| Sheriff | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Civil utility aircraft |
| Status | Abandoned project |
| Number built | 1 (incomplete) |
The Britten Sheriff was a light twin-piston engine aircraft developed in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Intended to be produced outside of the UK, the company went into receivership in 1984 and the aircraft was never completed.
Aircraft engineer John Britten, who had been instrumental in founding Britten-Norman, left the company in February 1976. [1] After that, he began development of an economical four-place light twin aircraft, the Sheriff. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with twin tails and a tractor engine in a nacelle on each wing. Of all-metal construction (with a fiberglass nose section on the fuselage), it was fitted with fixed tricycle undercarriage and accommodated the pilot and three passengers under a bubble canopy.
Britten planned two versions of the aircraft, a two-place trainer and a four-place touring aircraft. Target price of the trainer was £25,000 and of the touring version was £29,000. [2] By comparison, at that time the price of the Piper PA-34 Seneca was around £58,000. Development was to be in UK with production licences then sold worldwide.
The project team included Denis Berryman (chief designer for the Sheriff and former chief designer at Britten-Norman), Maurice Brennan (formerly of Hawker, Saro and Vickers), Ken Mills (former production director at B-N, and before that chief production engineer at Vickers). [3]
Sheriff Aerospace went into receivership in 1984 with the aircraft said to be nearly complete. Although Centrul National Aeronautic of Romania was interested in producing the aircraft it could not fund development. [4] The prototype (registered G-FRJB) was never completed, and in 1986, was acquired by East Midlands Aeropark at East Midlands Airport. As of 2009 [update] the prototype is preserved there and has since been restored as the only of its type in the world. [5]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83 [6]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The Britten-Norman Trislander is a three-engined piston-powered utility aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman.
The Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, originally designed for flight training, touring and personal use.
The Piper PA-44 Seminole is an American twin-engined light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft.
The Cessna T303 Crusader is an American six-place light twin-engined aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft Company. Production ceased in 1986.
The IAR 14 is a Romanian low-wing monoplane fighter-trainer aircraft designed before World War II.
The Cessna 414 is an American light, pressurized, twin-engine transport aircraft built by Cessna. It first flew in 1968 and an improved variant was introduced from 1978 as the 414A Chancellor.
The Cessna Model 404 Titan is an American twin-engined, light aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft. It was the company's largest twin piston-engined aircraft at the time of its development in the 1970s. Its US military designation is C-28, and Swedish Air Force designation Tp 87.
The Cessna 340 is a twin piston engine pressurized business aircraft that was manufactured by Cessna.
The Harbin Y-11 is a high wing twin-engine piston utility and geological survey aircraft built by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (HAMC).
The NDN Firecracker is a single-engine aircraft designed as a military trainer.
The Boisavia B.260 Anjou was a four-seat twin-engine light aircraft developed in France in the 1950s. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration with retractable tricycle undercarriage. Intended by Boisavia as a touring aircraft, it did not find a market and only the single prototype was constructed. At this point, the firm sold the design to SIPA, which modified the design and re-engined it with Lycoming O-360 engines, but found that they could not sell it either. At a time when the twin-engine light plane market was already dominated by all-metal American aircraft, the Anjou's fabric-over-tube construction was something of an anachronism, and all development was soon ceased. Plans to develop a stretched version with three extra seats and Potez 4D engines were also abandoned.
The DINFIA IA 45 Querandi was a 1950s Argentine twin-engined light transport aircraft built by the DINFIA.
The Evangel 4500 was a 1960s American twin-engined light passenger/cargo monoplane built by the Evangel Aircraft Corporation.
The Reid Rambler, later known under the Curtiss-Reid brand after Reid was purchased by Curtiss, was a biplane trainer/sport aircraft built in Canada in the early 1930s and used in small numbers as a trainer aircraft by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The PZL-102 Kos (blackbird) is a Polish two-seat touring and training monoplane designed and built by PZL.
The Wing D-1 Derringer is an American light twin-engined two-seat monoplane tourer designed by John Thorp and developed by the Hi-Shear Corporation and built by the Wing Aircraft Company.
The Vulcanair SF.600 Canguro was a feederliner developed in Italy in the late 1970s. Despite a number of attempts to put the aircraft into series production, only a small number were ever built. The Canguro was a high-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration with a fuselage of rectangular cross-section and a high-set tail. The tricycle undercarriage was not retractable, and its main units were carried on sponsons on the fuselage sides. SIAI Marchetti provided funding towards the construction of the prototype, and constructed this aircraft at the former Aviamilano plant. After flight testing proved positive, the type was put on sale, but failed to attract buyers in any number, even when the original piston engines were exchanged for turboprops and retractable undercarriage was offered as an option.
The NAC Fieldmaster was a British agricultural aircraft of the 1980s. A turboprop powered single-engined monoplane, it was built in small numbers and used both as a cropsprayer and a firefighting aircraft.
The Pilatus PC-8D Twin Porter was a Swiss ten-seat light transport built by Pilatus Aircraft. The type did not go into production and only one was built.
The Vega Model 2 Starliner was a prototype five-seat feeder airliner produced by the Vega Airplane Company, a subsidiary of Lockheed. It was designed to be powered by an unusual powerplant, consisting of two Menasco piston engines coupled together to drive a single propeller. A single example was built, flying in 1939, but no production followed.
