@@aborted4196 The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a very prolific Canadian twin engined turboprop that came out around the same time as the Skyvan, however it looks much more sleek and is still in production today owing to its capability to land and take off basically anywhere, water, ice, even on crazy short runways.
One of the safest aircraft ever built. U S Air used them on short feeder routes in the late '70s. I loved flying on them, and well remember the noise and vibration. My most memorable flight was on Christmas weekend 1979, from Philadelphia to Reading, PA. It was in the days of air traffic control overload and ATC delays; we had already missed our connecting flight as our Nashville flight was ATC delayed into Philly, so we were rebooked on the last flight. The FAA declined to issue an IFR flight plan approval, citing workload, so the pilot got a takeoff clearance VFR. It had snowed, we traced the Schuylkill River all the way to Reading at 500 feet AGL, enjoying the spectacle of all the Christmas lights on a pure white background.
I love this plane, it's rough, tough and ready. I always thought Ryan Air would reboot the production, with this, they'd just need to load pax on pallets, and exchange pallets at airports, and in business class, a parachute is included.
The low numbers were in large part because other similar practical aircraft were also in production, including Shorts own larger follow-on 330 and 360/C-23 models, Casa’s Aviocar, Dornier’s 228, and de Havilland’s Twin Otter (still in production). Plus at the time there were still a lot of older airframes still available.
I would have greatly over-guessed the number built. Learned of Skyvan while a child in the 1970s & saying "I really like that little airplane" with its motorhome style front doors was about the extent I ever followed up on learning about it.
I was a Patrol Officer in Papua New Guinea in the 70’s . The Skyvan was invaluable due to it’s load carrying capacity and STOL. Fond memories of it touching down on the often very remote airstrips. Thanks for the Vid.
You may call this aircraft a shoebox, or a packing box, whatever you like. But 3 or 4 years ago I was making a market study, and it is still in demand! For anyone who values sturdiness and reliability, a great cargo capacity and excellent take-off/landing performance more than comfort this is the thing!
Short Brothers flying speed brake -- Used to maintain one at the Centennial (Arapaho County Airport) Back in the late 70's early 80's -- We took ours to Sturgis bike week in 79, landed in a field where the Buffalo Chip is now. Unloaded three Harleys and rode into town the same day as the riot in the Sturgis park. Now the weirdest part -- I became an FAA Inspector in 86 and later the Manager at the Rapid City Flight Standards District Office in 2007. While settling in I found an old file where the FAA was looking for the people who flew the airplane so they could violate the pilot. I guess I had to turn myself in huh !!!! I kept the file and when I feel froggie I dig it out and have a great laugh. Daja Vu Vu
In the 1980’s I was a flight attendant on Short SD330 (30 passenger) a/c among others. I did not like that thing one little bit. Thank goodness most of the flights were only 30 to 45 minutes. A lot of great memories from my f/a days but not very many of them were in the Short. Thanks for the video 👍
@macscotsman51 >>> I have never flown in any Short Bros. aircraft, although I have flown a few times in a CASA 212. What did you dislike about the Skyvan?
There was a commuter airline flying the Shorts 330 between Bradford and Pittsburgh PA for a few years back in the late 70's-early 80's. I really enjoyed riding in them. The squared-off cabins weren't as claustrophobic as the Beech 1900's that replaced them. The noise level seemed to be higher, and you really knew that those turboprop engines were the only thing standing between you and the cornfields below. And yes, these were relatively short 45 minute flights. I imagine being a flight attendant on one for 8 hours a day with 5 or 6 flights would have worn thin quickly.
I concur. I once attended a job interview in the Isle Of Man. The return flight was from Blackpool Airport. I cannot recall if the air craft was a 330 or a 360, but it was indeed a noisy bastard!
In 80's I used to fly as a passenger from Luton airport in UK to Belfast city in these a long bumpy flight. I thought they were originally built for US military in Europe as a flying truck?
I live in N Ireland and remember when the Skyvans were first built in Belfast. I worked in Thailand in the '80s and Thai Airways used Skyvans for domestic flights. I flew often from Bangkok to the provincial capital of Nan while working in a refugee camp on the Laotian border.
They were a staple of channel island flights when I lived in Jersey and USAir Express operated quite a few out of PHL back in the day so have been on many Shorts 360
They used to fly heavily out of O'Hare on Missouri Valley Airlines, later "American Eagle." I flew on a Shorts 360 (the single-tail version of the SkyVan) on a from ORD to DBQ (Dubuque, Iowa) and back again. Most fun flight...ever! I don't think we ever got above 10,000' and we puttered along at somewhere around 200MPH. Beautiful flying. But on the ground, the ride was...stiff... You felt ever bump and seam in the tarmac.
They were the backbone of local bulk hauling ops on the Yukon - Kuskokwim Delta when I was flying there in the early 90s. I used to see them working out of the same 1300'-1800' gravel village strips that I was going into with Cessna 207s and 172s. What a fabulous little beast of a plane the "box the Twin Otter came in"/"Twin-tailed dumpster" is! I'd love to turn one into a flying recreational vehicle someday! 🤓
I made a bunch of jumps from a skyvan back in the 90's. I loved that "flying boxcar" for jumping with my students. Exiting was so easy. Hearing the sound of those engines again was wonderful. Thanks!
