Short SB.4 Sherpa
Short Brothers · United Kingdom · first flew 1953 · light aircraft
The Short SB.4 Sherpa was a British experimental aircraft built by Short Brothers to test a novel aero-isoclinic wing. Only one was built.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, swept |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Two small Turbomeca Palas turbojets buried in the upper fuselage |
| T — Tail | No tailplane |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Tailless aircraft with no tailplane, using a swept aero-isoclinic wing with a leading-edge sweep of just over 42 degrees
- Two small Turbomeca Palas turbojets buried in the upper fuselage
- Conventional tricycle undercarriage
Look for a small swept-wing aircraft with no tailplane or fin and a short fuselage with tricycle landing gear.
Specifications
- The Short SB.4 Sherpa has a length of 9.7 m (32 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 11.58 m (38 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 275 km/h (171 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The wing was designed to keep a constant angle of incidence however much it flexed, and the Sherpa was based largely on the earlier unpowered Short SB.1 glider. The outermost parts of the wing could be rotated to work as fins and rudders, which allowed the aircraft to dispense with a conventional tail. It first flew on 4 October 1953.
Variants
Only the one aircraft was built. It was powered by two Blackburn Turbomeca Palas turbojets of 350 lbf each.
Where you'll see it
It performed experimental flights and occasional aerial displays. Short decided not to continue the research, and the aircraft was donated to the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield, where it flew until 1964. It was later used as a laboratory specimen at the Bristol College of Advanced Technology and is now on display with the Ulster Aviation Society near Belfast.
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