Top engineering award for SC1 vertical take-off plane

The aircraft, built in Belfast in 1960 and currently on display at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Northern Ireland, was recognised as being the first British fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft. "Engineering Heritage Awards recognise great engineering achievements, with previous winners including Tower Bridge, the E-Type Jaguar and the Falkirk Wheel," said IMechE president Professor Isobel Pollock. "The SC1 is an equally worthy recipient and a truly magnificent example of engineering which was integral to the research and development of vertical take-off and landing technology." The Short SC1 was built purely as a research vehicle by aerospace company Short Brothers, following a request from the armed forces who wanted to develop aircraft that were able to take-off and land from unprepared sites or small pads without the use of runways. The SC1 provided the first British transition from vertical to horizontal flight and back again on 6 April 1960 and crossed the English Channel in May 1961. The results of the SC1 research programme were made available to other aerospace companies, enabling the UK to establish a world lead in the development of vertical take-off and landing technology.