About 35 years ago, these were in service between LAX and Santa Barbara/Goleta CA. Used as a commuter to ferry passengers between those location. Passenger boarding was carefully "orchestrated" in order to preclude violation of CG limits. Flew in these a number of times to attend program reviews at a major Defense contractor in Santa Barbara.
These aircraft were made in Belfast where I lived as a child and saw them being test flown just all the time. I lived across the street from Short Brothers other activity - rocket engine development! We heard them being tested from time to time. I flew on a SD 330 a few times across the Irish Sea and yes, they're horrendously noisy! They may be noisy and a pig to fly but they've got terrific character and it's nice to see there are still a few in service. Thanks for showing us mate.
In the early 1990s I commuted quite a bit between Belfast and Edinburgh on 330s or 360s being flown by Loganair. Brilliant little aircraft, but not the biggest, of course. One wag I was travelling with pointed out the irony that Loganair was staffing its narrow-bodied aircraft with wide-bodied stewardesses! Some of the girls were, it must be admitted, well fed, but they were all Belles and first class at their jobs. Happy memories. One chap I used to work with had worked at Shorts (Belfast) in the 1970s on, I think, the 330s (wings or fuel tanks) - he said that the 330 was essentially 30,000 rivets flying in loose formation! Best wishes, DM.
Nice one! The oldet plane I ever flew on was an Antonov An-2 built in the late 1940's. That was in 2017. Quite an adventure! If I recall that correctly, it had previously been in service with the GDR's air force.
The Summit Air Skyvans in the UK are on contract to UK Ministry of Defence for basic paratroop training (cheaper than C130 !). Based at RAF Brize Norton near Oxford. They mainly use the DZ at RAF Weston on the Green but can be seen elsewhere in the UK occasionally.
CFB Comox has had one of Nomad Air’s Skyvans here the last few years, when the SarTechs are training. You can see them jumping from the plane regularly when they’re here. The plane is pretty cool, but the props make a really loud relentless drone when they’re flying around the Valley.
I flew on one a couple of times out on the West Coast of California. I think it was either from San Diego to Los Angeles, or John Wayne Airport to Los Angeles back in the late ‘70’s/early ‘80’s. I loved seeing the RCAF looking stripe on the side of the airplane.
Lovely to see this again. Thank you Alex. My late father-in-law was the production controller of this aircraft, the slightly bigger SD330 and, considering its origins, the rather more elegant SD360.
Ive always loved the piggly little Skyvan, not just its performance capabilities but its looks as well (but then I adore the Porter so it might be a peculiar taste on my part) I just love simplified aeronautics, obvious airfoils, slab surfaces and just what it needs to make a box fly. Its been a dream of mine to fly the Skyvan and for a time was trying to source one from the many that are abandoned or derelict here in Africafor the dropzone but nothing came of it
I'm right there with you with regards to both the Skyvan and the Pilatus Porter. There's just something about purpose-built, functional airplanes that really appeals to me.
Fantastic little aircraft. I worked at Shorts for a little while, and remember watching 330s doing great landings in terrible crosswinds. I never saw a Skyvan though. Nice video. Thanks.
Back in 1981, I was traveling and needed to fly to a certain town. I wound up, on the Hop, Skip and Jump trip. One of the planes I flew on, was a Shorts 330. Puddle jumper flight. This plane had lots of headroom. More than any other passenger aircraft, I've seen. It was a smooth flight, as well. That was the only time, I flew on a Shorts.
Neat video! These used to fly between Parkersburg WV ("Wood County International") and Pittsburgh PA. Flew one of these to Pittsburgh and back once. Primitive at best. My first flight was on a Martin 404, which was smooth and quiet by comparison. Still, the Shoebox was a great plane!
Haven’t seen one of those in a while. My grandpa was an A&P and CFI, and one of the guys that he did work for owned a couple that were leased to skydiving centers as well and I have seen them at a local skydiving center (Raeford NC , USA) but it’s been many years since I’ve seen them. Pretty cool video man.
Wonderful to watch, brings back many great memories. Had the opportunity to worked on the Sky Vans and flown many hrs in them. Listening to both Garret engines sounds. Can still smell the flying C-Can.
Were Short Brothers building the Sunderland in Belfast in WW2? There was a coastal command squadron in Plymouth and there’s some great archive footage of them in action on the water there. Greetings to Belfast from South Devon… glad your shops are full!
@@martinross5521 yes Shorts built about 900 Sunderlsbds at varios locations in the UK They built a total of 496 Skyvans/330/360 variants -the highest volume civil aircraft built in the UK since 1945 .They were operated by over 200 operators includeing the US military .May look like a garden shed with wings but did the job it was designed for -a sort of Flying Ford Transit van! !
@@ronnieince4568 thank you Ronnie, great information and useful update. Hurtling down the runway in a Shorts did really feel like being in a transit van, except it did actually get into the air and fast climbing to the Channel Islands/Isles Normandes 🤩
There was a commercial passenger variant, the Skybus. It was a popular choice for flights to the various islands around us, in the British Isles. My ( very new) wife had her first flight on one, when we flew from Gatwick to Guernsey for our Honeymoon. It was supremely stable and comfortable. Our return was in a Vickers Viscount - not /officially/ STOL-capable unless in the right hands.
My father was apparently "apprenticed" to Short Brothers at age 14 (early 1950's) and went on to get his degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Cambridge in 59/60.
