page_title: Short SC.1
section_title: Testing
hierarchical_section_title: Short SC.1 / Testing
caption_attribution_description: English: The first Short SC.1 vertical take-off aircraft, XG900 at the 1958 SBAC show at Farnborough
context_page_description: The Short SC.1 was the first British fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing jet aircraft. It was developed by Short Brothers. It was powered by an arrangement of five Rolls-Royce RB108 turbojets, four of which were used for vertical flight and one for conventional horizontal flight. The SC.1 had the distinction of being the first British fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and the first one to transition between vertical and horizontal flight modes; it was also the first VTOL-capable aircraft with a fly-by-wire control system.
  The SC.1 was designed and produced in response to a Ministry of Supply requirement for a suitable aircraft for conducting flight studies into VTOL flight, as well as specifically into the transition between vertical and horizontal flight. Two prototypes were used for flight testing between 1957 and 1971. Research data from the SC.1 test programme contributed to the development of the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 and the subsequent Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational VTOL aircraft.
  In October 2012, the Short SC.1 received Northern Ireland's first Engineering Heritage Award as a recognition of its significant achievement in the engineering field.
context_section_description: Constructed at Short's Belfast factory in Northern Ireland, the first SC.1 prototype, XG900, first undertook initial engine runs at this facility. After being transported by sea to England, XG900, which was initially fitted only with the propulsion engine, was delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Boscombe Down to begin the flight test programme. On 2 April 1957, the prototype conducted the type's maiden flight, which was also its first conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) flight.
  Just over a year later, on 26 May 1958, the second prototype made the first tethered vertical flight. Initial flights of the type were performed while attached to a specially-devised gantry, which accommodated only a limited amount of freedom, up to 15 ft vertically and 10 ft off-centre in any direction, vertical velocity was also restricted to less than 10 ft/second; progressive arresting of the aircraft occurred beyond these limitation. It would take off from a grid platform positioned 6 ft above the ground itself in order to circumvent the ground effect phenomenon; considerable effort on the part of Shorts had been made during development of a suitable platform to eliminate the negative impact of ground effect and was redesigned several times. The gantry facility was used for ab initio training and familiarisation purposes for the first 8 pilots to fly the SC.1.
  On 25 October of that year, the type performed the first 'free' vertical flight. On 6 April 1960, the first in-flight transition between vertical and horizontal flight was successfully conducted. While successful at transitioning between the two modes, the Short SC.1 had a reputation as being somewhat ungainly as an aircraft.
  The SC.1 was publicly displayed at the Farnborough Airshow in 1958 and 1960; it also appeared at the Paris Air Show in 1961, at which it performed a demonstration flight. On 2 October 1963, the second test aircraft crashed in Belfast, killing the pilot, J.R. Green;  the cause was later determined to have been a control malfunction. Following the accident, the aircraft was rebuilt and returned to flight for further testing, both continued flying until 1967. By 1965, a total of different 14 pilots had flown the type.
  As a result of ground suitability tests, it was determined that conventional runway concrete, pavement, and even grass strips would be adequate for vertical takeoff
  and landing of the SC.1; however, debris that may be forced out from imperfect surfaces would pose a risk to personnel but not to the aircraft itself. The test programme also allowed experience upon the maintenance and serviceability of a VTOL aircraft to be acquired, even though these were not primary objectives of the design nor the research effort; throughout the programme, an overall average of 2.6 flights were performed per week. While numerous errors with the auto-stabiliser were reported during flights, no fault ever occurred that endangered the aircraft or had any effect upon its control.
  Testing found significant difficulty in measuring actual engine thrust, leading to further tests using improved intakes and instrumentation. Ultimately, the engines proved to be far less problematic than might have been expected considering the experimental nature of the aircraft and its power-plants; and when faults occurred in the triplex auto-stabiliser they were easy to locate, in part due to the system's self-checking nature. According to a Ministry of Aviation report, the SC.1 was determined to have been an effective research vehicle when operated within the limits imposed by its small size and restricted capacity; however it was found that a larger aircraft would be necessary for more extensive tests of the instruments and guidance equipment.
  The SC.1 flew for over ten years, during which it provided a great deal of data that served to influence later design concepts such as the "puffer jet" controls on the Hawker Siddeley P.1127, the precursor of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. The flight testing work relating to vertical takeoff and landing techniques and technologies als
caption: The first Short SC.1, XG900, at the 1958 SBAC show at Farnborough
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