Short 330 and 360 - The Feederliners

one of the most popular utility aircraft ever produced a short 330 and 360 range were a series of aircraft not built to win sales through their external Aesthetics but instead through the promise of a roomy rugged transport plane that could fly into just about any Airfield in the world under any conditions and became a Lifeline for many of the most remote regions that required Vital Air transport corridors the short 330 and 360 begin their story with their predecessor the short sc7 skyvan an ungainly looking little aircraft that was built by the short Brothers company of Belfast between 1963 and 1986. this model often derided as one of the ugliest aircraft ever produced making up for its aesthetic shortcomings by way of providing among the most practical airframes available for a small transport airliner it's near perfectly Square fuselage earning it the nickname of the flying Box Car although early life for the skyvan was slow to find success due to pervasive engine issues with the original Continental piston engines and later turbo Mecca astazoo turbo props fitted to the series 1 and Series 2 prototypes which were severely underpowered and struggled to deliver the most efficient flight when hauling heavy loads of cargo these problems amended with the series 3 that introduced Garrett tpe 331 turbo props from the Fairchild swearing and Metro liner the skyvan proving to be a modest success on the global utility aircraft Market with 149 units built and sold throughout its 23-year production life however while the skyvan was a sturdy and reliable airliner short soon realized that it was better suited to Flying conditions in less developed areas of the world and that a similar but refined and capacious aircraft would have a greater attraction to Airlines providing feeder services in sophisticated markets thus meaning that while the sky van remained in production a follow-up design was investigated that would have a capacity of 30 seats so as to appeal to the emerging market for American Commuter Carrier Airlines specifically those operating to small rugged and often improvised airfields located in the midwest Alaska or the Hawaiian Islands the urgency of the short company to produce a successor to the sky van that could be sold to U.S customers for less than one million dollars seeing the upcoming design carry over many aspects from its predecessor although before the new model could progress too far the American Civil Aeronautics board or cab had set a limitation on the size of aircraft that could be used on feeder Services restricting the gross takeoff weight to 12 500 pounds or the equivalent of 20 passengers although American regional carriers such as Allegheny commuter Airlines and west stair commuter Airlines had lobbied vigorously to see this capacity limit increased in a highly ambitious move and so as to ensure that the American commuter Airlines were kept on side as potential buyers short approached the cab directly so as to try and argue for a removal of the limits on the size of Peter airliners presenting to the government Representatives their upcoming layout for what was dubbed the short sd330 illustrating that thanks to its perfect mixture of sturdy robustness and spaciousness The Airliner could easily carry 30 passengers and significant cargo safely and efficiently in a manner that far exceeded the likes of the equivalent to Haviland Canada DHC 6 twinotter and let l410 confirming also that due to the great savings made by carrying over as many parts of design aspects as possible from the sky van the sd330 could enter full-scale production at the first opportunity this gamble successfully paying off as from July 1972 the cab revised the existing regulations to allow feeder airliners to transport up to 30 passengers on commuter Services while funding for the short sd330 came in part from the British government through a regional state aid grant thus meaning that by early 1973 the SD 330 layout was finalized and official approval for production was granted on May 23rd in terms of design the sd330 utilized Wing panels based on those of the sky van but with an extended wingspan of 74 foot 8 inches while the fuselage retained the rectangular cross section of its predecessor but was lengthened to 58 feet through the insertion of additional airframe plugs for and after the wing with the skyvan's rear loading door being replaced in favor of a smaller door which gave access to a baggage hold in the rear of the fuselage consideration being given to converting the tailed unit into a single fin Arrangement which would have improved performance but this proposal was dropped on cost grounds consequently leading to the twin Fin and Rudder layout of the skyband being retained the main wheel units being capable of semi-retracting into the sponsors projecting from the fuselage sides which allowed the fuselage floor to be nearer the ground for easier loading and unloading while offering some protection to the cabin in the event of a belly landing the sd-330 being powered by a pair of