Miles Mercury

Miles Mercury
M.28 Mercury
The Miles M.28 Mercury 6 at Wolverhampton (Pendeford) Airport in May 1951
Role Trainer & communications aircraft
Manufacturer Phillips & Powis
Designer Ray Bournon
First flight 11 July 1941
Number built 6

The Miles M.28 Mercury was a British aircraft designed for either training or communications during the Second World War. It was a single-engine, 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, 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 were operated in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.

Variants

  • No.1 – 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major I
  • No.2 - 140 hp (100 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major IIA (later 150 hp (110 kW) Blackburn Cirrus Major III)
  • No.2 - 145 hp (108 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major IIA
  • all others 150 hp (110 kW) Blackburn Cirrus Major III

Specifications (M.28)

Data from The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 2/3 passengers
  • Length: 24 ft (7.32 m)
  • Wingspan: 30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
  • Height: ft in (m)
  • Wing area: 162 ft² (15.1 m²)
  • Empty weight: 1,658 lb (752 kg)
  • Loaded weight: lb (kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 2,500 lb (1,134 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Blackburn Cirrus Major III inline, 150 hp (112 kW)

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

Notes

  1. ^ Mondey 2002, p. 172.
  2. ^ Jackson, 1974, p.271

Bibliography

  • Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0.
  • Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-37000-127-3.
  • Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume 3. 1974. Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-370-10014-x
  • Mondey, David. The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor Press, 2002. ISBN 1-85152-668-4.

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