| Scale: 1:85 Span: 17.5" Length: 11.1"
The prototype for the VS-44 was first flown on August 13, 1937. The Sikorsky VS-44 had a maximum range of 3,800 miles when carrying a payload of 5,000 pounds. American Export Airlines ordered three for a planned transatlantic route to the UK and France, although there were delays in obtaining CAB approval. On January 12, 1942, the US Navy gave AEA a contract to operate a wartime route across the Atlantic. The airline's temporary civil certificate, to cover a non-stop New York-Foynes (Ireland) service was granted on February 10, 1942, and continued throughout the war. One VS-44, used post-war by Antilles Air Boats, survives in the museum at Windsor Locks, Connecticut. |