My grandfather worked on the skyvan and travelled the world as an engineer teaching mechanics how to service and fix it. He spent months in Alaska, specifically Anchorage and Bethel in the late sixties.
I flew PIC for Simmons airlines back in the early 1980s. The aircraft was the SD3-60, 36 pax configuration. I liked the aircraft, I always felt protected by the boxxy brutish airframe with wing struts. It felt like it had the heart of a flying tank. This tank came complete with a flight attendant to bring us refreshments. How quaint it felt.
Always liked these aircraft. We teach safety courses at my work, and our boss was a SAR tech his last 8 years he was in. Anyways, we have a few pictures of a Skyvan crash showing the difficulty of being spotted from an air search at various elevations, even with a large crash scar of 300 feet. Northern topography and weather don't help. Anyways, every time those slides come up on an aircraft course like underwater egress, or on our survival course, etc, I cry a little bit inside for that poor little Skyvan. Can't remember the operator off hand, but she looked to be wearing livery similar to Wardair. Keep the content coming!
I flew in a later model 330 when I used to take flights from Glasgow to Cardiff with Metropolitan Airways in the UK, basically a flying bus stopping at Leeds and Bristol before arriving in Cardiff. Bit noisy but flights were rarely higher than 10,000 ft so very scenic.
Great Video!!! This aircraft might not have elegant lines, but it is definitely a great plane!!! Lots of skydiving flights are made out of airports that I worked at in the past... Many are made with the DeHaviland Caribou's, equipped with the turbo-prop engines, and many are made with these planes... They are real performers!!!
Reminds me a bit of the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar. I use to see them frequently when I was a young child. I think they were flying them out of Willow Grove NAS. Thanks for the video.
Really well done video with all the phases of flight a real Buff is interested in. Thanks (and you did it with no stupid during-video music so that we could hear the engines like we were there!)
My dad worked on the assembly line in Belfast, late 60s I think. Used to have a complete assembly manual in the house, which I regret to say I used as a colouring book when I was small. Would love to still have it.
My G Father also worked on the production line, along with his brother, he used to give me posters and stuff of this, and the 330, 360, etc, all in around the 60 and 70's, If i can remember right, he moved to work in the Aircraft factory, from the shipyard, Harland and Wolff, sometime in the 50's.
Great workhorse, built in Belfast by Shorts, a friend of mine was a shop-floor foreman in the factory. I have flown on the stretch version of this to many destinations in the UK. Very reliable aircraft used all over the world, to the best of my knowledge no-one has has ever lost their life in an accident in this plane, I remember one in England somewhere and everyone walked away. Did tend to buck about a bit in high winds, hence people in Northern Ireland called them the Vomit Comet!.
When fully loaded it takes a long run to get airborne, and a long slow climb. It's top speed in the climb is not much above 100Kts @ around 1000 ft per minute. Surprisingly, it has a quite fast touchdown speed of about 90 kts.
I serviced Skyvans in the Middle East in the early 80s. As you say, not the cutest of aeroplanes but boy, was it capable! Short field performance was incredible, especially at some of the 'hot and high' outstations. I was left with a very healthy respect for the type.
I have it on reasonably good authority that the Skyvan legacy is that it's tyres (if not wheels) are fitted to the only flying example of the Bristol Blenheim that is based at RAF Duxford in the UK Apparently they are the only aircraft that share the tyre size. The Bolingbroke that was being restored at Mount Hope (Hamilton) has apparently been relegated to a non flying restoration. Shame. It would have been nice to have two Blenheim's/Bolingbrokes airworthy.
I remember them using Skyvans at RAF Weston on the Green in Oxfordshire a few years ago,.... (well maybe more that a few because I can remember barage baloons there as well). The baloons were used for army parachute training and the Skyvans for skydiving.
Certainly one of the most aptly named aircraft out there. Quite literally a flying van lol. Very quirky and loveable aircraft for sure. Seen one fly out of Gatineau airport occasionally for skydiving purposes. Not sure which one it is out of the ones registered in Canada that you listed.
I got a AIRFIX MODAL in 1972 ...10yrs old at the time ...a race horse trainer (magner)???..i think....for got his name...had one as a flying horse box here in Ireland ...a friend told me he was a pilot in it (1980s )LOOK at the DC3 still flying ...PBY5 still flying...and the skyvan...great planes simple is all ways best..😁... helo from CORK IRELAND...😉...
Great video! I had my first flight on a Skyvan in mid 80s, in the cockpit! (some jumpsit on the left of the captain). Olympic airways operated them in Greece back then!
Air Cargo Carriers has a fleet of Short SD3-60s. They were developed from the SkyVan, two generations back. They often fly over my house when going to SDF (Louisville) from places in the upper Midwest. FlightRadar24 shows one on it's way tonight !! They have a distinct sound.
As a kid my neighbour was on the design team for these things. I also flew on them a lot as they were among the cheapest/easiest way to get from NI to England. Some even carried cars over.
Years ago, I flew via KSJU to EIS in a Shorts. It had wonderful views because the boarding door didn't close completely, the air outlets looked like they came from a 1974 Pinto wagon and every panel shook and vibrated. They loaded the aircraft by dropping a pole from the back. When the pole touched the ground, the plane was at max weight and ready for take-off. Scary as $#[+ but a lot of fun.
