June. It did charter work for the U.S. government for two months and then in August 1940 it was used as a navigation trainer for the US Army and RAF. The first class of navigators graduated in November 1940. Navy cadets joined the program in May 1942, and NC80V was turned over to the Navy on 25 August 1942. It was designated RS-4, serial number 37854, and was used by NATS squadron VR-1, based at Dinner Key in Miami. It served until early 1943, when it started to be cannibalized for spare parts for S-40 NC752V. It was taken to a junkyard 24 June 1943 and scrapped 15 July 1946.
Caribbean Clipper
S-40 NC81V was named "Caribbean Clipper" and delivered to Pan Am 16 November 1931. It followed the same career path as NC80V, serving with Pan Am, then Navy as RS-4 #37855, before being declared obsolete 15 April 1943. It was sold for scrap in August 1944.
Southern Clipper
S-40 NC752V was named "Southern Clipper" and delivered to Pan Am 30 August 1932. It was in regular service with Pan Am until June 1940, when a 6-month process began to convert it to an all-freight carrier. The partitions and interior furnishings were all removed. A large hatch was cut in the right starboard hull, the floors were reinforced, and all the windows were protected on the inside with gratings of metal rods. NC752V began regular cargo service 25 January 1941 between Miami, Port-au-Prince, and San Juan. It also served as a trainer with the Navy until being returned to Pan Am in 1943. Pan Am briefly used the plane as a high-density, no-frills passenger carrier for up to 70 unfortunate persons between Miami, Nassau, and Havana. The plane was worn out and passengers were sometimes given umbrellas to protect against condensation droplets inside the cabin. During this time, Pan Am introduced flight stewardesses and some flew on NC752V. The plane was declared obsolete by Pan Am in November 1944 and the CAA revoked its registration on 30 November.
Some routes flown by Pan Am in 1936, as seen in a photo of the Miami headquarters radio room:
Miami-Havana, Cuba
Miami-Nassau, Bahamas
Miami-San Juan, Puerto Rico
Miami-Cristobal, Panama
San Juan, Puerto Rico-Para, Brazil
Maracaibo, Venezuela-Port of Spain, Trinidad
Maracaibo, Venezuela-Baranquilla, Colombia
Pan Am's base radio station was WKDL in Miami.
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Authorship:
The visual model is completely original. It is based on drawings and photographs from multiple references (see below).
The textures are original.
Most of the gauges are modified from XML gauges supplied in FS2004. Many gauge images were adapted from photographs taken at the New England Air Museum.
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Special Thanks:
Jim Donnelly, for suggestions for making the gauge .cab file load faster
New England Air Museum (Windsor Locks, Connecticut, http://www.neam.org/)
Personnel:
-Michael Speciale, Executive Director, for permission to photograph at the museum.
-John Craggs, volunteer, for assistance in multiple photo and research sessions.
-Tom Palshaw, volunteer, for assistance in flight instrument photo session.
-Al Charlevois, former Pan Am pilot and museum docent, for assistance in research sessions.
====
References:
M. D. Klass, 'When Pan Am Ruled the Sky', 6-part series of articles in Air Classics magazine, Challenge Publications.
- Issues: October 2009, November 2009, December 2009, January 2010, March 2010, June 2010
Joseph Juptner, 'US Civil Aircraft Vol. 5' and 'US Civil Aircraft Vol. 6', McGraw-Hill 1997
Stan Cohen, 'Wings to the Orient', Pictorial Histories Publishing 1998
Francis Chapman, 'Talking to the World from Pan Am's Clippers', Carstens Publications 1999
Boris Sergievsky, 'Airplanes, Women, and Song', Syracuse University Press 1999
Kevin Holcomb, Website http://www.airminded.net/ 'Holcomb's Aerodrome'. S-40 is under Golden Age Aircraft
Lynn Homan and Thomas Reilly, 'Images of Aviation-Pan Am', Arcadia Publishing 2000
Edward Jablonski. 'Sea Wings', Doubleday 1972.
'The Sikorsky S.40 Amphibian', Flight magazine, 13 Nov 1931 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/index.html
'Giant Sikorsky Amphibian', Flight magazine, 24 Jan 1930 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/index.html
New England Air Museum, Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, CT
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This model is freeware.
All comments and suggestions welcome.
E-mail: george_diemer@msn.com
