Update – Shorts 360

The Shorts 360, largely by way of a slipperier airframe, offers seat-mile cost savings over its shorter brother and, claim Shorts, is twelve to twenty per cent more fuel efficient than the more expensive pressurised 30136 seaters currently on offer. Shorts also claim that the 360 will require fewer maintenance man-hours and offers a better long-term investment in that it is substantially cheaper to acquire and operate than the more sophisticated rivals. In fact, Shorts estimates the market potential for commuter aircraft in the 20140 seat category to be 2000 units to the turn of the century with the greater proportion of this market emerging over the remainder of this decade. Shorts are hoping for a quarter of this market with the 360 largely taking over from the 330 by around mid-decade. The fact that Shorts have their 36-seater flying a full two years ahead of the competition at least gives them a head start albeit an overrated one in view of the dismal state of airline economies large and small.

The 360 differs primarily from the 330 in that it features the more powerful 1294 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65R turboprops, a strengthened wing (to be optioned on future 330s), a three-foot fuselage plug forward of the wing and the new tail with single swept fin. Empty ramp weight has increased from 15,000 lb while max TO weight has risen from 22,900 lb to 25,700 lb, yet with a relatively modest increase in horsepower the 360 is a good twenty knots faster than its smaller brother which is able testimony to the increased aerodynamic effectiveness of the lengthened airframe. The high-speed cruise for the 360 is posted at 234 mph while the range with maximum passenger payload with reserves is 360 sm or 860 sm if passengers are traded for fuel uplift. Shorts are quick to verify that with a full passenger complement the 360 has ample range for several sectors without looking for a bowser. This is ably backed up by US operator experience with the 330 where Golden West operates an average of 4. 7 flight hours for nearly 13 different sectors per day. This is almost equivalent to flying from rural hamlet to hamlet, some less than twenty miles apart but separated by lakes or high terrain.

While the Shorts airframe is simplicity itself the avionics are very much 1980’s digital. The 360 comes complete with a comprehensive Collins COMMINAV package featuring the Proline VHF020As (see ‘Colour for the Cockpit’, March 1982 issue), dual DME-40s, dual TDR-90 transponders, dual VIR30As, ADF-60A and a Collins colour weather radar. Also available as options will be a new Collins digital autopilot and flight director with an electronic horizontal situation indicator. This will be the first aircraft to fly in the commuter industry using fully digital flight directors and HSLs. Shorts are quick to point out the extra reliability inherent in the new generation of digital microchip-based avionics that along with proven engines and a robust, simple fuselage will provide a 36-seater requiring far less maintenance man-hours than the previous generation of second and third-level airliners.

The primary sales pitch on any Shorts aircraft begins and ends with the spacious cabin interior which offers full headroom and wide-cabin three-abreast seating in addition to stewardess service, galley, toilet and full airconditioning providing an environment and ‘big aeroplane’ feel that is a pleasant change after years of flying in small piston twins. So much for the passenger, operators will enjoy the 360 with its high wing, well out of the way of ground vehicles and carts in addition to the large forward freight door which enables the operator to gain additional revenue by flying freight at night and passengers by day. The cabin can also be configured for a combi arrangement as is the Wings Australia 330 under charter in the Northern Territory. The 360, at ISA + 20 degrees Celsius requires a takeoff run of 4720 ft at max TO weight and a 3930 ft landing run at maximum landing weight. The useful load is 921O lb, 3840 lb of which is fuel.

Looking to the future, Shorts envisage another fuselage stretch for their basic 3301360 design taking the aircraft to a 38 to 42 seater. There is no hurry for this derivative as much would depend upon the world airline recession lifting and the availability of an engine in the 1400 ship class. Shorts have also looked at modifying the 330 rear fuselages to encompass a rear loading ramp a-la Caribou for a dedicated military STOL freighter though looking at the dismal sales success of this class of aircraft in recent decades (Caribou, Buffalo, G. 222) there certainly will be no hurry from Shorts to develop such an airlifter till a launch customer is found. Another variant is a maritime EEZ patrol version, this was first mooted in 1977 and designated the Seeker though again this was another market that held little real market potential when the euphoria of the marketing teams had abated. Despite literally dozens of modified aircraft having been offered around 1976178 to fulfil this role only the F-27M, Embraer EMB-111 and our own Searchmaster have actually been sold in any numbers.

The first 360 is due to enter service with Pennsylvania-based Suburban Airlines this November while Shorts estimate that nearly thirty 360s will be in operation by the end of 1983. At late June, Shorts had orders and options for 27 aircraft from nine operators in seven countries one of which was reported by an unnamed Australian operator.

A reliable proven airframe, powered by a marque of engine that finds more than 8000 in international service, in service two years ahead of the competition and at a flyaway price as much as a quarter less in current dollars, the 360 looks set to keep the Belfast aerospace community busy for some years to come.