[MVDS] Short Solent

[Phaelen Bleux]

Short S.45 Solent
In 1948, Wing Commander Barry Aikman founded Aquila Airways, a small airline company conceived with the idea of servicing destinations inaccessible to land-based aircraft. At that time, many such places existed, such as the island of Madeira. Aikman was able to procure a number of Hythe-class aircraft (civilian conversions of the Sunderland flying boat, p. W:ATKM82) from the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) to begin passenger operations, but instead found his planes chartered to perform in the Berlin airlift of 1948.
In 1949, Aquila Airways began service to Madeira, ferrying 1,528 passengers to the island. In 1950, Aquila expanded service to Glasgow and Edinburgh, having procured a number of new Short Solent Mark IIIs to add to the fleet. Charter flights were common as well, with planes being hired out to fly to the Falkland Islands, Egypt, Helsinki, and for the filming of Moby Dick. In 1950, Prime Minister Winston Churchill returned to Britain from Funchal on an Aquila Airways flight.
In 1953, Aquila Airways joined with Britavia, and expanded service to Las Palmas (in the Canary Islands) and Lisbon. By 1957, Aquila was performing services to Corfu, Genoa, Santa Margherita, Majorca, Capri, and many other international destinations. At it peak (in 1957), Aquila Airways carried 11,927 passengers annually; however, the very next year Aquila Airways ceased operation as a result of increased competition from land-based airlines, as improvements in airfields at many of its destinations made land-based operations more feasible.
In 1951, fares were: L49 (Southampton-Madeira), L54 (Southampton-Las Palmas), L11 (Madeira-Las Palmas), and L22 (Madeira-Lisbon). The baggage allowance was 44 lbs. per passenger. An aircraft could be chartered for L150 per day, or L3,000 per month.
A Short Solent (conserved in the Oakland Aviation Museum, California) can be seen masquerading as a Boeing China Clipper in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark." GMs who don’t mind that the Solent is an anachronism in the 1930s can use this aircraft in a Cliffhangers-style campaign.
The Solent Mk III was designed to carry 39 passengers and seven crew. The representative crew consisted of a captain, first officer, second officer, radio operator, two stewards and an air hostess. The S.45 burns 252 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. A full load of fuel costs $632. Historical range was 1,800 miles at a cruising speed of 244 mph.

Short S.45 Solent Mk III
Subassemblies: Heavy Bomber chassis +5; Heavy STOL Bomber wings +4; two Large Weapon wing pontoons +2, four Medium AFV engine pods +2, 3 fixed wheels +2 (only used when pulled from the water for maintenance). All waterproofed.
Powertrain: Four 1,261-kW aerial HP gasoline engines with four 1,261-kW props and 3,160-gallon fuel tank [Wings].
Occ.: 7 CS, 39 PS Body
Cargo: 15 Body

Armor
Body: 2/3, 3/5U
Wings: 2/3
Wheels: 3/5
Pontoons: 2/3, 3/5U
Engine Pod: 2/3

Equipment:
Body: Medium radio transmitter and receiver, navigation instruments, backup driver, autopilot.

Statistics:
Size: 88'x113'x34' Payload: 15.1 tons Lwt.: 39.0 tons
Volume: 1840 Maint.: 14 hours Cost: $213,895

HT: 8. HPs: 1100 Body, 1100 each Wing, (100 each Wheel), 200 each Engine Pod, 120 each Pontoon.

aSpeed: 273 aAccel: 4 aDecel: 20 aMR: 5 aSR: 3
Stall Speed: 81 mph.
wSpeed: 24 wAccel: 4 wDecel: 5 (7) wMR: 0.05 wSR: 3
Flotation Rating: 37.8 tons. Draft: 2.8'.

Design Notes:
Historical wing area was 1,487 sf. Design loaded weight was increased 14% to the historical. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight. The aircraft requires a 25 mph headwind for water-based take-offs, but this is probably excessive as per the Short Sunderland. Design aSpeed was 280; the historical value is shown.
Also, as per the Sunderland, there is not enough space in the Pods and Wing for all of the fuel tankage; 30.8 VSPs of fuel are housed in the body.

Variants:
The Solent Mk II (1946) carried 34 passengers and 7 crew. They were used by the BOAC to carry passengers from Southampton to Johannesburg on a 4-day trip. The aircraft featured two decks, complete with dining saloon, cocktail bar and promenade. 12 built.
The Solent IV featured the improved Bristol Hercules 733 engine (1,522-kW). Top speed 282 mph. 4 built.
The Solent was a development of the Short Seaford, which was in turn derived from the Sunderland.