Short Scion

The Scion and the later Scion II version were high wing cantilever monoplanes with fabric-covered metal wings and fuselage, the latter providing an enclosed cabin for the pilot and 5–6 passengers. The tail unit comprised a cantilever tailplane with a single fin and rudder. The prototype aircraft was powered by two {{cvt|80|hp|0}} Pobjoy R radial engines; the production aircraft however were fitted with the {{cvt|90|hp|0}} Pobjoy Niagara III radial engines. The engines in the Scion were mounted with thrust-lines below the chord-line of the wings; in the Scion II they were raised so that the thrust-lines were aligned with the chord-line, to avoid trim changes in pitch with changes in power. Both the Scion and the Scion II were produced as either landplanes or floatplanes, the majority as landplanes (see the table below). On the landplanes 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.Barnes and James, p.287.

File:PASSENGER PLANE OF THE PALESTINE AIRWAYS COMPANY AT THE LOD AIRPORT. מטוס נוסעים של חברת "נתיבי אויר ארץ ישראל" חונה בנמל התעופה בלוד.D2-044.jpg

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, piloted by Shorts' Chief Test Pilot John Lankester Parker. The first production aircraft (G-ACUV) was flown at the SBAC's airshow at Hendon in 1934. In 1935 the fifth production model was built as the revised model Scion II; the major improvement was the repositioning of the two engines as noted above; other 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), an improved windscreen and better cabin windows. During the production of the Scions the company had opened a new factory at Rochester Airport and all Scion IIs were manufactured there, initially by Shorts, later by Pobjoy, first under licence and later under Shorts' ownership.

G-ADDR, the fifth Scion II, was retained by Shorts as an experimental testbed aircraft, and it was on this aircraft (temporarily designated M.3) that a scale wooden model of the slender wings (with Gouge flaps) for the later Short Empire boats was tested, the first flight in this configuration being conducted by Lankester Parker on 6 August 1935. With these flaps fitted it was tested at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, which found that the Gouge flap decreased distance to take-off and stalling speed, among other improvements.Cohen, 1936, R&M 1753, p.3. Further work with standard wings was carried out; one flight from Rochester Airport, with experimental full-span flaps incorporating retractable spoilers instead of ailerons, was made on 22 July 1936; this idea proved unworkable, Lankester Parker having to draw on his considerable experience to coax the aircraft around on a single circuit before landing safely. The standard wing was refitted and the aircraft continued with Shorts in this configuration until it was impressed into military service in 1940, an operational usage experienced by 14 of the 22 Scion/Scion II aircraft.

File:Short Scion G-AEZF SGT 25.10.48 edited-2.jpg in 1948]]

G-AEZF, built by Pobjoy and first flown in December 1937, was originally operated as a floatplane by Elders Colonial Airways in Sierra Leone, between Bathurst (Gambia) and Freetown, and was returned to Shorts in 1939 and converted into a landplane in 1941. After operating for the company for another six years it was eventually sold on to Air Couriers Ltd. in 1947,Barnes and James, p.293. after which it changed hands between private owners several times before finally ending up at Southend airport. The plane is now undergoing restoration by [https://www.mapsl.co.uk/scion-ii Medway Aircraft Preservation Society (MAPSL)], funded in part by a grant from the Rochester Bridge Trust.

A larger 9-passenger enlarged version of Scion was produced as the Short S.22 Scion Senior.

;G-AEZF:After a long career, this aircraft stood derelict at Southend Airport. Its frame was rescued and is currently held for long-term restoration by the Medway Aircraft Preservation Society at Rochester Airport.{{cite web |url=http://www.mapsl.co.uk/ |title=Home |website=mapsl.co.uk}}

;G-ACUX: one of the 'Australian' Scions still flying in the 1960s, was later returned to the United Kingdom and is held in deep storage at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, Holywood, Northern Ireland.[http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/airforce/museum.txt ibiblio.org] It is claimed that its condition has been allowed to deteriorate.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} It was not on public display in April 2012.

