Scottish Aviation

Twin Pioneer

 

The Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer was a British STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) transport aircraft designed and built at Prestwick, on the West Coast of Scotland. Conceived to serve both military and civil operations, the aircraft could operate in an area of just 30 meters x 275 metres.
 
The prototype (G-ANTP) flew at Prestwick (officially) on 25th June 1955 (there had been a brief unofficial hop the previous day), with the first production aircraft following on 28th April 1956.
 
The high-wing monoplane, which featured a triple-fin and rudder arrangement, was initially powered by a pair of Alvis Leonides 531 radial engines although during the development of the aircraft into a Series 2 it was fitted with Pratt & Whitney Wasp power units.
 
The final incarnation as a Series 3 returned to the much improved Alvis Leonides 531 engine.

 

 

Military variants could carry external stores under the stub wings and a Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer became the first commissioned aircraft for the newly formed Royal Malaysian Air Force in 1962.
 
In the UK, the Royal Air Force (RAF) ordered 39 aircraft which were produced at Prestwick between 1958 and 1959. A number were deployed to serve in Aden, Malaysia and Borneo, where its STOL capabilities made it an invaluable tool in areas of dense jungle with limited landing strips.
 
Civil users of the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer included Borneo Airways, Garuda, Swissair and Philippine Air Lines. The last scheduled passenger services in the UK were flown by JFA (Jersey Ferry Airlines), operating between Portsmouth and the Channel Islands.

 

The last flying examples operated with Flight One Ltd on aerial survey duties.

 

 

The success of the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer was hindered by the ready availability of cheap Douglas DC-3/C-47 aircraft.

 

It was further hampered by a fatal accident to the demonstrator (G-AOEO) which was due to structural failure of a wing strut fitting, killing the crew which included David McKintyre, the co-founder of Scottish Aviation Limited, and a driving force behind the company.