Pratt and Whitney Canada pt6a45 engines driving five-bladed propellers that provided increased power but with reduced noise levels the internal seating arrangement for the 30 passenger capacity of The Airliner was a configuration of two seats on the right side and one on the left with an offset aisle although alternatively the interior could be easily converted for the Mixed traffic roll with around 18 passengers in a rear cabin separated by a bulkhead from the forward Freight compartment the fuselage frame spacing being rearranged to allow a large window to be situated at every seat row and the cabin was sufficiently tall to enable passengers to stand and walk about comfortably while air conditioning overhead lockers and a galleon toilet were all added to improve passenger appeal over the comparatively Spartan offerings of previous Feed aligners Market Research and customer clinics undertaken by the short development team predicting a demand for around 300 aircraft on the American Market alone during the period from 1972 to 1981. this enthusiasm added to by the fact that thanks to its rapid development time due to the sharing of parts with the pre-existing Sky van the sd330 could enter the marketplace with absolutely no Rivals due to the company itself having instigated amendments to the restrictive policies of the CIA aab while having a near fully designed production aircraft ready to enter Mass assembly the general principles of the aircraft in the context of the feeder liner Market being years ahead of the competition even though the model was unpressurized with its closest current rival the Fairchild soring and Metro liner being a comparatively cramped airliner due to its pressurized oval fuselage cross-section eventually the first prototype golf Bravo Sierra Bravo Hotel undertook its Maiden flight from the company Airfield of Sydenham Belfast on August 22 1974 making its public debut at the Farber air show two weeks later followed in July 1975 by the second prototype golf Bravo Delta Bravo Sierra which was used for certification trials with the FAA ultimately awarding airward in a certification on December 15 1975 only days after the maiden Flight of the first production example the highly insular and extremely demanding North American Market being immediately interested in the sd330 would launch customer for the type being Canadian Regional carrier Time air which employed these models from August 24 1976 on Services between Lethbridge Calgary and the notorious Edmonton City Center airport that sat less than 1.5 miles from the skyscrapers of the downtown area while command Airways of Poughkeepsie and Upstate New York followed suit on October 18 1976 using the third production example on feeder Services into New York's John F Kennedy and LaGuardia airports from point which included Boston Burlington and White Plains sadly the optimistic forecast for the short marketing team didn't fully meet what was expected as with the civil aviation industry continuing to reel in the wake of the 1973 all crisis fewer passengers were traveling and demand for new models remained heavily subdued thus meaning that against a potential 300 units sold in the United States by 1981 only 43 examples have been sold worldwide with early European customers including Germany's DLT or the first uk-based customer for The Airliner was Logan Eyre who employed the SD 330 on its TransLink feeder service to Glasgow Prestwick from Edinburgh and Aberdeen during July 1979 replacing similar links flown by Vicar's Viscount aircraft on higher to British Airways this service being subsidized by the Scottish Air Force division of the British Air Ports Authority with the aim of making it easier for Scottish travelers to connect with transatlantic services at Prestwick instead of flying via London other uk-based 330 users including auk and Jenn Air with the latter being a founding member of British caledonians B Cal commuter Network for feeder Services into Gatwick gen air ultimately going on to become the UK's most prolific user of short aircraft with a fleet of five three thirties while despite the lower than expected progress of 330 sales those units that were shipped across the Atlantic ended up in the fleets of 11 out of the top 50 commuter carriers of the United States for 1981 the short 330 was joined by an enlarged variant of the short 360 which increased the cabin size in order to allow for a capacity of 39 passengers while sharing as many parts as possible with the 330 so as to reduce Development and Construction costs the 360 being distinguishable why its use of a larger swept tail unit mounted on a revised rear fuselage that replaced the twin Fin and Rudder arrangement of the 330 while a three-foot fuselage plug was sufficient in giving The Airliner an additional two rows of space within the cabin and an extra length smoothed out aerodynamic profile helped to reduce Drag The Airliner being powered by two Pratt and Whitney pt6a65r turboprop engines that produced 1400 horsepower and thus meant The Airliner could capably operate from runways as