Short Kent

infobox Aircraft
name = S.17 Kent
type = Biplane Flying Boat Airliner
manufacturer = Short Brothers


caption =
designer =
first flight = 24 February 1931
introduced = 1931
retired = 1938
status =
primary user = Imperial Airways
more users =
produced = Rochester
number built = 3
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The Short S.17 Kent was a British 4-engined 15-seat biplane luxury flying-boat airliner, designed and built by Shorts to meet a requirement from Imperial Airways Limited for an aircraft with greater range than the Calcutta. The new aircraft was to have sufficient range to fly the stage from Mirabella, Crete, to Alexandria in Egypt without the need for refuelling stops in Italian colonial territory, there having been a political row which had led the Italian Government to ban British aircraft from its ports.

Three aircraft were built, each receiving its own name: "Scipio", "Sylvanus" and "Satyrus"; they were referred to collectively within Imperial Airlines as the "Scipio Class" boats.http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/short_kent.php Two images of the Short Kent here] Each had an aircrew of three (two pilots and a radio operator/navigator) and a steward to prepare meals and light refreshments for the passengers.

Design [Cassidy, p.20ff.] [Barnes and James, p.272ff.]

The Short Kent flying boat was essentially an enlarged, four-engined version of the Calcutta, with the same passenger carrying capacity but with an increased payload for mail. It was powered by four Bristol Jupiter XFBM radial engines mounted on vertical struts between the upper and lower planes.

The wings were constructed using corrugated duralumin box spars, tubular rib assemblies, with a fabric covering and Frise ailerons on all four wings. [Barnes and James p.226 and p.269.] Duralumin walkways were provided to allow ready access to the engines for maintenance purposes. The tail unit comprised a braced monoplane tailpane with a single fin; the rudder was fitted with a Flettner trimming aerofoil (visible here [ [http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/imperial/short%20L17%20scylla.htm Short Scylla] ] ) on the Short Scylla which had the same aerostructure as the Kent. The anodised duralumin fuselage was mounted below the lower wing, with the planing bottom of the hull made of stainless steel (as on the Singapore II) with a transverse main step. The use of stainless steel reduced the frequency of land inspections of the hull. The bimetallic corrosion problems experienced on the Singapore II hull had been solved, so Short Brothers became the first company to master the technique of building seaplane floats and flying-boat hulls in this combination of metals.

A quick-release hook (controlled by the pilots) was provided, which enabled the captain to start, warm up and (when required) run all four engines up to full power for take-off while the aircraft was still attached to the mooring buoy.

Maximum comfort was required for passengers and crew: the Kent's passenger cabin was 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) wide and 14 ft (4.27 m) long. The seating was arranged in four rows of facing pairs, with a centre aisle, Pullman style. The steward's pantry, situated on the port side aft of the passenger cabin, was equipped with twin-burner oil stoves on which IAL Stewards (and the valets of valued passengers) could cook meals in flight. The toilet and washroom were opposite the pantry; the mail and freight compartment was further aft.

Special attention was paid to sound levels in the passenger cabin and crew's stations; accordingly the engines were fitted with exhaust collector rings and long tail pipes, to reduce exhaust noise inside the hull.

The cockpit, for two pilots, was fully enclosed with a separate Radio Officer's station directly aft of the cockpit.

History

In October 1930, Short Bros. started building the first of the three S.17 Kent flying-boats (G-ABFA, named Scipio). It was launched and flown on 24 February 1931 by Shorts' Chief Test Pilot J. Lankester Parker and was in service in the Mediterranean in May of that year. The second (G-ABFB, named Sylvanus) was launched on 31 March 1931; the third Kent (G-ABFC, Satyrus) was launched on 30 April 1931 and flown for the first time on 2 May 1931.

Imperial Airways used the Kent aircraft on the Mediterranean stages of its routes to India and beyond, also using them to survey planned routes to South Africa and Australia. [http://www.openthebook.com/pdfs/ports_sample.pdf Image (on p.25) shows a Short Kent on the Sea of Galilee (in or after 1931)]

On 22 August 1936 "Scipio", on its way back from India, flipped over and sank in "Mirabella Harbour" (between the mainland and the island of Spinalonga) after landing heavily, [ cite web
last =
first=
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Imperial Airways in Elounda / Mirabella Harbour / Corfos Bay
work =
publisher =In-Crete.net
date =
url =http://www.in-crete.co.uk/imperial/index.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-02-04 ] killing the two crew members. [ Lieut. Richard Glen Wilson-Dickson and Thomas Alexander Cecil "Whimmie" Forbes.] "Sylvanus" was destroyed by fire at Brindisi on 9 November 1935 [http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1935/1935-32.htm Information w.r.t. the loss of "Sylvanus" at Brindisi, 1935.] , killing all on board. Only "Satyrus" survived to be taken out of service and scrapped in June 1938. [Barnes and James, p.272.]

In 1933 Imperial Airways placed an order for two landplanes based on the Kent; known initially as the S.17/L and later as the L.17, these became the Short Scylla, of which two were built and given the names "Scylla" and "Syrinx".

British Movietone News film footage of the Kent is available [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmuNQXst6nI here] .

Operators

;flag|United Kingdom
*Imperial Airways

pecifications

aircraft specifications

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

ref=cite web
url=http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=386
title=British Aircraft Directory: Short Kent

crew=4
capacity=15
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 83 ft 10 in
length alt=
span main= 113 ft
span alt= 34.44 m
height main=
height alt=
area main= 2,640 ft²
area alt= 245 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 20,460 lb
empty weight alt= 9,290 kg
loaded weight main= 32,000 lb
loaded weight alt= 14,510 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)= Bristol Jupiter XFBM
type of prop= air-cooled single-row radial poppet valve piston engine
number of props= 4
power main= 555 hp
power alt= 414 kW
power original=

max speed main= 137 mph
max speed alt= 220 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 450 miles
range alt= 769 km
ceiling main= 19,500 ft
ceiling alt= 5,944 m
climb rate main= ft/min
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

armament=

avionics=

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

* cite web
last=Cassidy
first=Brian
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Flying Empires: Short ‘C’ class Empire flying boats
work =
publisher =Queens Parade Press
date =2004
url =http://www.users.waitrose.com/~mbcass/Flying%20Empires.pdf
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-15

* cite web
last =
first=
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Century-of-Flight.net: Short Kent
work =
publishenet
date =
url =http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/imperial/short%20S17%20kent.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-18

* cite web
last =
first=
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =British Aircraft Directory: Short Kent
work =
publisher =British Aircraft Directory
date =
url =http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=386
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-18

ee also

aircontent

related=
*Short L.17 Scylla

similar aircraft=
lists=
see also=