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Flying Boxes, The Shorts Airliners 5 /17
In 1959 Shorts moved forward with a concept for a multirole STOL transport suitable for use in developing countries as well as Europe. By 1962 a prototype flew, equipped with Continental piston engines. These were discarded in favor of Turbomeca Astazous, and later, Garrett TPE 331s. The first orders were from Aer Alpi of Italy, and Emerald Air in the UK and the Skyvan entered service in 1966.
The little shoebox with wings and a drop tail had little passenger appeal, but was quite practical as a light freighter for military as well as civilian operations.
By 1973 the 330 design was completed and presented at Farnborough. Not aesthetically pleasing , but quite practical, the 330 was the first cabin class commuter, providing relief to long suffering commuter passengers. The first orders were from Command and Time Air, and the airliner was well received.
In 1980 a final "stretch" of the Skyvan was announced, resulting in the somewhat more aerodynamic looking 360 model.
Production of the Shorts commuters continued until 1991 with nearly 400 completed. Presented are some postcard views of these "flying boxes". |
Album by John Schmidt. 1 - 73 of 73 Total. 0 Visits. |
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