Alex thanks for a great find she's been around. Really caught my eye because I'm certain American Eagle used to fly a number of these but I cant find any record of it. Was working in Texas and a piece of equipment we needed short notice was delivered to DFW in one of these, not something a pilot forgets. Great work keep them coming please.
Not many years ago a few of these were flying in Alaska based in Anchorage. They work great from transporting an assembled communications equipment racks.
Great video. I especially like seeing the aircraft rise as each jumper left the plane. Apparently a few hundred pounds falling out the back is noticeable.
It's been many many moons, but we had an ex-USAFE C-23 Sherpa at Morristown NJ flying for the US Army. It's been moved decades ago now, but was a fascinating machine. From memory it was a bit larger than Nomad Air's bird. There was a bulkhead behind the flight deck where the flight engineer had a seat by the cargo bay. I also remember that they mounted a port-a-potty on the left side cargo door . They also had a winch in the rear that they used to load heavy cargo . They also had to jack the fuselage just forward of the ramp to keep the plane from tilting during the winching operation. Now the last thing I remembered involved refueling. This aircraft had put quite a few hours on during USAF operations in Europe before the Army got it. The fuel controls for the single point were in the back of the left wheel "pant". The problem being that when it got topped off, the shut off valves didn't always work. Since the fuel vented right over the head of the fueler, much colorful language was heard after the Jet-A shower at the end of the fueling. :).
My first ever flight was on board a Skyvan. Once I climbed on board my eyes started streaming and I mentioned this to the crew. It's OK, it's only Jeyes fluid. We were flying a flock of sheep on the last sector and had cleaned up the floor with Jeyes fluid. . Such was the life of a Skyvan. They'd fly anything from newspapers to sheep, ponies and even people. My next flight was aboard a Twotter and it was sheer luxury when compared to the Skyvan.
I once flew as pax on a Short 330. Conditions were extremely turbulent and it was not pressurized. It was an interesting flight to say the least compared to the Metroliners and Dash 8s I was used to. It was with Air Labrador in 1996 I believe.
Shorts 330/360 passengers are being flown. Jet aircraft passengers are sent. I love being flown, it is usually interesting. Jet airline travel is, in my opinion, boring😉
Love it. I was a first officer on the Short 3-60 (skyvan’s big brother) for a couple of years in Scotland in the 90s so this took me right back. Cool plane, thanks.
I have flown this type of Skyvan. It flys a lot like it looks. We described it as "the box the Twin Otter came in." :)
Ha ha...
What's a twin otter?! Inside joke I spose
Lol that's perfect!
She's uh....quite stubby and chunky
@@aborted4196 The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a very prolific Canadian twin engined turboprop that came out around the same time as the Skyvan, however it looks much more sleek and is still in production today owing to its capability to land and take off basically anywhere, water, ice, even on crazy short runways.
One of the safest aircraft ever built. U S Air used them on short feeder routes in the late '70s. I loved flying on them, and well remember the noise and vibration. My most memorable flight was on Christmas weekend 1979, from Philadelphia to Reading, PA. It was in the days of air traffic control overload and ATC delays; we had already missed our connecting flight as our Nashville flight was ATC delayed into Philly, so we were rebooked on the last flight. The FAA declined to issue an IFR flight plan approval, citing workload, so the pilot got a takeoff clearance VFR. It had snowed, we traced the Schuylkill River all the way to Reading at 500 feet AGL, enjoying the spectacle of all the Christmas lights on a pure white background.
I love this plane... I love designs where form follows function. Given how practical it is I was surprised at how few were actually built.
I love this plane, it's rough, tough and ready. I always thought Ryan Air would reboot the production, with this, they'd just need to load pax on pallets, and exchange pallets at airports, and in business class, a parachute is included.
The low numbers were in large part because other similar practical aircraft were also in production, including Shorts own larger follow-on 330 and 360/C-23 models, Casa’s Aviocar, Dornier’s 228, and de Havilland’s Twin Otter (still in production). Plus at the time there were still a lot of older airframes still available.
Over taken by the later Shorts 330/360.
The body itself looks as if it would give lift.
I would have greatly over-guessed the number built. Learned of Skyvan while a child in the 1970s & saying "I really like that little airplane" with its motorhome style front doors was about the extent I ever followed up on learning about it.
I was a Patrol Officer in Papua New Guinea in the 70’s . The Skyvan was invaluable due to it’s load carrying capacity and STOL. Fond memories of it touching down on the often very remote airstrips. Thanks for the Vid.
You may call this aircraft a shoebox, or a packing box, whatever you like. But 3 or 4 years ago I was making a market study, and it is still in demand! For anyone who values sturdiness and reliability, a great cargo capacity and excellent take-off/landing performance more than comfort this is the thing!
I like the homage to the old CAF lightning bolt on the sides, of this rare aircraft. Fun video.
Short Brothers flying speed brake -- Used to maintain one at the Centennial (Arapaho County Airport) Back in the late 70's early 80's -- We took ours to Sturgis bike week in 79, landed in a field where the Buffalo Chip is now. Unloaded three Harleys and rode into town the same day as the riot in the Sturgis park. Now the weirdest part -- I became an FAA Inspector in 86 and later the Manager at the Rapid City Flight Standards District Office in 2007. While settling in I found an old file where the FAA was looking for the people who flew the airplane so they could violate the pilot. I guess I had to turn myself in huh !!!! I kept the file and when I feel froggie I dig it out and have a great laugh. Daja Vu Vu
In the 1980’s I was a flight attendant on Short SD330 (30 passenger) a/c among others. I did not like that thing one little bit. Thank goodness most of the flights were only 30 to 45 minutes. A lot of great memories from my f/a days but not very many of them were in the Short. Thanks for the video 👍
@macscotsman51 >>> I have never flown in any Short Bros. aircraft, although I have flown a few times in a CASA 212.
