Short 330

what is it?

The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on the SC.7 Skyvan.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 turboprops · shoulder wing · retractable tricycle gear · 22.8 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 352 km/htop speed
• range 1,695 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 30passengers
• size 10.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 141made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 52 years ago, in 1974.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 22.8 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,695 km: 9× Amsterdam to Brussels.

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1974-08-22

introduced

1976

number built

141

role

transport aircraft

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

Short Brothers

engines

2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-45-R

passengers

30

length

17.7 m

wingspan

22.8 m

height

5 m

max take-off weight

10.4 t

top speed

352 km/h

cruise speed

296 km/h

range

1,695 km

ceiling

6,096 m

wings

shoulder wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

ICAO code

SH33

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.