The Short Solent is a passenger flying boat that was produced by Short Brothers in the late 1940s
See more on https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/short-solent/
See more on https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/short-solent/
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00:00The Short Solent was a passenger flying boat that was produced by Short Brothers in the late 1940s.
00:05It was developed from the Short Seaford, itself a development of the Short Sunderland military
00:09flying boat design. The first Solent flew in 1946. New Solents were used by Boak and Teal,
00:16production ending in 1949. The Short Solent had a high-wing
00:20monoplane configuration and an aluminium construction. It was powered by four Bristol
00:25Hercules engines, which could be replaced by Bristol Centaurus engines on some models.
00:30It could carry 34 to 45 passengers and seven crew members in its basic version.
00:35The passengers enjoyed spacious and luxurious cabins, a lounge-slash-dining area, a kitchen,
00:40dressing rooms, toilets and freight compartments. The flight crew consisted of two pilots,
00:45a navigator, a radio operator and a flight engineer.
00:49The Short Solent operated on various routes across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
00:54It was mainly used by Boak and Teal, but also by some smaller airlines such as Aquila Airways.
01:00The Solent provided a comfortable and reliable service for its passengers,
01:04but faced competition from land-based aircraft that were faster and cheaper to operate.
01:08The last Solent-operated service was flown in 1960 by Teal between Fiji and Tahiti.
01:13Two Solents are preserved today, one at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland,
01:18New Zealand, and one at the Oakland Aviation Museum in California, USA.