Miles Mercury

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M.28 Mercury
Miles M.28 Mercury 6 Wolves 05.51.jpg
The Miles M.28 Mercury 6 at Wolverhampton (Pendeford) Airport in May 1951. This aircraft later went to Denmark.
General information
TypeTrainer & communications aircraft
Manufacturer Phillips & Powis
Designer
Ray Bournon
Statusone remains operational
Primary userprivate pilot owners
Number builtsix
History
First flight11 July 1941
Variants Miles Messenger

The Miles M.28 Mercury was a British aircraft designed to meet the need for a training and communications plane during the Second World War. It was a single-engined monoplane of wooden construction with a twin tail and a tailwheel undercarriage with retractable main units.

Contents

Development

Originally, the M.28 had been planned as a replacement for the Whitney Straight and Monarch, but this was shelved when war broke out.

In 1941, the project was revived in response to a requirement for a training and communications aircraft. The design was produced as a private venture by Ray Bournon using Miles' normal wooden construction. The resulting machine introduced several features not found on trainers: retractable undercarriage and trailing edge flaps amongst others. In the communications role, the M.28 had four seats and a range of 500 miles (800 km).

The prototype first flew on 11 July 1941 [1] and proved easy to fly, with light controls and a short landing run. Owing to Miles' heavy commitment to war-production, however, only six aircraft were built, of slightly varying specifications, the last being the Mercury 6 which first flew in early 1946. [2] Examples of the type were operated in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.

Variants

Specifications (M.28)

Data from Miles Aircraft since 1925 [8]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

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References

Notes

  1. Mondey 2002, p. 172.
  2. Jackson, 1974, p.271
  3. Jerram Aeroplane Monthly September 1986, p. 474.
  4. 1 2 Jerram Aeroplane Monthly September 1986, pp. 475–476.
  5. Jerram Aeroplane Monthly September 1986, p. 475.
  6. Mason 2010, p. 251.
  7. 1 2 Jerram Aeroplane Monthly September 1986, p. 476.
  8. Brown 1970, pp. 195, 200

Bibliography

  • Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN   0-85177-787-2.
  • Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN   0-370-00127-3.
  • Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume 3. 1974. Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN   0-370-10014-X.
  • Jerram, Mike. "For Business And Pleasure—No. 3", Aeroplane Monthly , Vol. 14, No. 9, September 1986. pp. 474–477. ISSN   0143-7240.
  • Mason, Tim. The Secret Years: Flight Testing at Boscombe Down, 1939-1945. Crowborough, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2010. ISBN   978-1-9021-0914-5.
  • Mondey, David. The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor Press, 2002. ISBN   1-85152-668-4.