short as 4500 feet opening up hundreds of airfields across the world that would otherwise be inaccessible to airliners top speed for the 360 being 247 miles an hour and due to its unpressurized nature meant it struggled to compete in terms of speed with the likes of the newly launched de havilland-8 the appeal of the 360 being more due to its acceptable performance reasonable price ruggedness and ease of service and maintainability First Flight of the short 360 came on June 1 1981 and following certification of the type on September 3rd of the same year 360s began to be deployed across the highly enthusiastic American Market the popularity of the model in the United States meaning that 90 examples of the short feeder line of range were in service with multiple carriers by 1982. 54 of these units being the original Short 330. many of the stages flown by 330s and 360s being very short with the average length of a regular feeder line of flight being around 81 miles although some were as short as 55 to 60 miles the 330s being more attuned to the shorter hops while the 360s were used on longer routes between Philadelphia Newark and New London in Connecticut turnaround times for the model being scheduled at 10 to 25 minutes while due to the exceptional fuel efficiency of the aircraft the short 330 and 360 Illustrated cost per seat mile figures that would break even at 12 passengers less than half their capacity a steady stream of orders from all around the world keeping both the 330 and 360 production lines busy and the models maintain a sturdy reputation for reliability and economy with carriers on a global scale in September 1982 short announced a military version of the 330 that was to be christened the 330 utility tactical transport or utt which had a large cargo door on the left side of the forward fuselage plus two inward opening paratroop doors towards the rear this variant being able to transport up to 33 troops 15 stretcher cases or 26 combat equipped paratroopers while additionally a freighter variant dubbed the sherpa was also developed that featured a strengthened cabin floor with lashing points for cargo and employed the same large forward cargo door as the utt plus a hydraulically operated loading ramp at the rear both of these models being intended for use in a wide range of military roles although in reality the utt saw very little interest with two examples bought by the Royal Thai Army Two by The Royal Thai police and one by the Royal Thai Navy together with a few others to various military and civil users although the sherpa cargo model fared much better and gained important orders from all over the world primarily developing countries in Africa South America the Caribbean and Southeast Asia one surprising order for the sherpa came from the United States Air Force who announced a requirement for an aircraft to provide spares Transportation within its European distribution system or EDS with specifications requiring that the cabin should accommodate two small vehicles or four lt3 containers attached to which the sherpa was perfectly qualified to accomplish the U.S Air Force ordering 18 examples of what was dubbed the short c23a which were assigned to the 10th military aircraft Squadron stationed at svy brooken in West Germany this 110 million pound order also covering 10 years worth of logistics and servicing support with around 70 short Personnel to be based at vybrook and for this purpose the first production short 330 series 200 goth Bravo kilo Mike whiskey been converted to Sherpa configuration so as to carry out trials before a dedicated c23 prototype was launched on August 6 1984 making it the first british-built aircraft to enter service with the U.S Air Force since the super Marine Spitfire was employed by the fourth Fighter Group number 71 Eagle Squadron during World War II the sharp successfully performing their roles of shuttling spares and support Personnel between the U.S Air Force bases in Europe while the US Army also placed an order for 10 aircraft later increased to 16 for use by National Guard units as the c23b with a further four or three thirties also being acquired by the US Army for communications and freighter duties at the quadriline Missile Range in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific these been converted for the role by field aviation at Calgary in Canada and had their reloading ramp removed ultimately the short 330 ended production in 1992 with 139 examples built 52 of these units haven't been sold in the United States while only 13 had been sold in its native UK representing the most successful percentage of British airliners ever sold on the American Market while by 1987 115 of the larger short 360 have been delivered to 32 different airlines worldwide and with 74 examples being delivered to the United States made it the second most popular feeder liner aircraft in service in America behind the Metro liner the 360 remaining in production until 1991 with no successor although proposals had been made in 1985 to release a third generation of the type dub the