Short Satellite

infobox Aircraft
name = Satellite
type = two-seat monoplane
manufacturer = Short Brothers



caption =
designer =
first flight = 1924
introduced = 1924
retired = 1926
status =
primary user = Short Brothers
more users =
produced =
number built = 1
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The Short S.4 Satellite was a British small two-seater sporting monoplane, produced in 1924 to take part in the Air Ministry's Two-Seater Light Aeroplane competition on 27 September of that year.

Design

Design began in July, with only weeks available before the competition, so the monocoque fuselage was of conventional design, with wooden box spars; the ribs however were of duralumin, as were the tailplane, elevators, fin and rudder.The cantilever wings had a span of 34 ft (10.3 m) and they, the tail and the fuselage were fabric-covered. The Satellite was fitted initially with an ungeared Bristol Cherub engine, with which it had a top speed of convert|70|mph|km/h|abbr=on without a passenger.

History

The aircraft was initially fitted with an ungeared Bristol Cherub engine. At the Air Ministry's Two-Seater Light Aeroplane competition at Lympne in 1924, where the Satellite was flown by the company's Chief Test Pilot J. Lankester Parker. [J Lankester Parker (1896 - 1965) OBE FRAeS Hon MSLAE was Chief Test Pilot at Shorts 1918 - 1945 and from 1943 a Director of Short Brothers and Harland] The engine delivered insufficient power to fly with a passenger, so the Satellite, along with 9 of the other 18 entrants, failed to meet the competition's success criteria. It was fitted with a tuned version of the Cherub within the week and on 4 October took part in the Grosvenor Cup race, completing the course and finishing in seventh place. It was later fitted with a geared Cherub II, later still with a ABC Motors Scorpion Mk. II engine, both of which greatly improved its performance. As a result of violent wing flutter experienced at convert|90|mph|km/h|abbr=on, the wingspan was reduced by convert|2|ft|m|abbr=on; this solved the problem and no flutter was experienced even at dives of up to 120 mph. [Barnes and James, p.185.]

The Satellite was sometimes irreverently referred to as "Parker's Tin Kettle" because he frequently flew the aircraft. [Shorts Quarterly Review p.24.]

Specifications

aircraft specifications

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

ref= [Barnes and James, p.186.]

crew=1
capacity=1
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 23 ft 9 in
length alt= 7.24 m
span main=34 ft
span alt=10.3 m
height main=
height alt=
area main= 168 ft²
area alt= 15.6 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 640 lb
empty weight alt= 290 kg
loaded weight main= 1,060 lb
loaded weight alt= 481 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Bristol Cherub
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main= 33 h.p.
power alt=
power original=

max speed main= 72 mph
max speed alt=
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= lb/ft²
loading alt= kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

Notes

References

* cite book
last = Barnes C.H. & James D.N
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Shorts Aircraft since 1900
publisher =Putnam
date =
location =London (1989)
pages =560
url =
doi =
id = 0-85177-819-4
* [http://www.gapan.org/guildinfo/75history.pdf "The Guild of Aircraft Pilots and Navigators of London 1929 - 2004"]
* cite journal
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title ="The Short Satellite"
journal ="Shorts Quarterly Review"
volume =2
issue =3
pages =24
publisher =Short Brothers and Harland Limited
date =Autumn 1953
url =
doi =
id =
accessdate = 2007-02-01