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The Short S.4 Satellite was a small British 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.
| Satellite | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | two-seat monoplane |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers |
| Primary user | Short Brothers |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1924 |
| First flight | 10 September 1924 |
| Retired | 1926 |
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.
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.[1] The engine delivered insufficient power to fly with a passenger, so the Satellite, along with nine 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.[2]
The Satellite was sometimes irreverently referred to as "Parker's Tin Kettle" because he frequently flew the aircraft.[3]
Data from [4]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: one
- Length: 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m)
- Wingspan: 33 ft 10 in (10.3 m)
- Wing area: 168 sq ft (15.6 m2)
- Empty weight: 640 lb (290 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,060 lb (481 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Cherub 2-cyl. air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston-engine, 33 hp (25 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 72 mph (116 km/h, 63 kn)
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