On this day in aviation history, January 17, 1963, the Short SC.7 Skyvan made its first flight. Nicknamed the “Flying Shoebox” for its boxy design, the Skyvan is a transport aircraft capable of short takeoffs and landings (STOL) and has been used for over 60 years as a military and civilian transport and has led to the development of other STOL capable transports.
The Short Skyvan was the product of a 1958 request to Short Brothers of Belfast, Northern Ireland, from F.G. Miles Ltd (successor company to Miles Aircraft) to develop a variation of the Hurel-Dubois Miles HDM.105 prototype transport, the HDM.106 Caravan. The HDM.105 and the HDM.106 were both derived from the Hurel-Dubois HD.31, which featured a high-aspect ratio wing design, and the Miles M.57 Aerovan transport. However, Short rejected the proposal from Miles in favor of building their own design. This would be a twin-engine, all-metal design for a high-wing monoplane with a high aspect ratio wing braced by one large strut per wing, and a square-section fuselage with twin tailfins and rudders. For ease of loading and unloading, the design also featured a large rear door for cargo.
Construction started at Sydenham Airport (now George Best Belfast City Airport) in 1960, and the first prototype, G-ASCN, first flew on January 17, 1963. Though it was always intended that the aircraft would be powered by the French Turbomeca Astazou turboprop engine, G-ASCN made its first flight under piston power with a pair of Continental IO-520 horizontally opposed engines. As the intended Astazous became available later in 1963, though, G-ASCN, was modified with these turboprop engines. While the Astazou was a good engine for both airplanes and helicopters, it was found that at high altitudes, the Astazou suffered from power and temperature issues, so production versions of the Skyvan were powered with the Garrett (later Honeywell) TPE331 turboprop, developed in the United States.
Production of the Skyvan was carried out by Short at a slow pace as the company developed other aircraft until the company ended production of the SC.7 Skyvan in 1986, having built 149 examples. These would go on to see service as both civilian and military transports around the globe, where their carrying capability combined with an ability to operate from short, unimproved airfields made them extremely valuable to their operators.
While the Skyvan is now only in military service with Guyana and Oman, the aircraft was widely used in spite of its limited production run in Argentina, Austria, Botswana, Ciskei (now incorporated into South Africa), Ecuador, Gambia, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. These Skyvans were typically used for dropping supplies, assault transport, carrying paratroops, troop transport, cargo transport, casualty evacuation, and search and rescue missions.
In civilian life, the Skyvan has been used as a light airliner, cargo transport, skydiving aircraft, geological survey, and air-to-air photography. As a skydiving/paratrooper transport, it is especially popular for its rear cargo door and twin tail design that provides an open area free of obstacles for skydivers and paratroopers.
This feature was also used for ill intent as well, however, as when Argentina was under the rule of a military junta from 1976 to 1983, it would have political dissidents disappeared through the infamous Death Flights, in which the victims were thrown thousands of feet above the South Atlantic Ocean. In 2010, one of the Short SC.7 Skyvans used in the Death Flights was rediscovered in the United States, and in 2023, this aircraft, Argentine Navy serial number PA-51, was flown back to Argentina, where it is now on public display at the Espacio Memoria y Derechos Humanos (Space for Memory and Human Rights) in Buenos Aires.
In addition to its own storied career, the Skyvan led to the development of other STOL capable transport aircraft, such as the Short 330 (a military version of which serves in the US Air Force and US Army as the Short C-23 Sherpa) and the Short 360 commuter airliner, both of which were designed with a greater carrying capacity than the original Skyvan.
While the Short SC.7 Skyvan may never have been the most famous of airplanes, the versatility of its design and its more than half a century of global service deserves to be celebrated. Yet today, 62 years after the first flight of this design, the Skyvan continues to be a reliable transport aircraft, and will likely continue to remain in active service for years to come.
Today in Aviation History is a series highlighting the achievements, innovations, and milestones that have shaped the skies. All the previous anniversaries are available HERE