Short Satellite

The Short S.4 Satellite was a British small two-seater sporting monoplane, produced in 1924 to take part in the Air Ministry's Two-Seater Light Aeroplane competition on 27 September of that year.

Design

Design began in July, with only weeks available before the competition, so the monocoque fuselage was of conventional design, with wooden box spars; the ribs however were of duralumin, as were the tailplane, elevators, fin and rudder. The cantilever wings had a span of 34 ft (10.3 m) and they, the tail and the fuselage were fabric-covered. The Satellite was fitted initially with an ungeared Bristol Cherub engine, with which it had a top speed of 70 mph (110 km/h) without a passenger.

History

The aircraft was initially fitted with an ungeared Bristol Cherub engine. At the Air Ministry's Two-Seater Light Aeroplane competition at Lympne in 1924, where the Satellite was flown by the company's Chief Test Pilot J. Lankester Parker. The engine delivered insufficient power to fly with a passenger, so the Satellite, along with 9 of the other 18 entrants, failed to meet the competition's success criteria. It was fitted with a tuned version of the Cherub within the week and on 4 October took part in the Grosvenor Cup race, completing the course and finishing in seventh place. It was later fitted with a geared Cherub II, later still with an ABC Motors Scorpion Mk. II engine, both of which greatly improved its performance. As a result of violent wing flutter experienced at 90 mph (140 km/h), the wingspan was reduced by 2 ft (0.61 m); this solved the problem and no flutter was experienced even at dives of up to 120 mph.