Beating Gravity - Shorts SC.1

The Shorts SC.1 was the first fixed-wing VTOL aircraft built in Britain, and was a flight platform for the new RB.108 lift turbojet.

After testing the direct jet-lift capability of turbojet engines, Rolls-Royce designed the 2,000 lb (8.9 kN) thrust RB.108 for use as a vertical lift engine. Short Brothers were given a Ministry of Supply contract under Specification ER.143 for two examples of a research monoplane.

The result was an ungainly machine with low-set delta wing and fixed tricycle landing gear. Four engines were mounted in the fuselage in transverse pairs with a slight degree of fore-and-aft movement for braking, direct-lift and forward movement components. A fifth engine was mounted in the rear fuselage for forward thrust.

The SC.1 prototype made its first conventional flight on 2nd of April, 1957, with only the tail engine installed. The second aircraft, with lift engines, made a tethered hovering flight in May 1958. Its first free flight came in October 1958, and its first transition from vertical to horizontal flight during April 1960.

In June 1963 the second aircraft was damaged in a fatal accident, but was repaired and flew again. The SC.1 concept was rendered obsolete by the advent of the single-engined Hawker P.1127, which demonstrated that it was not practical or necessary to carry four extra engines just for takeoff and landing.

The SC.1s continued to complete exhaustive trials before they were retired; one went to the Science Museum and the other to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

Shorts SC.1 data:
POWERPLANT: 5x Rolls-Royce RB.108 engines of 2,130 lb (966 kg) st each. MAXIMUM SPEED: 246 mph at sea level MAX. TAKEOFF WEIGHT: 8,050 lb (3651 kg) WING SPAN: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) LENGTH: 29 ft 10 in (9.11 m)	OPERATIONAL RANGE: 150 miles Schematic diagram: