FS2004 – The Short Scion
FS2004 – The Short Scion. The Short S.16 Scion was a 1930s British two-engine, cantilever monoplanes built by Short Brothers and (under licence) by Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft Ltd. in Rochester, Kent between 1933 and 1937. Altogether 5 Scions and 17 Scion II aircraft were built between 1933 & 1937 and they provided useful service to operators working from small airstrips/water courses in many parts of the globe, including Europe, the Near and Middle East, Sierra Leone, Papua New Guinea and Australia. At least 14 were impressed into the RAF during the Second World War, providing pilot ferry services, anti-aircraft co-operation and radar calibration duties. Of the civilian Scions, at least two were still operating in Australia in 1966, one having been re-engined with de Havilland Gipsy Minor engines.
The Scion and the later Scion II version were high wing cantilever monoplanes with fabric-covered metal wings and fuselage, providing an enclosed cabin for the pilot and 5-6 passengers. The tail unit comprised a cantilever tailplane with a single fin and rudder.Flaps were not fitted. The prototype aircraft was powered by two 80 hb Pobjoy R radial engines; the production aircraft however were fitted with the 90 hp Pobjoy Niagara III radial engines.Both the Scion and the Scion II were produced as either landplanes or floatplanes, the majority as landplanes. Visible differences between the two Marks were – the position of the engines and the shape of the rear windows. The landing gear comprised a single wheel on each side of the fuselage, mounted on a vertical coil-spring and oleo leg inboard of the engine; there was a small castoring tailwheel mounted below the rear end of the fuselage. Access to the pilots cabin was from the passenger compartment via a folding front seat.
The Scion was developed as a light transport for 5-6 passengers. The first flight of the prototype aircraft (G-ACJI) took place on 18 August 1933. The first production aircraft (G-ACUV) was also built at that time. In 1935 the fifth production model was built as the revised model Scion II; changes included the provision of 6 passenger seats as standard (on the original Scion there was a folding seat for a sixth passenger if needed). During the production of the Scions the company had opened a new factory at Rochester Airport, U.K. and all Scion IIs were manufactured there, initially by Shorts, later by Pobjoy, first under licence and later under Shorts’ ownership.
Complete package.
By David Molyneaux
4.5 MB