What did you dislike about the Skyvan?
There was a commuter airline flying the Shorts 330 between Bradford and Pittsburgh PA for a few years back in the late 70's-early 80's. I really enjoyed riding in them. The squared-off cabins weren't as claustrophobic as the Beech 1900's that replaced them. The noise level seemed to be higher, and you really knew that those turboprop engines were the only thing standing between you and the cornfields below. And yes, these were relatively short 45 minute flights. I imagine being a flight attendant on one for 8 hours a day with 5 or 6 flights would have worn thin quickly.
I concur. I once attended a job interview in the Isle Of Man. The return flight was from Blackpool Airport. I cannot recall if the air craft was a 330 or a 360, but it was indeed a noisy bastard!
In 80's I used to fly as a passenger from Luton airport in UK to Belfast city in these a long bumpy flight. I thought they were originally built for US military in Europe as a flying truck?
That was amazing! Best place to be a passenger is the right seat!
Super cool video Alex, Definitely different! I’m probably in the minority here, but I actually really like how the skyvan looks!
Thank you Nate! I agree, just from some specific angles only 😂
Yes great video, beautiful plane.
Designed entirely for function not looks.
That gives it a certain good look all of its own.
It's the most minimalist C130.
I like it too but I’ve always been a fan of quirky utilitarian aircraft :-)
@Nate 707 You're not the only one who thinks that. Form follows function. If a machine works as designed then it's beautiful.
7:15 it is cool to see the trim changes with the loss of the cargo
I live in N Ireland and remember when the Skyvans were first built in Belfast. I worked in Thailand in the '80s and Thai Airways used Skyvans for domestic flights. I flew often from Bangkok to the provincial capital of Nan while working in a refugee camp on the Laotian border.
So lucky! I’ve always wanted a ride on a Shorts. Never had the chance yet.
They were a staple of channel island flights when I lived in Jersey and USAir Express operated quite a few out of PHL back in the day so have been on many Shorts 360
They used to fly heavily out of O'Hare on Missouri Valley Airlines, later "American Eagle." I flew on a Shorts 360 (the single-tail version of the SkyVan) on a from ORD to DBQ (Dubuque, Iowa) and back again. Most fun flight...ever! I don't think we ever got above 10,000' and we puttered along at somewhere around 200MPH. Beautiful flying. But on the ground, the ride was...stiff... You felt ever bump and seam in the tarmac.
They were the backbone of local bulk hauling ops on the Yukon - Kuskokwim Delta when I was flying there in the early 90s. I used to see them working out of the same 1300'-1800' gravel village strips that I was going into with Cessna 207s and 172s. What a fabulous little beast of a plane the "box the Twin Otter came in"/"Twin-tailed dumpster" is! I'd love to turn one into a flying recreational vehicle someday! 🤓
Love those quirky Short Brothers aircraft!
I made a bunch of jumps from a skyvan back in the 90's. I loved that "flying boxcar" for jumping with my students. Exiting was so easy. Hearing the sound of those engines again was wonderful. Thanks!
About 35 years ago, these were in service between LAX and Santa Barbara/Goleta CA. Used as a commuter to ferry passengers between those location. Passenger boarding was carefully "orchestrated" in order to preclude violation of CG limits. Flew in these a number of times to attend program reviews at a major Defense contractor in Santa Barbara.
These aircraft were made in Belfast where I lived as a child and saw them being test flown just all the time. I lived across the street from Short Brothers other activity - rocket engine development! We heard them being tested from time to time. I flew on a SD 330 a few times across the Irish Sea and yes, they're horrendously noisy! They may be noisy and a pig to fly but they've got terrific character and it's nice to see there are still a few in service. Thanks for showing us mate.
That looked like an epic flight. Thought a jetliner is pretty incredible, its neat to see these other aircraft in use.
In the early 1990s I commuted quite a bit between Belfast and Edinburgh on 330s or 360s being flown by Loganair. Brilliant little aircraft, but not the biggest, of course. One wag I was travelling with pointed out the irony that Loganair was staffing its narrow-bodied aircraft with wide-bodied stewardesses! Some of the girls were, it must be admitted, well fed, but they were all Belles and first class at their jobs. Happy memories. One chap I used to work with had worked at Shorts (Belfast) in the 1970s on, I think, the 330s (wings or fuel tanks) - he said that the 330 was essentially 30,000 rivets flying in loose formation! Best wishes, DM.
Nice one! The oldet plane I ever flew on was an Antonov An-2 built in the late 1940's. That was in 2017. Quite an adventure! If I recall that correctly, it had previously been in service with the GDR's air force.
Having watched almost all of your vids over the years, believe it or not -- this is my favorite! Thanks.
Dale and Rovic are the best! Pretty civilized for these guys, usually a gravel strip in the mountains.
The Summit Air Skyvans in the UK are on contract to UK Ministry of Defence for basic paratroop training (cheaper than C130 !).
