Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer

Twin Pioneer
Twin Pioneer prototype bearing Scottish Airlines markings at the 1955 Farnborough SBAC Show
Role Transport
Manufacturer Scottish Aviation
First flight 25 June 1955
Introduction 1956
Retired 1968
Primary users Royal Air Force
Malaysia
Nepal
Number built 87
Developed from Scottish Aviation Pioneer

The Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer was a British STOL transport aircraft built by Scottish Aviation Limited at Prestwick Airport, Scotland, during the 1950s. It was designed for both civil and military operators. It was conceived as a twin-engined version of the Pioneer light transport. Both aircraft required "an area only 30m (99ft) by 275m (902ft) in which to operate." [1]

Design and development

Powered by two Alvis Leonides 531 radial engines, the Twin Pioneer was a high-wing cabin monoplane with a triple fin and rudder assembly and fixed tailwheel undercarriage.[2] The prototype Twin Pioneer, registered G-ANTP, first flew at Prestwick Airport on 25 June 1955. Flight trials proved that the aircraft had a very short landing run and the aircraft was displayed at the September 1955 Society of British Aircraft Constructors Show at Farnborough.[3][4]

Three pre-production aircraft were built for trials, and sales and demonstrations.

In 1958, the 33rd aircraft was used as a prototype for the Series 2 with Pratt & Whitney Wasp R-1340 radial engines which had been ordered by Philippine Air Lines. A Series 3 aircraft was also developed to use the improved Alvis Leonides 531 radial engine.

Operational history

Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer at Labuan
RAF Twin Pioneer CC.1 wearing sand camouflage in service in 1968.

The military version could carry external stores such as bombs under the stub wings. One aircraft became the first aircraft for the newly formed Royal Malaysian Air Force when it was delivered on 16 January 1962, the type served with the air force for 12 years.

The Royal Air Force ordered 39 aircraft, which were built between 1958 and 1959, deployed in Aden and the Far East. It was used extensively by British forces in the Malayan Emergency and the later confrontation in Borneo. In August 1959, No. 78 Squadron RAF at Khormaksar received some Twin Pioneers to supplement its single engine Pioneers. The Twin Pioneers were employed in moving troops and supplies around the wilderness and on occasions, lending support to the Sultan of Oman. A series of double engine failures caused problems with the squadron losing two aircraft on the same day. Unsuitable soft and hard landing strips were also causes of failures during landings.

Twin Pioneer of Air Atlantique at Exeter in 1998

Other squadrons that operated the Twin Pioneers were No. 152 Squadron RAF based at Muharraq in Bahrain: No. 21 Squadron RAF, which reformed with the type at Benson in May 1959. The squadron then moved to Kenya and in June 1965 to Aden. No. 152 operated around the Persian Gulf and in 1959, No. 209 Squadron RAF based at Seletar began to receive Twin Pioneers. These operated in Borneo and Malaya. The SRCU (Short Range Conversion Unit) at RAF Odiham also flew three Twin Pioneers for aircrew training. RAF No. 230 Squadron in the UK was the last military operator of the Twin Pioneer. The squadron operated the type in an interesting sand-colour camouflage scheme.

Although mainly used in military operations, the Twin Pioneer was also successful as a commercial transport for operation in areas without proper airfields, where unprepared surfaces were often the norm. Twin Pioneers were sold as survey aircraft to oil exploration companies with some of the first sales to Rio Tinto Finance and Exploration Limited, and the Austrian and Swiss government survey departments. Three were used by the 'Kroonduif' in Dutch New Guinea.

One Twin Pioneer served as a STOL training aircraft with the Empire Test Pilot School (ETPS) at RAE Farnborough for many years.

Variants

Operators

Civil operators

Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer Srs3, VH-AIS

Military operators

 Malaysia
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer of the Royal Malaysian Air Force
   Nepal
 Oman
 United Kingdom

Incidents and accidents

Specifications (Twin Pioneer CC.Mk 2)

Fixed undercarriage of Twin Pioneer CC.Mk 1

Data from Green.[6]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Royal Air Force Museum - Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer www.rafmuseum.org.uk Retrieved: 11 May 2010
  2. ↑ Taylor 1961, p. 181.
  3. ↑ Hemming Air Enthusiast August to October 1993, p. 26.
  4. ↑ "Development of Twin Pioneer". The Glasgow Herald. 22 October 1956. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ↑ ASN Aircraft accident Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer 1 9M-ANC Limbang Airport (LMN) aviation-safety.net Retrieved: 16 September 2010
  6. ↑ Green 1964, p. 269.

Bibliography

  • Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.
  • Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
  • Hemming, Nick. "'Primrose' & Friends: The Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer". Air Enthusiast, Fifty-one, August to October 1983. pp. 21–31.
  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, 1961.
  • Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918-57, 1st edition. London: Putnam, 1957.
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