The Short SA.6 Sealand was a light, commercial amphibious aircraft designed and produced by Short Brothers. It was sized to accommodate between five and seven passengers as well as to suit the general overseas market in territories with suitable water access and/or runways. It could take off from and land on rivers, lakes and sheltered bays or prepared runways, and could be flown by either a single pilot or a pilot and navigator. On 22 January 1948, the maiden flight of the Sealand took place; the first examples entered service roughly two years later. A total of two production variants of the type were produced, the SA.6 Sealand I and the SB.7 Sealand III, an extended version with longer wings, a deeper rudder and a strengthened hull. The proposed SB.2 Sealand II was intended as the type's second prototype, but was never completed as such, instead becoming the first of the batch of 4 pre-production aircraft G-AKLM to G-AKLP. The Sealand was flown by both civilian and military operators, the Indian Navy being a particularly prominent operator of the type. Its operational life including regular flights within various areas of the world, including Borneo, East Bengal, Norway and Venezuela. The Short SA.6 Sealand was a high wing cantilever monoplane amphibious aircraft. It shared its basic configuration with the larger Short Solent flying boat, being roughly half its size and featuring some structural advancements nonetheless. The Sealand featured all-metal construction, possessing both a flying boat hull and underwing floats for buoyancy. It was also provisioned with a standard tail-wheel undercarriage; the two main wheels retracted into recesses in the hull below the wings, while the tailwheel retracted behind the hull's planing bottom. The retraction mechanism was powered by a 450lb/sq pneumatic system; the aircraft was not fitted with a hydraulic system. The passenger cabin, which was sized to accommodate up to seven passengers, was effectively divided into two halves (connected via a gangway) by the box frames formed by the recesses for the retractable undercarriage.[4] This cabin was lined by a total of six particularly large windows; a single entrance door was present on the port side of the fuselage, along with an extension door for freight loading or air ambulance missions. Hinged drop panels beneath the sliding windows and an external step were present to ease the typically complex mooring process. The cockpit of the Sealand was designed to be suited for operation by a solo pilot, as well as by one accompanied by a navigator. For more details on the development, design, operational history, and operators of the Sealand, click here.
