Short SC.7 Skyvan

infobox Aircraft
name = SC.7 Skyvan
type = Airliner
manufacturer = Short Brothers and Harland Ltd



caption = SC.7 Skyvan at Oulu Airport, Finland.
designer =
first flight = 17 January 1963
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced = 1963-1986
number built = 153
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles = Shorts 330

The Skyvan is a 19-seater twin turboprop aircraft manufactured by Short Brothers, at the time Short Brothers & Harland Ltd, and used mainly for short-haul freight and skydiving.

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

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 and developed their own design for a utility all-metal box-car version known as the Short SC.7 Skyvan.

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 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 "Scramble". [http://www.scramble.nl/] Access date: 21 December 2006.] .

The Short 330 is a stretched derivative of the Skyvan.

On 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 being used at Pebble Island where it became bogged down in the soft ground and was destroyed by enemy fire on Pebble Island on the 15 May 1982 (see Raid on Pebble Island). [cite book |last= Burden|first= Rodney |authorlink= |coauthors= Michael Draper, Douglas Rough, Colin R Smith, David L Wilton|title= Falklands the Air War|year= 1986|publisher= Arms and Armour Press|location= London |isbn= 0-85368-842-7|pages=]

Production

All built by Shorts 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 : Asaztou 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 August 2006 a total of 35 Shorts 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), 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) and Summit Air (2). [Flight International, 3-9 October 2006]

Military Operators

;ARG;AUT;BOT;ECU;GHA;GUY ;INA;LES ;MWI;MRT ;MEX ;NEP;OMA ;SGP
*121 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force operated Skyvan 3M for Utility transport and Search-and-locate duties from 1973 to 1993.;THA ;UAE;YEM

pecification (Short Skyvan 3)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994-95 [Michell, Simon, ed." Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades, Second Edition, 1994-95". London: Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.]
crew=1-2
capacity=19 passengers
length main= 12.21 m
length alt= 40 ft 1 in
span main= 19.79 m
span alt= 64 ft 11 in
height main= 4.6 m
height alt= 15 ft 1 in
area main= 35.12 m²
area alt= 378 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 3,331 kg
empty weight alt= 7,344 lb
max takeoff weight main= 5,670 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 12,500 lb
more general=
engine (jet)=
type of jet=
number of jets=
thrust main=
thrust alt=
thrust original=
afterburning thrust main=
afterburning thrust alt=
engine (prop)= Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-201
type of prop=Turboprops
number of props= 2
power main= 533 kW
power alt= 715 hp
power original=
max speed main= 324 km/h
max speed alt= 202 mph
cruise speed main= 315 km/h
cruise speed alt= knots, mph
stall speed main= 111 km/h
stall speed alt= 69 mph
never exceed speed main= 402 km/h
never exceed speed alt= 250 mph
range main= 1,200 km
range alt= 694 miles
ceiling main= 6858m
ceiling alt= 22,500 ft
climb rate main= 500 m/min
climb rate alt= 1,640 ft/min
loading main= 136.6 kg/m²
loading alt= 33.5 lb/ft²
thrust/weight=
more performance=
armament=
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=
* Short 330
* Short 360

similar aircraft=
*Antonov An-28
*Fairchild Dornier 228
*DHC-6 Twin Otter
*IAI Arava
*GAF Nomad
*Harbin Y-12

lists=*list of civil aircraft

see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

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

External links

* [http://britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=370 British Aircraft Directory entry]
* [http://www.pinkskyvan.com Pink Aviation Services, Austria, operating five Skyvans]
* [http://www.sydneyskydivers.com.au Sydney Skydivers, Sydney Australia, operate two Skyvans]
* [http://www.doppeladler.com/oebh/luftfahrzeuge/skyvan.htm The Skyvans of the Austrian Air Force]
* [http://www.ruudleeuw.com/skyvan-larry_miller.htm A pilot relates his experiences with the Skyvan out of Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska]