Shorts SC-7 Skyvan - Civilian

Tony de Bruyn's Eureka Aviation is sending one of its Shorts SC-7 Skyvan twin-turboprop utility aircraft to the show for static display. The type's design, with a high-aspect ratio wing for good short take-off and landing performance and a boxy fuselage with rear loading ramp, was conceived with functionality in mind, and this Belfast-based Shorts achieved. A first flight was undertaken in 1963, albeit of a piston-engined prototype; powerplants were soon switched to the Turbomeca Astazou turboprop, while later production variants, designated as the Skyvan 3, used the Garrett TPE331 engine. More than 150 examples of all marks were built.