Based at RAF Brize Norton near Oxford. They mainly use the DZ at RAF Weston on the Green but can be seen elsewhere in the UK occasionally.
Thanks!
Short-field landing coming in right over the trees, love this view and so so worth it for the price!
Brilliant video thanks Alex, good value for money. Look forward to more unusual aircraft videos hopefully.
CFB Comox has had one of Nomad Air’s Skyvans here the last few years, when the SarTechs are training. You can see them jumping from the plane regularly when they’re here. The plane is pretty cool, but the props make a really loud relentless drone when they’re flying around the Valley.
I flew on one a couple of times out on the West Coast of California. I think it was either from San Diego to Los Angeles, or John Wayne Airport to Los Angeles back in the late ‘70’s/early ‘80’s.
I loved seeing the RCAF looking stripe on the side of the airplane.
Lovely to see this again. Thank you Alex. My late father-in-law was the production controller of this aircraft, the slightly bigger SD330 and, considering its origins, the rather more elegant SD360.
Ive always loved the piggly little Skyvan, not just its performance capabilities but its looks as well (but then I adore the Porter so it might be a peculiar taste on my part) I just love simplified aeronautics, obvious airfoils, slab surfaces and just what it needs to make a box fly. Its been a dream of mine to fly the Skyvan and for a time was trying to source one from the many that are abandoned or derelict here in Africafor the dropzone but nothing came of it
I'm right there with you with regards to both the Skyvan and the Pilatus Porter. There's just something about purpose-built, functional airplanes that really appeals to me.
We have the same dream sir
Fantastic little aircraft. I worked at Shorts for a little while, and remember watching 330s doing great landings in terrible crosswinds. I never saw a Skyvan though. Nice video. Thanks.
Like the way they just leave the door open through to landing! Also interesting to see the run up with power then prop pitch (I’m assuming).
That how a Garret turboprop is operated. The the right side levers are prop levers and also control low and high idle.
Every skydivers bucket list plane - loved my jumps out of it.
Never flew on the Skyvan but did get a ride in a 330. The Irish Concorde! What a fine machine.
Irish Concorde, Lol! New one on me!
One of my favorite videos of yours. Thanks for sharing the experience.
Phenomenal video work here. Especially with the really long lens towards the end. Thanks!
Back in 1981, I was traveling and needed to fly to a certain town. I wound up, on the Hop, Skip and Jump trip. One of the planes I flew on, was a Shorts 330. Puddle jumper flight. This plane had lots of headroom. More than any other passenger aircraft, I've seen. It was a smooth flight, as well. That was the only time, I flew on a Shorts.
Neat video! These used to fly between Parkersburg WV ("Wood County International") and Pittsburgh PA. Flew one of these to Pittsburgh and back once. Primitive at best. My first flight was on a Martin 404, which was smooth and quiet by comparison. Still, the Shoebox was a great plane!
Very cool aircraft. Thank you for taking me along.
Haven’t seen one of those in a while. My grandpa was an A&P and CFI, and one of the guys that he did work for owned a couple that were leased to skydiving centers as well and I have seen them at a local skydiving center (Raeford NC , USA) but it’s been many years since I’ve seen them. Pretty cool video man.
Wonderful to watch, brings back many great memories. Had the opportunity to worked on the Sky Vans and flown many hrs in them.
Listening to both Garret engines sounds. Can still smell the flying C-Can.
Neat! Thanks, Alex. Shorts' always look like they are built like a boat to me. How fun!
I got to fly in a Skyvan back in 2001 from TLH-JAX-TLH on a cargo flight. Very loud inside but performance was crazy.
Great video! Best wishes from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Home of Short Brothers company where Skyvan were built. Jason.
Were Short Brothers building the Sunderland in Belfast in WW2? There was a coastal command squadron in Plymouth and there’s some great archive footage of them in action on the water there. Greetings to Belfast from South Devon… glad your shops are full!
@@martinross5521 yes Shorts built about 900 Sunderlsbds at varios locations in the UK They built a total of 496 Skyvans/330/360 variants -the highest volume civil aircraft built in the UK since 1945 .They were operated by over 200 operators includeing the US military .May look like a garden shed with wings but did the job it was designed for -a sort of Flying Ford Transit van! !
@@ronnieince4568 thank you Ronnie, great information and useful update. Hurtling down the runway in a Shorts did really feel like being in a transit van, except it did actually get into the air and fast climbing to the Channel Islands/Isles Normandes 🤩
The Shorts Sykvan was. Used.
@@harrisviswanathan4728 a legend in its own rectangularity
There was a commercial passenger variant, the Skybus. It was a popular choice for flights to the various islands around us, in the British Isles. My ( very new) wife had her first flight on one, when we flew from Gatwick to Guernsey for our Honeymoon. It was supremely stable and comfortable. Our return was in a Vickers Viscount - not /officially/ STOL-capable unless in the right hands.
Don't mind me, just binge watching your videos. Really enjoying them!
What a hoot to fly this type! Thanks for taking us up !!!
My father was apparently "apprenticed" to Short Brothers at age 14 (early 1950's) and went on to get his degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Cambridge in 59/60.
Lucky man !
My father also worked at Shorts at the same time, wonder if they knew each other.
My grandfather worked on the skyvan and travelled the world as an engineer teaching mechanics how to service and fix it. He spent months in Alaska, specifically Anchorage and Bethel in the late sixties.
