Air Angola Shorts Skyvan 3M
The Shorts Skyvan had its origins in a design from another company, the Miles HDM.106 Caravan, itself an expanded version of the Miles Aerovan. Though Shorts ended up not going through with its partnership with Miles, it saw a market for a small cargo aircraft that could operate from short runways. The Shorts SC.7 Skyvan was the result, and first flew in 1963.
Though not much to look at--the Skyvan was dumpy-looking, with a snub nose and fixed landing gear, and looked like nothing less than a flying barn--it was a superb aircraft for what it was designed to do. The high, wide wing gave it excellent short-field landing and takeoff ability, while the spacious fuselage gave it plenty of room for cargo. Originally, the Skyvan was to be powered with radial engines, but this was quickly switched to turboprops.
The Skyvan received a modest production run of 153 aircraft, but inspired similar aircraft (namely the CASA C.212 Aviocar and IAI Arava); it would be expanded into the more successful Shorts 330/360 Sherpa series.
This is another mysterious entry into the Poletto Collection. Bary built it as "Air Angola," but no airline is known to have existed under that name. The registration, D2-TAA, belonged to a Boeing 727 of TAAG Angolan Airlines, but TAAG never operated the Shorts Skyvan. I thought perhaps it was supposed to be Air Anglia with the wrong registration, but the colors are wrong--and Air Anglia also never flew the Skyvan.
Which airline this Skyvan is intended to represent will remain unknown, but it is a good looking model. Note the rudders canted to the left--just a little detail Bary decided to add.
Air Angola Shorts Skyvan 3M
The Shorts Skyvan had its origins in a design from another company, the Miles HDM.106 Caravan, itself an expanded version of the Miles Aerovan. Though Shorts ended up not going through with its partnership with Miles, it saw a market for a small cargo aircraft that could operate from short runways. The Shorts SC.7 Skyvan was the result, and first flew in 1963.
Though not much to look at--the Skyvan was dumpy-looking, with a snub nose and fixed landing gear, and looked like nothing less than a flying barn--it was a superb aircraft for what it was designed to do. The high, wide wing gave it excellent short-field landing and takeoff ability, while the spacious fuselage gave it plenty of room for cargo. Originally, the Skyvan was to be powered with radial engines, but this was quickly switched to turboprops.
The Skyvan received a modest production run of 153 aircraft, but inspired similar aircraft (namely the CASA C.212 Aviocar and IAI Arava); it would be expanded into the more successful Shorts 330/360 Sherpa series.
This is another mysterious entry into the Poletto Collection. Bary built it as "Air Angola," but no airline is known to have existed under that name. The registration, D2-TAA, belonged to a Boeing 727 of TAAG Angolan Airlines, but TAAG never operated the Shorts Skyvan. I thought perhaps it was supposed to be Air Anglia with the wrong registration, but the colors are wrong--and Air Anglia also never flew the Skyvan.
Which airline this Skyvan is intended to represent will remain unknown, but it is a good looking model. Note the rudders canted to the left--just a little detail Bary decided to add.