title: Sikorsky S-12
text: # Sikorsky S-12
  
  The Sikorsky S-12 was a Russian single engine trainer aircraft completed in the spring of 1913 by the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works while Igor Sikorsky was the chief engineer of the aircraft manufacturing division.
  
  ## Design and development
  
  The S-12 was a single seat mid-wing monoplane with wire-braced wings and powered by a Gnome Lambda air-cooled rotary engine rated at 80 hp (60 kW). It was smaller and lighter than the S-11 on which it was based, and was specifically designed to be highly maneuverable.
  
  ## Operational history
  
  The S-12 was the most successful monoplane Sikorsky designed during his time in Russia and twelve examples were produced. In September 1913 an S-12 became the first Russian aircraft to perform an inside loop at the Kolomyazhskiy hippodrome north of St. Petersburg. Later an S-12 set an altitude record of 3,680 metres (12,070 ft). During World War I and the Russian Revolution S-12s served with the Russian Air Force and some were still in service until 1922.
  
  ## Specifications
  
  Data from Russian Aviation Museum
  
  General characteristics
  
  * Crew: One
  * Wing area: 212 sq ft (19.7 $m^2)$
  * Empty weight: 924 lb (419 kg)
  * Gross weight: 1,501 lb (681 kg)
  * Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Lambda 7-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine, 80 hp (60 kW)
  * Propellers: 2-bladed
  
  Performance
  
  * Service ceiling: 12,070 ft (3,680 m)
  * Wing loading: 7.1 lb/sq ft (34.5 $kg/m^2)$ max load
  