| S.16 Scion/Scion II | |
|---|---|
 Palestine Airways Pobjoy-Short Scion II, 1938 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Light transport landplane/floatplane |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers Pobjoy Airmotors Ltd. |
| Designer | |
| Status | Retired |
| Number built | 22 Scion: 5 Scion II: 17 |
| History | |
| First flight | 18 August 1933 |
| Variants | Short S.22 Scion Senior |
TheShort S.16 Scion andScion II were 1930sBritish two-engine, cantilever monoplanes built byShort Brothers and (under licence) byPobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft Ltd. inRochester, Kent between 1933 and 1937. Altogether 22 Scion/Scion II aircraft were built 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. Many were impressed into theRoyal Air Force during theSecond 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 withde Havilland Gipsy Minor engines.[1]
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 80 hp (60 kW)Pobjoy R radial engines; the production aircraft however were fitted with the 90 hp (67 kW)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.[2]
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' ChiefTest PilotJohn Lankester Parker. The first production aircraft (G-ACUV) was flown at theSBAC'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 atRochester 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 designatedM.3) that a scale wooden model of the slender wings (withGouge flaps) for the laterShort 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 theRoyal Aircraft Establishment, which found that the Gouge flap decreased distance to take-off and stalling speed, among other improvements.[3] Further work with standard wings was carried out; one flight from Rochester Airport, with experimental full-span flaps incorporating retractablespoilers instead ofailerons, 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.
G-AEZF, built by Pobjoy and first flown in December 1937, was originally operated as a floatplane byElders Colonial Airways inSierra Leone, betweenBathurst (Gambia) andFreetown, 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,[4] after which it changed hands between private owners several times before finally ending up atSouthend airport. The plane is now undergoing restoration byMedway Aircraft Preservation Society (MAPSL), funded in part by a grant from theRochester Bridge Trust.
A larger 9-passenger enlarged version of Scion was produced as theShort S.22 Scion Senior.
| Aircraft | Type | First flight | Type | Manufacturer | Built | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G-ACJI | Landplane | 18 August1933 | Scion (prototype) | Shorts | Seaplane Works | to RAF in 1940 |
| 2 | G-ACUV | Landplane | 18 August1933 | Scion | Shorts | Seaplane Works | |
| 3 | G-ACUW | Landplane | 18 August1933 | Scion | Shorts | Seaplane Works | to RAF in 1940 |
| 4 | G-ACUX | Floatplane | 18 August1933 | Scion | Shorts | Seaplane Works | |
| 5 | G-ACUY | Landplane | 10 December1934 | Scion | Shorts | Seaplane Works | to RAF in 1940 |
| 6 | G-ACUZ | Landplane | 13 February1935 | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | |
| 7 | G-ADDN | Landplane | 9 June1935 | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 8 | G-ADDO | Landplane | 10 July1935 | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 9 | G-ADDP | Landplane | 10 July1935 | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 10 | G-ADDR | Landplane | 6 August1935 | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 11 | VH-UUT | Landplane | 23 August1935 | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | |
| 12 | G-ADDT | Landplane | – | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | |
| 13 | VH-UVQ | Landplane | - | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | |
| 14 | G-ADDV | Landplane | – | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 15 | VH-UTV | Landplane | – | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | |
| 16 | G-ADDX | Landplane | – | Scion II | Shorts | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 17 | VQ-PAA | Landplane | – | Scion II | Pobjoy | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1941 |
| 18 | VQ-PAB | Landplane | – | Scion II | Pobjoy | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1941 |
| 19 | G-AEIL | Landplane | 1936 | Scion II | Pobjoy | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 20 | G-AEJN | Landplane | September1936 | Scion II | Pobjoy | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 21 | G-AETT | Landplane | April1937 | Scion II | Pobjoy | Rochester Airport | to RAF in 1940 |
| 22 | G-AEZF | Floatplane | 9 December 1937 | Scion II | Pobjoy | Rochester Airport | preserved |
Floatplanes
Landplanes
Data from British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III[7]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Related lists
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)