Shorts 360 is a short-haul passenger airplane for local airlines, developed by the British company Shorts. It is the further development of the Shorts 330 aircraft. The company first announced the project in July 1980. In connection with the increased need for 35-40 seats, Shorts decided not to develop a new one aircraft (as did other firms), but simply to refine the design of the previous aircraft. The company planned to build 275-350 aircraft. The main change touched the tail part of the fuselage, the shape of which was changed, and instead of the two-tail plumage, one arrow-shaped keel was installed. The length of the fuselage was increased by 0.91 m. When designing the fuselage, the company used the same approach as in the development of the Model 330 aircraft: the fuselage was again not hermetically sealed. As a result of the change in the shape of the tail section of the fuselage, it was possible to accommodate a more capacious luggage compartment. In addition, the aerodynamics of the aircraft has improved. The first flight of the experimental aircraft took place on June 1, 1981. First, the PT6A-45R was installed on the experimental plane, which were then replaced by the 1295 hp PT6A-65R engines. Certification of the aircraft was completed in September 1982, and at the end of November the first airplane was delivered. The aircraft is equipped with a conventional avionics complex with electromechanical means of indication. Installed 2 TVs Pratt Whitney Canada PT6A-67R (power of 1420 hp, the diameter of five-blade propellers - 2.82 m.). It was produced serially in 1982-1991. It was delivered 165, in operation there are about 105 aircraft.
In March 1985, Shorts announced that it plans to work together with the Brazilian firm Embraer to develop the Model 450 aircraft, which will be an extended version of the Model 360 airplane, designed to transport 45-49 passengers on routes of 700-800 km. The aircraft was to be equipped with two TVDs with a capacity of 1550 hp each. However, due to a lack of interest in the aircraft in October 1985, all work on the project was discontinued.
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