Awesome plane. Thank you so much for sharing the experience.
I flew PIC for Simmons airlines back in the early 1980s. The aircraft was the SD3-60, 36 pax configuration. I liked the aircraft, I always felt protected by the boxxy brutish airframe with wing struts. It felt like it had the heart of a flying tank. This tank came complete with a flight attendant to bring us refreshments. How quaint it felt.
Wow, that would have been quite a buzz !
That plane really did made fast approach back to the ground, especially the last few 100 metres or so !
Always loved jumping out of the back of those Skyvans at Sibson (UK) and Eloy (AZ) back in the day :-). The sounds on this video really take me back!
Thanks, Alex. That was terrific!
Always liked these aircraft. We teach safety courses at my work, and our boss was a SAR tech his last 8 years he was in. Anyways, we have a few pictures of a Skyvan crash showing the difficulty of being spotted from an air search at various elevations, even with a large crash scar of 300 feet. Northern topography and weather don't help. Anyways, every time those slides come up on an aircraft course like underwater egress, or on our survival course, etc, I cry a little bit inside for that poor little Skyvan. Can't remember the operator off hand, but she looked to be wearing livery similar to Wardair. Keep the content coming!
Great video! I can still remember the TimeAir and Pacific Coastal, Short 360 flying in and out of YVR 😁
I flew in a later model 330 when I used to take flights from Glasgow to Cardiff with Metropolitan Airways in the UK, basically a flying bus stopping at Leeds and Bristol before arriving in Cardiff.
Bit noisy but flights were rarely higher than 10,000 ft so very scenic.
I flew them out of New Orleans and never got above 6,000'.
Great Video!!! This aircraft might not have elegant lines, but it is definitely a great plane!!! Lots of skydiving flights are made out of airports that I worked at in the past... Many are made with the DeHaviland Caribou's, equipped with the turbo-prop engines, and many are made with these planes... They are real performers!!!
As I am making a flying version of the Skyvan this video has been invaluable. And it's a good watch. Cheers.
Reminds me a bit of the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar. I use to see them frequently when I was a young child. I think they were flying them out of Willow Grove NAS. Thanks for the video.
Really well done video with all the phases of flight a real Buff is interested in. Thanks (and you did it with no stupid during-video music so that we could hear the engines like we were there!)
My grandfather worked on those and actually carried out the tests on that exact aircraft
My dad worked on the assembly line in Belfast, late 60s I think. Used to have a complete assembly manual in the house, which I regret to say I used as a colouring book when I was small. Would love to still have it.
@@jockmcallister I would get the blueprints and restart making them...
Ditto, G father also worked on the skyvan series in his later years, he also worked on the Short Belfast and the SC1.
My G Father also worked on the production line, along with his brother, he used to give me posters and stuff of this, and the 330, 360, etc, all in around the 60 and 70's,
If i can remember right, he moved to work in the Aircraft factory, from the shipyard, Harland and Wolff, sometime in the 50's.
Great workhorse, built in Belfast by Shorts, a friend of mine was a shop-floor foreman in the factory. I have flown on the stretch version of this to many destinations in the UK. Very reliable aircraft used all over the world, to the best of my knowledge no-one has has ever lost their life in an accident in this plane, I remember one in England somewhere and everyone walked away. Did tend to buck about a bit in high winds, hence people in Northern Ireland called them the Vomit Comet!.
Neat to see the pitch angle change as each skydiver exited. Especially the tandem jumpers.
That bought back some wonderful memories (jumping).
Really is a wonderful aircraft. I love them.
Thank you.
Not very elegant? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! It’s basic, simple and does exactly what it says on the tin! It’s an awesome looking Skyvan!
Fascinating. Love the Skyvan. Great to see it from the cockpit. Long takeoff run it seems.
When fully loaded it takes a long run to get airborne, and a long slow climb. It's top speed in the climb is not much above 100Kts @ around 1000 ft per minute. Surprisingly, it has a quite fast touchdown speed of about 90 kts.
Great video Alex. I remember flying YYC to YQL in a Short SD-300 back in the 80s(?) with Time Air.
Wow. that was awesome. Thanks for that! Always loved the Skyvan and it's big brother, the 330.
It's a wombat with wings, both tough and adorable. And still flying since the late 60s.
I serviced Skyvans in the Middle East in the early 80s. As you say, not the cutest of aeroplanes but boy, was it capable! Short field performance was incredible, especially at some of the 'hot and high' outstations. I was left with a very healthy respect for the type.
Neat aircraft, first time ever hearing about/seeing it.
I have it on reasonably good authority that the Skyvan legacy is that it's tyres (if not wheels) are fitted to the only flying example of the Bristol Blenheim that is based at RAF Duxford in the UK Apparently they are the only aircraft that share the tyre size.
The Bolingbroke that was being restored at Mount Hope (Hamilton) has apparently been relegated to a non flying restoration. Shame. It would have been nice to have two Blenheim's/Bolingbrokes airworthy.
That was great, thanks for sharing. C-GKOA has flown over where I live in the UK a few times, certainly a distinctive shape!
Thanks for sharing. My Grandfather was a "fitter" at Shorts during the 60's so I'm sure he worked on this plane when built.
