10/31/2007. The SC.1 was built as a flying test bed for the Rolls-Royce
RB108 vertical lift turbojet. Two aircraft were ordered by the Ministry
of Supply. The first, XG900 (c/n SH.1814) made its first conventional
flight on April 2, 1957, the pictured second aircraft was first
conventionally flown on August 6, 1958, making the first free vertical
takeoff on October 25, 1958. XG905 crashed on October 2, 1963, due to a
controls malfunction, the pilot was killed. It was rebuilt and the two
aircraft continued to fly until 1967.
