bolted to the centre section, immediately outboard of the engine nacelles. The fuselage diameter was chosen to allow for four seats per row. This configuration gave a capacity of 32 passengers. A configuration with wider and more comfortable seats, three seats per row, carrying a total of 24 passengers was also offered. The prototype (90.001) was equipped with Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R2000 engines (changed to P&W Twin Wasp R2180 on the production version). The entire aircraft was built of metal except for the rudders which were fabric-covered metal frames. Test flights The prototype (SE-BCA) made its first flight on November 16, 1946. Claes Smith was the pilot. The first flight lasted for 20 minutes. The plane had exceptionally good slow-flying characteristics, with full control down to 110–115 km/h. The stall was slow and preceded by vibrations. The plane also turned out to be easily maneuvered with one engine shut down, which at the time was typically not the case with twin-engined aircraft. Unfortunately the rudder harmony was not satisfactory, with high control forces in some situations. The engine installation also needed redesign. The prototype flew a total of 154 hours before the winter of 1947/48 when it was parked in the hangar for modifications. The engines were elevated for increased clearance between propeller blades and ground. The cabin, which previously contained only test equipment, was furnished. On February 7, 1948, the prototype took off again and began the second testing phase. The second phase consisted of mainly performance tests. After 700 hours of test flying it was decided to introduce the following changes to the production planes: More powerful engines Four-blade Hamilton-Standard propellers Spring tabs on rudder and elevators for reduced control forces Operational history The first production Scandias were delivered in 1950. SAS received its eight aircraft between October 1950 and October 1954. SAS initially operated its Scandias on intra-Scandinavian flights. Scheduled services by Scandias were operated also to European cities including Amsterdam, Brussels and London Airport (Heathrow) between 1951 and 1955. Until Scandias were withdrawn in 1957 they also served in a modest first class configuration on the new route from Scandinavia to Moscow via Riga. VASP operated its fleet of new and ex-SAS Scandias on intra-Brazilian scheduled flights between October 1950 and late 1966. The Swedish Air Force put heavy and insistent demands upon the SAAB factory, for the Saab 29 fighter aircraft, which spelled