;VH-UTV: another 'Australian' Scion. Under restoration at Luskintyre in New South Wales to return to operable condition. Privately owned.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

• S-16 Scion : Company designation.
• Scion : Light transport aircraft, powered by two {{cvt|85|hp|0}} Pobjoy Niagara I or II piston engines. Five built, one prototype and four production machines.
• Scion II : Light transport aircraft, powered by two {{cvt|90|hp|0}} Pobjoy Niagara III piston engines.
• M.3: Scion II fitted with scaled-down Empire flying-boat wings with Gouge flaps

Floatplanes

;{{flag|Australia}}

• Papuan Concessions Ltd (VH-UUP the former G-ACUX)

;{{flag|Sierra Leone}}

• Elders Colonial Airways Ltd (Bathurst-Freetown) (G-AEZF)

Landplanes

;{{flag|Aden}}

• Arabian Airlines Ltd

;{{flag|Australia}}

• Adelaide Airways Ltd (VH-UTV & VH-UUT)
• Marshall Airways Ltd (VH-UUP)

;{{flag|British Mandate for Palestine}}

• Palestine Airways Ltd (Haifa-Lydda)

;{{flag|Sierra Leone}}

• Elders Colonial Airways Ltd

;{{flag|United Kingdom}}

• Aberdeen Airways
• Air Couriers Ltd
• Airwork Ltd
• Atlantic Coast Air Services Ltd
• Golden Eagle Marine & Air
• Great Western & Southern Air Lines Ltd
• Lundy and Atlantic Coast Air Lines Ltd
• Nottingham Airport Ltd
• Olley Air Services Ltd
• Palestine Airways Ltd
• Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft Ltd
• Ramsgate Airport Ltd
• Royal Air Force
• No. 173 Squadron RAF
• Short Brothers Ltd
• Southend-on-Sea Flying Services Ltd
• Southern Airways Ltd
• West of Scotland Air Services Ltd (Renfrew-Mull)
• Williams & Co., Squires Gate, Blackpool
• Yorkshire Airways Ltd

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III Jackson 1988, pp. 143–144.

|prime units?=imp

|genhide=

|crew=1

|capacity=6 passengers

|span m=

|span ft=42

|span in=0

|length m=

|length ft=31

|length in=6

|height m=

|height ft=10

|height in=4+1/2

|wing area sqm=

|wing area sqft=255.3

|empty weight kg=

|empty weight lb=1770

|gross weight kg=

|gross weight lb=3200

|fuel capacity={{convert|31|impgal|USgal L|0|abbr=on}}Flight 28 February 1935, p. 220.

|eng1 number=2

|eng1 name=Pobjoy Niagara III

|eng1 type=7-cylinder geared radial engines

|eng1 hp=90

|prop blade number=2

|prop name=wooden fixed-pitch propellers

|prop dia m=

|prop dia ft=

|prop dia in=

|max speed mph=128

|cruise speed mph=116

|range miles=390

|ceiling ft=13000

|climb rate ftmin=625

|more performance=*Take-off run: {{convert|420|ft|m|abbr=on}}

• Landing run: {{convert|420|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|avionics=

}}

{{aircontent|

|related=*Short Scion Senior

|similar aircraft=

|lists=

• List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force

|see also=

}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite journal

| last =Cohen, B.A., B.Sc.

| first =J.

| title =Full Scale Trials on Scion M.3 with a Gouge Flap

| journal = Reports & Memoranda

| issue = 1753

| publisher = Aeronautical Research Committee, Air Ministry

| year = 1936

| url =http://naca.central.cranfield.ac.uk/reports/arc/rm/1753.pdf

}}

• Green, William. Flying Boats Vol.5 (Warplanes of the Second World War). London: Macdonald & Co., 1962.
• {{cite magazine|title=The Improved Short "Scion" |magazine=Flight |date=28 February 1935 |volume=XXVII |issue=1366 |page=220 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1935/1935%20-%200438.html |accessdate=27 March 2019}}
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (part: 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing.
• {{cite book| last = Barnes| first =C.H.|author2=James, D.N. | title =Shorts Aircraft since 1900|publisher =Putnam| year=1989| location =London| isbn= 0-85177-819-4}}
• Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919. London: Putnam & Sons, Ltd., 1974. {{ISBN|0-370-10014-X}}.
• {{cite book |title=British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972:Volume III |last=Jackson |first= A.J.|year= 1988|publisher= Putnam|location=London |isbn= 0-85177-818-6}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153723/http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=383 Short Scion] – British Aircraft Directory
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080703164917/http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/SHORT%20S16%20SCION.htm Short Scion] – British Aircraft of World War II
• [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1935/1935%20-%200849.html "FLIGHT advertisement for SCION."] FLIGHT, 11 April 1935, p. 143.

{{Short Brothers aircraft}}

Category:1930s British airliners

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Category:High-wing aircraft

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1933

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