Mystery Plane

[[email protected]]

Hi all,
I was on a recently flying (as a passenger) on a flight frou Houston
IAH to SFO. When taxiing out for departure, my eyes were drawn to an
unusual plane. I want to find out what it was. It was unmarked, but
seemed to be a cargo plane by the boxy fuselage, and by the location
where it pulled up on the tarmac. (Cargo terminal)
It had:
A turboprop engine on each wing, graced by five-bladed propellers.
Fixed tricycle gear, the main gear having cowls that attatched to the
wing struts.
A shoulder (high) wing arrangement.
A conventional tail section.
It looked big enough to haul roughly 20-30 people, but sported no
fuselage windows.
It's "back" was sort of humped up.
Viewed directly from behind, the fuselage was a very fat 90*-angular
"box".
Stick-straight wings, like a DH-8, only not so long and skinny.

Had never seen anything like it before, so my curiosity is killing me.

[[email protected]]

wrote:
> Hi all,
> I was on a recently flying (as a passenger) on a flight frou Houston
> IAH to SFO. When taxiing out for departure, my eyes were drawn to an
> unusual plane. I want to find out what it was. It was unmarked, but
> seemed to be a cargo plane by the boxy fuselage, and by the location
> where it pulled up on the tarmac. (Cargo terminal)
> It had:
> A turboprop engine on each wing, graced by five-bladed propellers.
> Fixed tricycle gear, the main gear having cowls that attatched to the
> wing struts.
> A shoulder (high) wing arrangement.
> A conventional tail section.
> It looked big enough to haul roughly 20-30 people, but sported no
> fuselage windows.
> It's "back" was sort of humped up.
> Viewed directly from behind, the fuselage was a very fat 90*-angular
> "box".
> Stick-straight wings, like a DH-8, only not so long and skinny.
>
> Had never seen anything like it before, so my curiosity is killing me.

Its probably a Shorts 360:
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/aviation_polls/read.main/59468/

Dean W.

[Mxsmanic]

writes:

> Its probably a Shorts 360:
> http://www.airliners.net/discussions/aviation_polls/read.main/59468/

The wings look strangly small and frail compared to the fuselage.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

[Stubby]

wrote:
> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> I was on a recently flying (as a passenger) on a flight frou Houston
>> IAH to SFO. When taxiing out for departure, my eyes were drawn to an
>> unusual plane. I want to find out what it was. It was unmarked, but
>> seemed to be a cargo plane by the boxy fuselage, and by the location
>> where it pulled up on the tarmac. (Cargo terminal)
>> It had:
>> A turboprop engine on each wing, graced by five-bladed propellers.
>> Fixed tricycle gear, the main gear having cowls that attatched to the
>> wing struts.
>> A shoulder (high) wing arrangement.
>> A conventional tail section.
>> It looked big enough to haul roughly 20-30 people, but sported no
>> fuselage windows.
>> It's "back" was sort of humped up.
>> Viewed directly from behind, the fuselage was a very fat 90*-angular
>> "box".
>> Stick-straight wings, like a DH-8, only not so long and skinny.
>>
>> Had never seen anything like it before, so my curiosity is killing me.
>
> Its probably a Shorts 360:
> http://www.airliners.net/discussions/aviation_polls/read.main/59468/
>
A Grumman Goose is uglier.

[buttman]

>
> Its probably a Shorts 360:
> http://www.airliners.net/discussions/aviation_polls/read.main/59468/
>
> Dean W.

I almost had a mid-air with one of those things once. We were inbound
to a VOR for an approach. We called on the CTAF "10 miles north,
inbound for the VOR-B approach", then "5 miles north, inbound for the
VOR-B approach", then again announcing VOR outbound. Then out of
nowhere we hear "Gallia Meigs traffic, millitary Shorts procedure turn
inbound VOR-B, Gallia Meigs". Me and my instructor were like "OH
SHI..." and abruptly turned back north, just in time to see it fly
right past us maybe 10 seconds later. We were both at 3000 ft, and on
the exact same radial. If we had continued on with the approach, a
mid-air would have almost certainly occurred.

Up to that point I've always descended to the first minimum altitude
before crossing the IAP, but now I always make sure to be at least a
few hundred feet higher, and do the rest of the descending while in the
procedure turn. That way, if some joker is doing the approach and not
making any radio calls, he'll at least pass below me.

Anyways, I knew it was a Shorts 360 because I was previously familiar
with the plane from looking at pictures on airliners.net, and we passed
so close to it I could make out the boxy fuselage and single tail (the
330 would have had a double tail). It must have been flying the
approach at category A speeds (90 knots), because it seemed to just
float in mid air as it crossed the FAF.

[[email protected]]

I think you're right. Thanks!

I'll add a new plane to my mental plane-spotting resources.
I remember it being a little stubbier and the nose more misshapen, but
maybe in my wild excitement my mind's eye amplified the unusual
qualities of the plane.
Case solved, thanks!

[Thomas Borchert]

> Its probably a Shorts 360:
>

And here comes the inevitable joke:

ATC: "Airliner123, number 2 to land, traffic ahead is a Shorts 360 on
final"

Airliner123: "Roger, traffic in sight... no, lost it, it just went over
a trailer park"

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Judah]

Stubby > wrote in news:X_WdnUyZFKfk78
:


>> Its probably a Shorts 360:
>> http://www.airliners.net/discussions/aviation_polls/read.main/59468/
>>
> A Grumman Goose is uglier.

Is that the one with the big round nose?

I would have thought that was called a Durante.

[fromTheShadows[_1_]]

Thomas Borchert wrote:
>
> And here comes the inevitable joke:
>
> ATC: "Airliner123, number 2 to land, traffic ahead is a Shorts 360 on
> final"
>
> Airliner123: "Roger, traffic in sight... no, lost it, it just went over
> a trailer park"
>

And the ubiquitous...

TOWER: "XYZ123 (Shorts 360, Female pilot) clear to land 34"

XYZ123:"roger,clear to land"

TOWER:"ABC987 (budgie visual approach) report final number 2 to a Shorts
360"

ABC987:"OK when the Lady's got her shorts down we'll slide in behind"