Short SC.7 Skyvan

SC.7 Skyvan

Picture - SC.7 Skyvan at Oulu Airport, Finland.

Role: Airliner
Manufacturer: Short Brothers and Harland Ltd
First flight: 17 January 1963
Produced: 1963-1986
Number built: 153
Variants: Shorts 330, Shorts 360

The Skyvan is a 19-seater twin turboprop aircraft manufactured by Short Brothers of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is used mainly for short-haul freight and skydiving.

The Skyvan is a high wing twin engined all-metal monoplane with a high semi-cantilever tailplane with twin rudders. The first flight of the Skyvan, the Skyvan 1, was on 17 January 1963.

The Shorts 330 and Shorts 360 are stretched model of the original SC-7 which were designed as regional airliners.

Design and development

In 1958, Shorts were approached by F.G. Miles Ltd (successor company to Miles Aircraft) who were seeking backing to produce a development of the H.D.M.106 Caravan design with a Hurel Dubois high aspect ratio wing. Shorts acquired the design and data gathered from trials of the Miles Aerovan based H.D.M.105 prototype. After evaluating the Miles proposal, Shorts rejected the Caravan. They developed their own design for a utility all-metal aircraft which was called the Short SC.7 Skyvan. It was popular with freight operators compared to other small aircraft because of its large rear door for loading and unloading freight. Its fuselage resembles the shape of a railroad boxcar for simplicity and efficiency.

Construction started at Sydenham, Belfast in 1960 and the first flight of the prototype occurred on 17 January 1963, powered by two Continental piston engines. The prototype was re-engined with the intended Turbomeca Astazou turboprop engines later in 1963. The Skyvan is an all-metal, high wing monoplane, with a braced, high aspect ratio wing (similar to that used on Hurel-Dubois aircraft), and an unpressurised, square section fuselage. Production switched in 1968 to the Skyvan Series 3 aircraft, which replaced the Astazous with Garrett AiResearch TPE331 turboprops. A total of 153 Skyvans (plus the prototype) were produced by the time production ended in 1986.

Operational history

Skyvans served widely in both military and civilian operations, with the type remaining in service with a number of civilian operators, and in military service in Guyana and Oman.

Picture - Invicta Aviation Skyvan on parachuting duties at the Cotswold Air Show. (2010).

In 1982, two Skyvans of the Argentine Naval Prefecture participated in the Falklands War. Both aircraft were ferried to Port Stanley in April 1982. One aircraft was damaged by British naval gunfire on Stanley racecourse and did not fly again; it was finally destroyed by shellfire during British bombardments on the 12/13 June. The second aircraft was used at Pebble Island where it became bogged down in the soft ground and destroyed by British fire on 15 May 1982 (see Raid on Pebble Island).

Skyvans are sometimes used for air to air photography and for skydiving operations.

Production

All built by Short in Belfast.

Skyvan 1 : prototype, one built. 2 x Continental GTSIO-520 engines.
Skyvan 1A : re-engined prototype. 2 x 388 kW (520 hp) Turboméca Astazou engines.
Skyvan 2 : Astazou powered production. 8 series 2 produced.
Skyvan 3 : Garrett TPE 331 powered production. 145 produced (all series 3 models)
Skyvan 3A : higher gross weight version of Skyvan Series 3.
Skyvan 3M : military transport version. It can be used for supply dropping, assault transport, dropping paratroops, troop transport, cargo transport, casualty evacuation, plus search and rescue missions.
Skyvan 3M-200 : high gross weight version of Skyvan 3M (M-TOW 6,804 kg, 15,000 lb).
Skyliner : deluxe all-passenger version.

Civilian operators

As of July 2009 a total of 39 Skyvan aircraft remain in airline service, with Sonair (1), Swala Airlines (2), Transway Air Services (1), Deraya Air Taxi (3), Layang Layang Aerospace (1), Macair Airlines (1), Malaysia Air Charter (1), Olympic Airways (1), Pan-Malaysian Air Transport (1), Wirakris Udara (1), CAE Aviation (1), Deltacraft (1), Invicta Aviation (2), Pink Aviation Services (4), Advanced Air (1), Allwest Freight (2), Arctic Circle Air Service (3), GB Airlink (1), North Star Air Cargo (5), Skylift Taxi Aereo (1), Skydive Arizona (4), Sydney Skydivers (2) and Summit Air (2)., Sustut Air (1) , Ryan Air

Military operators

Picture - Company military demonstrator in 1982

Argentina

Argentine Coast Guard, Bought five in 1971 Two lost in 1982 in Falklands War . Rest retired in 1995 and replaced with 5 CASA C-212 Aviocar. Picture

Austria

Austrian Air Force

Botswana

Botswana Defence Force Air Wing

Ecuador Ghana

Ghana Air Force

Guyana

Guyana Defence Force

Indonesia

Indonesian Air Force

Lesotho

Lesotho Defence Force

Malawi Mauritania

Military of Mauritania

Mexico

Mexican Air Force

Nepal

Nepalese Army
Nepalese Army Air Service

Oman

Royal Air Force of Oman

Singapore

Republic of Singapore Air Force
121 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force operated Skyvan 3M for Utility transport and Search-and-locate duties from 1973 to 1993.

Thailand

Thai Border Patrol Police

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates Air Force

United Kingdom

British Army
Lend lease for Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces to fill gap of the C-130 Hercules.

Yemen

Yemen Air Force

Specification (Short Skyvan 3)

Data from Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994-95

General characteristics

Crew: 1-2
Capacity: 19 passengers
Length: 12.21 m (40 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 19.79 m (64 ft 11 in)
Height: 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 35.12 m² (378 ft²)
Empty weight: 3,331 kg (7,344 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 5,670 kg (12,500 lb)
Powerplant: 2x— Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-201 Turboprops, 533 kW (715 hp) each

Performance

Never exceed speed: 402 km/h (250 mph)
Maximum speed: 324 km/h (202 mph)
Cruise speed: 315 km/h (170 knots, 197 mph)
Stall speed: 111 km/h (69 mph)
Range: 1,200 km (694 miles)
Service ceiling: 6858m (22,500 ft)
Rate of climb: 500 m/min (1,640 ft/min)
Wing loading: 136.6 kg/m² (33.5 lb/ft²)

Related development

Short 330
Short 360

Comparable aircraft

Antonov An-28
CASA C-212 Aviocar
Fairchild Dornier 228
DHC-6 Twin Otter
IAI Arava
GAF Nomad
Harbin Y-12
PZL M28

Bibliography

Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 (2nd edition). London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.

Short SC.7 Skyvan Pictures

Living Warbirds: The best warbirds DVD series.

Source: WikiPedia