Nicknamed the “Flying Shoebox” for its boxy fuselage, this 22-seat, twin-turboprop aircraft was manufactured by Short Brothers, Belfast, County Antrim. Initially aimed at the STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) commercial and military markets, the aircraft became beloved by skydivers across the world. However, the Skyvan also carries a notorious reputation due to its use by the Argentine Air Force—more on that later.
GEORGE MILES
The Skyvan design concept did not originate with Short Brothers, the Belfast-based aircraft manufacturer, but with the Miles Aircraft Company in Berkshire, England. George Miles had designed a compact twin-engine freighter featuring a high wing with a 50-foot span and a 36-foot-long fuselage, spacious enough to accommodate a large car or up to ten passengers. Dubbed the Aerovan, it took its maiden flight in January 1945 and demonstrated the remarkable ability to lift payloads exceeding its own weight. However, a major operational drawback was its inability to maintain altitude when operating on just one engine.
In 1958, Miles explored development with Shorts, but financial struggles led Shorts to purchase the design, ultimately evolving it into the SC.7 Skyvan without involvement of George Miles and his company.
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SKYVAN IS BORN
The Short company went on to design a practical aircraft featuring a twin piston-engine layout and a strutted high-wing of conventional proportions. Sceptical of the advantages of a high-aspect ratio wing—particularly its 100-foot span, which posed hangarage challenges for commercial and military operators—they opted for a more compact design.
The Skyvan’s large wing did not interfere with its boxy fuselage, while its beaver-tail with twin fins enabled rear loading. A hinged, sloping rear panel functioned as a loading door, allowing easy freight access. The aircraft could accommodate 22 passengers or up to 4,600 lbs of cargo and featured a fixed undercarriage for operational simplicity.
With no financial development support from the British government, Shorts began constructing two prototypes on a tightly controlled budget in 1960. The first prototype, Skyvan 1 (G-ASCN), took its maiden flight from the company’s Sydenham, Belfast airfield (now George Best Belfast City Airport) on January 17th 1963, lasting just 15 minutes.
TESTING SETBACKS
However, not all test flights went according to plan there was an emergency landing at Newtownards Airfield on May 29th 1963, and the prototype had to be transported back to the factory by road. The tests led the Short design team to recognise that the aircraft was underpowered with its twin 390shp Continental GTSIO-520 piston engines, and so the engineers re-engined the aircraft with more powerful 520shp Turbomeca Astazou 2 turboprops.
Although the government finally agreed to fund the development programme in early 1964, by this stage the Skyvan had lost its sales lead to the Twin Otter and Islander, which both flew in 1965.
DESIGN DIFFICULTIES CONTINUE
Skyvan production deliveries began in 1966, but early sales struggled as the Astazou engine underperformed in hot and high conditions, limiting U.S. demand and creating a major setback for Shorts. While the aircraft itself was well-designed, its engines proved problematic. With the UK government holding a controlling stake and opposing redesigns, the Skyvan’s future was uncertain. However, Short Brothers’ directors secured approval for an engine upgrade, selecting the 715shp Garrett TPE-331 while retaining the Astazou as a budget alternative. The Skyvan 3, equipped with the more powerful Garrett engines, soon became the definitive model.
FLY ANYWHERE – CARRY ANYTHING
“Skyvan News”, a Short Brothers publication, reported a notable emergency medivac for the Nepalese Royal Family, carried out by a Skyvan upgraded as a ‘Skyliner’ with an executive interior. It was reported: “Queen Rata, seriously wounded in a shooting accident on a tiger hunt, was flown 350 miles through the Himalayas at the dead of night for emergency surgery in Katmandu. The journey through a region where flying is normally confined to daylight hours was accomplished successfully although fog was forming when the aircraft took off and the only night landing aids at Katmandu were oil flares. The Queen’s condition forbade flying at the safety heights but in under two hours she was in Katmandu where her life was saved by the removal of the bullet.”
The Skyvan earned a strong reputation for transporting outsized cargo in commercial operations. Skyvan News reported that Gulf Aviation transported 34-foot drilling pipes—nearly twice the cargo holds length—by securing them while leaving the rear door open. In 1970, NASA utilized a Delaware Air Freight Skyvan to transport a large antenna in a 15-foot crate from New Jersey to Cape Kennedy for Apollo 14.
3M MILITARY VERSION
The versatile Skyvan design was further developed into the multirole Skyvan 3M military transport. The prototype, G-AXPT, first flew in March 1969, featuring weather radar, a blister window for observation, and configurations for 16 paratroopers, 22 soldiers, 12 stretchers, or 5,000 lbs of cargo. 60 aircraft were sold to the armed forces of 19 countries.
DEATH FLIGHTS
During Argentina’s brutal 1970s dictatorship, Belfast-built Skyvan PA-51s were used in notorious “Death Flights,” where drugged prisoners were thrown alive into the Atlantic, disappearing thousands deemed threats to the junta.
The Argentine military acquired five Skyvans for cargo and troop transport, but they became instruments of terror. During the 1982 Falklands War, one was destroyed by naval gunfire on Port Stanley racecourse, another was lost in soft ground on Pebble Island and later destroyed by British forces, while the rest were sold—one ending up in the U.S. for skydiving.
Today, a repatriated Skyvan PA-51 is displayed at the former Navy School of Mechanics (ESMA) in Buenos Aires, now a museum honouring the 30,000 victims of the dictatorship. In 2017, the pilots of these death flights were sentenced to life in prison.
LARGEST OPERATOR
The largest operator was the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, which acquired 16 aircraft. During the Vietnam War, a more discreet user was Continental Air Services, a Continental Airlines subsidiary, which operated a single Skyvan for covert missions in Laos from 1969 to 1972.
PRODUCTION ENDS
Skyvan production gradually declined after 1980, with the final aircraft—its 154th—delivered to the Omani Air Force in April 1986. The Skyvan’s unique boxy design and outstanding STOL capabilities have sustained its popularity, with a handful still in commercial service, mainly with skydiving schools.
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Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
Airwaysmag.com
Getty Images
How a small plane, once used by Argentine military to throw citizens to their death, was later found in U.S. – CBSNews.com
KeyAero.com
Museum of Berkshire Aviation
Photo Credit – Bob O’Brien Collection
Photo Credit – Kornel Mierzwinski
Photo Credit – Martin Needham
Photo Credit – Peter R Foster
Photo Credit – Richard Vandervord
Photo Credit – Air Britain JM Gradidge Collection (Abpic.co.uk)
Photo Credit – Peter Amos – Air Britain JM Gradidge Collection (Abpic.co.uk)
SkyVan News