Would love to see you fly into Powell River from Vancouver BC. Not a long flight, but you get some beautiful views. (Maybe one day when your in BC)
I remember them using Skyvans at RAF Weston on the Green in Oxfordshire a few years ago,.... (well maybe more that a few because I can remember barage baloons there as well). The baloons were used for army parachute training and the Skyvans for skydiving.
I love Skyvans and have jumped out of PIGY and BEOL many times when they used to visit Skydive Langar in the UK
With the ear buds in my ears that takeoff role was a symphony
Certainly one of the most aptly named aircraft out there. Quite literally a flying van lol. Very quirky and loveable aircraft for sure. Seen one fly out of Gatineau airport occasionally for skydiving purposes. Not sure which one it is out of the ones registered in Canada that you listed.
Update: it's C-GUWW. For anyone who cares to know.
I got a AIRFIX MODAL in 1972 ...10yrs old at the time ...a race horse trainer (magner)???..i think....for got his name...had one as a flying horse box here in Ireland ...a friend told me he was a pilot in it (1980s )LOOK at the DC3 still flying ...PBY5 still flying...and the skyvan...great planes simple is all ways best..😁... helo from CORK IRELAND...😉...
Great video! I had my first flight on a Skyvan in mid 80s, in the cockpit! (some jumpsit on the left of the captain). Olympic airways operated them in Greece back then!
Air Cargo Carriers has a fleet of Short SD3-60s. They were developed from the SkyVan, two generations back. They often fly over my house when going to SDF (Louisville) from places in the upper Midwest. FlightRadar24 shows one on it's way tonight !! They have a distinct sound.
Thanks for sharing! I think this airplane was operated by some regional airlines here in the States, but I never got to fly on one.
As a kid my neighbour was on the design team for these things. I also flew on them a lot as they were among the cheapest/easiest way to get from NI to England. Some even carried cars over.
What a nifty bird for skydivers. Glad you got a chance to take us with you.
Years ago, I flew via KSJU to EIS in a Shorts. It had wonderful views because the boarding door didn't close completely, the air outlets looked like they came from a 1974 Pinto wagon and every panel shook and vibrated. They loaded the aircraft by dropping a pole from the back. When the pole touched the ground, the plane was at max weight and ready for take-off. Scary as $#[+ but a lot of fun.
Alex thanks for a great find she's been around. Really caught my eye because I'm certain American Eagle used to fly a number of these but I cant find any record of it. Was working in Texas and a piece of equipment we needed short notice was delivered to DFW in one of these, not something a pilot forgets.
Great work keep them coming please.
I was on American Eagle flights on them out of BMI or some other nearby Illinois airports in the 1980s, maybe DEC or CMI? Always to/from ORD I think.
Not many years ago a few of these were flying in Alaska based in Anchorage. They work great from transporting an assembled communications equipment racks.
Great video. I especially like seeing the aircraft rise as each jumper left the plane. Apparently a few hundred pounds falling out the back is noticeable.
Yep, I flew the larger version SD-330 and would have to retrim when the FA would walk to the back of the plane.
Seeing photos and videos of Short Bros. aircraft always reminds me of the expression, _"Taking it in the SHORTS"._
😊😊😊
It's been many many moons, but we had an ex-USAFE C-23 Sherpa at Morristown NJ flying for
the US Army. It's been moved decades ago now, but was a fascinating machine. From memory
it was a bit larger than Nomad Air's bird.
There was a bulkhead behind the flight deck where the flight engineer had a seat by the cargo bay.
I also remember that they mounted a port-a-potty on the left side cargo door . They also had a winch in the rear that they
used to load heavy cargo . They also had to jack the
fuselage just forward of the ramp to keep the plane from tilting during the winching operation.
Now the last thing I remembered involved refueling. This aircraft had put quite a few hours on
during USAF operations in Europe before the Army got it. The fuel controls for the single point
were in the back of the left wheel "pant". The problem being that when it got topped off, the
shut off valves didn't always work. Since the fuel vented right over the head of the fueler, much
colorful language was heard after the Jet-A shower at the end of the fueling. :).
I love all the first class amenities on this beast! All the comforts of home
My first ever flight was on board a Skyvan. Once I climbed on board my eyes started streaming and I mentioned this to the crew. It's OK, it's only Jeyes fluid. We were flying a flock of sheep on the last sector and had cleaned up the floor with Jeyes fluid. . Such was the life of a Skyvan. They'd fly anything from newspapers to sheep, ponies and even people. My next flight was aboard a Twotter and it was sheer luxury when compared to the Skyvan.
This is an awesome looking airplane! Thanks for posting!
Also, you might check into riding in one of 6 Ford Tri Motors which are still flying!
I work in Shorts in Belfast, so good to see there are still a few of these old birds in the air!
I once flew as pax on a Short 330. Conditions were extremely turbulent and it was not pressurized. It was an interesting flight to say the least compared to the Metroliners and Dash 8s I was used to. It was with Air Labrador in 1996 I believe.
Shorts 330/360 passengers are being flown. Jet aircraft passengers are sent. I love being flown, it is usually interesting. Jet airline travel is, in my opinion, boring😉
2000 FPM. Did you beat the skydivers back down?
Tremendously enjoyable. What a cool little plane. Thanks for such a fine report!
Love it. I was a first officer on the Short 3-60 (skyvan’s big brother) for a couple of years in Scotland in the 90s so this took me right back. Cool plane, thanks.
Love this plane 👍🇮🇳