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Issue 16: Shorts 360
The world’s longest-established aircraft manufacturer (1909) and at one time the producer of some of the largest airframes to grace the skies, Short Brothers of Belfast nowadays specialise in aircraft at the opposite end of the airliner spectrum.
Since 1974 when the prototype Shorts 330 (officially designated the SD3-30) first took wing the company has set a yardstick by which large third-level airliners are compared. The 330 has sold well with more than 111 on the order books being operated by 33 airlines in 14 countries. To date, the type has logged nearly 400,000 hours of commercial flying and with an average flight time of only 38 minutes, the design emphasis is most definitely aimed squarely towards structural integrity and reliability.
It was only logical then that Shorts should evaluate the concept of stretching the roomy 330 fuselage and completely redesigning the rear fuselage and tail assembly to accommodate additional passengers and improve the overall aerodynamics. This project was launched in the late seventies and as the fuselage stretch allowed two additional three-abreast seat rows was termed the 360 – indeed the first of a plethora of 36-seat airliners that are currently under development.
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