short 450 a stretch variant of 360 that was to be built in partnership with Embraer of Brazil following the completion of shorts contract to build embryo takano trainers on the license the short 450 being outlined as an unpressurized 48-seat feeder liner that was powered by New Generation turbo props and capable of a cruising speed of 150 miles an hour and a maximum range of 400 nautical miles though in the end after scrutinizing the Project's potential competitors several of which demanded pressurized aircraft so as to increase fuel efficiency at higher altitudes short opted not to follow through with the project making the 330 and 360 the final short designs to be built before the company became fully absorbed into the Bombardier group in 1989 by the end of the 1990s due to the 330 and 360 having largely been succeeded by new generations of Regional Jet such as the embryo ERJ and Canada crj which could provide faster performance at higher altitudes while not sacrificing on capacity or short field performance these models had been widely removed from the fleets of mainstream carriers but proved to be popular figures on the second-hand Market among numerous smaller carriers specializing in parcels and light Freight Carriage usually under contractor distribution companies such as FedEx and TNT while the U.S Air Force Fleet of 18 Sherpas was withdrawn from service in Europe in November 1990 and ferried to the US for disposal though in December 1997 seven units were sold to the United States Forest Service the US Army maintaining its own Fleet of Sherpas until January 2014 whereupon they were placed into storage with 22 examples being earmarked as replacements for the former U.S Air Force units in operation with the forest service another attribute of the short 330 and 360 was its superb safety record as despite its generally rough operations into airports with difficult conditions the short 330 was involved in 16 whole loss incidents of which only three were fatal resulting in the cumulative deaths of 37 people while the short 360 was involved in 15 whole loss incidents of which only six were fatal and resulted in the deaths of 76 people the first instant involving either type being on October 22 1985 when a caac short 360 overran The Runway while landing at NC jujai ping airport in Hubei Province China leading to no injuries but caused the airframe to be written off the first fatal incident involving these models took place on December 13 1987 when Philippine Airlines flight 443 a short 360 on route from Cebu to iligan crashed into the slopes of Mount gurrane while on Final Approach resulting in the deaths of all 15 people aboard while the first fatal incident involving the short 330 took place on August 3 1989 when Olympic Aviation flight 545 running a service from Thessaloniki to Samos crashed into the side of Mount kirkus while on approach to Samos causing the deaths of all 34 aboard and making it the worst instant involving either the short 330 or 360. the worst incident for the short 360 taking place on August 21 2004 when a Venezuelan Air Force short 360 on route from LA ochila to El libitado crashed into Mount El Perico while on its descent into El debitado leading to the deaths of all 30 people aboard the latest incident involving either the short 330 or 360 occurred on December 23 2021 when a Marlow Aviation short 360 flying from Goma to shabunda in the Democratic Republic of Congo crashed 12 miles short of its destination in an area of thick forest leading to the deaths of all five aboard the airliner today while the short 330 and 360 no longer operate in passenger service the airliners have found a successful niche in the role of cargo aircraft and maintained strong numbers with various carriers across the globe in providing vital Freight transport to some of the most remote regions in the world especially in developing countries where their reputation for rugged reliable and economical service makes them a must-have choice for Airlines operating on a budget while the legacy of these often overlooked aircraft frequently forgotten due to their utilitarian nature group that British aircraft manufacturers could under the right circumstances provide the highly insular American Market with a successful model that was the backbone of many Regional feeder Airlines opening up new destinations to Regional Air travel with a design that was years ahead of its rivals

Channel: Ruairidh MacVeigh

Views: 16,830

Keywords: Airbus, Boeing, Air, Aircraft, Airplane, Aeroplane, Airliner, Commercial Airliner, Airline, Airlines, Airways, International Airline, International, International Airport, Departure, Arrival, Take-off, Landing, Flight, Flying, Plane, Runway, Approach, Terminal, Short, Short Brothers, Short SD3.30, Short 330, Short 360, Shorts 330, Shorts 360, Short Sherpa, United States Air Force, USAF, Ireland, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Irish, UK, US Army, USA, British, Short SC.7 Skyvan, Short C-23 Sherpa, SD3-60

Id: iOsAo8JcLkw

Length: 18min 10sec (1090 seconds)

Published: Sat May 20 2023