Sikorsky S-43 Baby Clipper
Today's last aircraft is a Sikorsky S-43 Baby Clipper, a smaller version of their S-42. It was introduced in 1934 and the primary user was Pan American World Airways for flights to Cuba and in Latin America. Three were used by Inter-Island Airways of Hawai‘i (the predecessor of Hawaiian Airlines) for flights between the Hawaiian Islands. The Navy purchased 17 with two assigned to duty with the Marines. Five were obtained by the Army Air Corps and used for transporting freight and passengers. Note that this model is amphibious — able to land on land or on water. When landing on water, the wheels retract into that convenient recess in the side of the fuselage. The positioning of the wing and engines above the fuselage also facilitate those water landings. Beechcraft underestimated the engineering challenges of this design and overestimated the market for such an aircraft. Fifty-three were built but only 11 were sold — a few were leased. As of January 2010, nine Starships held an active registration with the FAA.
Size: 7360px × 4907px
Location: Tucson, AZ
Photo credit: © B. David Cathell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: -43, air, amphibious, arizona, az, baby, bdavid, clipper, engines, high, museum, pima, positioning, retracting, sikorsky, space, tucson, wheels, wings
