Aircraft - Aviation - Balloons - Helicopters

Dec. 12, 1956 - The Latest Flying Bedstead Makes First Taxi-Ing Runs. The Short SC.1. originally known as the PD.11 - a jet powered research aircraft for vertical take -off has had its first taxi-ing trials in Belfast. Built for the Ministry of Supply by Short Bros. - the machine was piloted by Mr. T. Brooke-Smith Chief Test Pilot of the company. The SC.1 is powered by five Rolls Royce RC. 108 engines - and is Britain's first machine in the vertical take-off and landing project. It is the most important step yet in this sphere. The next step is to prove the SC.1 as a conventional aircraft - testing it in forward flight and using normal take-off technique - to be followed by experiments to the ultimate objective of unrestricted vertical take-off and landing and transition hovering to forward flight. The research programme will include many hours of hovering with the machine tethered in a new test gantry now under construction at Belfast. Keystone Photo Shows:- The Short SC. 1. Flying Bedstead aircraft

Restrictions Only for United Kingdom

Bedstead Conventional Experiments Followed Gantry Hovering Include Normal Objective Piloted Prove Runs Sc.1 Sphere Take-off Tethered Transition Ultimate Unrestricted

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