Short SB5

infobox Aircraft
name = SB/5
type = experimental aircraft
manufacturer = Short Brothers



caption =
designer =
first flight = 2 December 1952
introduced =
retired = 1967, after a student at the Empire Test Pilot School inadvertently jettisoned the canopy during a landing, having mistaken the canopy jettison handle for the brake parachure handle.
status =
primary user = Royal Aircraft Establishment
more users =
produced =
number built = 1
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The Short SB/5 ("WG768") was a "highly unorthodox, adjustable wing"Staples K.J.] British research aircraft designed by Short Brothers in response to ER.100; to provide input for the design of the English Electric P.1 (prototype of the English Electric Lightning) by testing the low speed flight characteristics of various configurations of wing-sweep required for supersonic flight. In addition, the tailplane could be mounted either on top of the fin ("T-tail") or below the fuselage. The tests ultimately confirmed that the original P.1/Lightning design was an effective configuration for high speed flight.

Design and development

A technical dispute arose between the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the English Electric Company (EEC) as to the optimum configuration for the company's proposed supersonic fighter. A single-seat, mid-winged research machine was built to investigate the low speed handling of the possible configurations. The same basic configuration of the P.1 was incorporated into a simpler testbed that had a fixed undercarriage. [ Winchester 2004, p. 149. ] Since the SB/5 was to test the low-speed flight characteristics, there was no requirement for the undercarriage to be retractable.

The contract was awarded to Short Brothers and Harland Ltd of Belfast on 2 August1950. The machine was designed to allow three different wing sweep angles (50°, 60° and 69°). The sweep adjustment of the wings was made when the aircraft was on the ground. Two different tail plane positions (a) low on the rear fuselage and (b) on top of the fin, were also tested. This requirement was met by the construction of two entirely different rear fuselages and tail units.

(Direct quotations are from the flight test report)

"The complete rear fuselage, just aft of the engine, was detachable and two alternative rear fuselages were available, one with the tailplane set on top of the fin and the other with the tailplane set below the fuselage. The tailplane angle was adjustable in flight, being electrically actuated."

"The wings were made of plywood, except for light alloy sheeting at the leading and trailing edges," which restricted the maximimum speed to a modest 350 knots (403 mph; 649 km/h).

"Two 20 feet (6.1 m) circumference brake parachutes and one 20 feet (6.1 m) anti-spin parachute were housed in the rear fuselage above the jet pipe."

The flight test report of the SB/5 with 60 degrees of sweep and the tailplane in the lower position summarised the design criteria as follows:

"At the time of the initial conception of the Short SB/5 research aircraft (1949), it was recognised that the trend towards higher angles of sweepback was likely to continue, and this was emphasised by the existence of a design for an operational fighter aircraft, the English Electric P.1 (Lightning), which was to have a sweepback of 60°. There was then no flight experience with wings of this amount of sweepback. The SB/5 was designed to allow a gradual approach to this configuration, flying initially with 50° sweepback before "conversion to 60° when it would resemble, aerodynamically, a seven-eights scale model of the Lightning." To increase its usefulness as a research vehicle, the aircraft was capable of further modification to operate with 69° of wing sweepback."

History

Testing was conducted with increasing degrees of sweep and with the tailplane in both of its two possible positions:
#The first flight, with the sweep set to 50°, was made from Boscombe Down by the Chief Test Pilot of Shorts, Tom Brooke-Smith on 2 December 1952. In 1953, he gave an impressive display of the SB/5's manœvrability and speed at the Society of British Aircraft Constructors Air Display at Farnborough.
#In July 1953, the first test flights were carried out with the wing-sweep set to the intermediate angle of 60° and with the "T-tail." Testing with the lower tailplane position commenced in January 1954, so that flight-test feedback could be made available prior to the first flight of the P.1. It was eventually determined that the "T-tail" configuration was unsatisfactory. Testing in the 60° sweep configuration was completed in April 1958.
#The first flight with the final sweep setting of 69° was made on 18 October 1960 at RAE Bedford; this was, at the time, the greatest degree of wing-sweep in the world.

The experience gained with the SB/5 validated the wing-sweep and low tailplane configuration adopted for the P.1, which was to become the English Electric Lightning. [ Winchester 2004, p. 148. ] Over eleven months, the tests with 50° and 60° sweep were concluded with the high tail configuration. In January 1954, the low tail rear fuselage was fitted and tests continued for a further two years and proved that the EEC configuration was correct.

Before evaluating the final wing sweep configuration of 69°, a Martin Baker ejector seat was fitted for the first time and the Rolls-Royce Derwent engine was changed for a Bristol Orpheus of greater thrust. [ Winchester 2004, p. 149. ] The aircraft was returned to RAE Bedford in September 1960. The first flight was made in the new configuration on 18 October.

The two head-on images show two different sweep configurations and the two tailplane positions. The black-and-white images date from 1953, the colour image was printed in the ETPS 25th Anniversary brochure in 1968. ["ETPS Twenty-fifth Anniversary brochure 1968.]

After completion of its test programme, the SB/5 eventually joined the fleet of the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) at Farnborough in 1967, as was evidenced by the (since deleted) colour photograph on the right. The Empire Test Pilots School flew the machine to give students experience in flight-testing "slender" aircraft. [ "Short Brothers SB5 WG768". RAF Museum. [http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/short-brothers-sb5-wg768.htm Short Brothers SB5 WG768] ]

The SB/5 is now on display in the RAF Museum, Cosford in Shropshire (with both of its tails). [ Winchester 2004, p. 149. ]

Operators

;UK
*Royal Aircraft Establishment

Specifications (Short SB/5- 1952 configuration)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet

ref=

crew=1
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 45 ft 9 in
length alt= 13.94 m
span main= 35 ft 2 in
span alt= 10.9 m
height main= 17 ft 4 in (high tail)
height alt= 5.28 m [high tail]
area main= 273.1 ft²
area alt= 25.4 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 9,200 lb
empty weight alt= 4,173 kg
loaded weight main= 12,000 lb
loaded weight alt= 5,443 kg)
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (jet)=Rolls-Royce Derwent Mk. 8
type of jet= turbojet
number of jets=1
thrust main= 3600 lb
thrust alt= 16.01 kN
thrust original=
afterburning thrust main=
afterburning thrust alt=
engine (prop)=
type of prop=
number of props=
power main=
power alt=
power original=

max speed main= 403 mph
max speed alt= 649 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main=
ceiling alt=
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

armament=

avionics=

ee also

Related development:
* English Electric Lightning

Comparable aircraft:
* Handley-Page HP.115
* Saab 210

References

* "Empire Test Pilots' School: Twenty Five Years". Empire Test Pilots' School Twenty-fifth Anniversary brochure. 1968.
* "Sweepback-60°". Shorts Quarterly Review, Vol. 2, No. 3. Autumn 1953.
* Staples, K.J. "Tests on the Short SB5 with 60° and Low Tailplane - Part I- Forces and Moments". London: Office of Public Sector Information HMSO, 1969.
* Winchester, Jim. "X-Planes and Prototypes". London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7.

External links

* [http://britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=376 British Aircraft Directory]
* [http://www.rafmuseum.com/short-brothers-sb5-wg768.htm RAF Museum website entry]