Miles Gemini
| Miles Gemini | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Twin-engine small aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 26, 1945 |
| Production time: |
1945-1947 |
| Number of pieces: |
170 Gemini + 2 aries |
The Miles M.65 Gemini is a twin-engine, four-seat small aircraft produced by the British manufacturer Miles Aircraft . It was the manufacturer's last aircraft to be built in large numbers.
construction
The Miles Gemini is a twin-engine version of the Miles Messenger with retractable landing gear . It completed its maiden flight on October 26, 1945. The machine is a four-seater, cantilevered low- wing aircraft with double tail and consists of plastic-bonded plywood layers . It was originally two engines of the type Blackburn Cirrus Minor with a rated power of 90 PS (66 kW driven). After the maiden flight, the machine went into series production and 130 copies were sold in the first year. Later versions were equipped with different engines.
After Miles Aircraft closed in 1947, eight machines were unfinished. Two of these were completed in 1950 by Handley Page , another three in 1951 by Wolverhampton Aviation. The last machine was completed by FG Miles Limited .
Versions
- Gemini 1
- Prototype with two Blackburn Cirrus Minor 2s with a rated output of 100 HP (74 kW) each and a rigid chassis ; one copy built
- Gemini 1A
- Production version of the Gemini 1; a total of 135 copies built
- Gemini 1B
- Another series version of the Gemini 1; one copy built
- Gemini 2
- Version with two Lycoming O-290 -3/1 with 130 HP (96 kW) each; two copies built
- Gemini 3
- Version with two de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C with 145 HP (107 kW) each; three copies built
- Gemini 3A
- Version with two de Havilland Gipsy Major 10 Mk 1 with 145 HP (107 kW) each; seven copies built
- Gemini 3B
- Version with two de Havilland Gipsy Major 10 Mk 1-3 with 145 HP (107 kW) each
- Gemini 3C / 7
- Version with two de Havilland Gipsy Major 10 Mk 2 with 145 HP (107 kW) each; two copies built
- Gemini 8
- Version converted to an Aries with two Blackburn Cirrus Major 3s with 155 PS (114 kW) each
- Aries
- Version with two Blackburn Cirrus Major 3s and propellers made by Miles-Reed; two copies built
use
The machine was popular among private owners across Europe as a touring aircraft. Other specimens were exported to Australia , New Zealand , South Africa and other Commonwealth countries. It was often used for aerial races in the late 1940s and early 1950s . JN "Nat" Somers won the King's Cup Race in 1949 with a Gemini powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Major with a rated output of 145 HP (107 kW) each at an average speed of 164.25 mph (264 km / h ).
Other machines were used as business jets by various companies such as Shell-Mex, BP Ltd, Fairey Aviation Company and BKS Engineering . Furthermore, various European charter airlines use the model .
Two copies were completed in 1951 by FG Miles Limited and equipped with Blackburn Cirrus Major III engines, each with 155 hp (114 kW). Equipped with enlarged and higher tail units , they were given the designation Miles M.75 Aries.
operator
- Air contractors
- Blue Line Airways
- Culliford Airlines
- Derby Aviation
- Hornton Airways
- International Airways
- Lancashire Aircraft Corporation
- Loxham's Flying Services
- Sivewright Airways
- Starways
- Ulster Aviation
- Wirral Airways
- Wright Aviation
Technical data (Gemini 1A)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Passengers | 3 |
| length | 22.1666 ft (6.76 m ) |
| span | 36.1666 ft (11.02 m) |
| height | 7.5 ft (2.29 m) |
| Wing area | 191 ft² (17.7 m² ) |
| Wing extension | 6.86 |
| Empty mass | 1,910 lb (866 kg ) |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) |
| Cruising speed | 110 kn (204 km / h ) |
| Top speed | 130 kn (241 km / h) |
| Service ceiling | 13,500 ft (4,115 m) |
| Range | 450 NM (833 km ) |
| Engines | 2 × four-cylinder in- line Blackburn Cirrus Minor II engines with 100 HP (74 kW ) each |
Preserved copies
In 2020, six machines were still registered in the British Civil Aircraft Register. Another Gemini is registered in Sweden . There is an aircraft on display at the Museum of Transport and Technology in New Zealand .
One example has been restored in the Kristiansand Museum in Kristiansand , Norway since 2017 and will be exhibited in the airport terminal after completion . In 2019 around 65% of the restoration was completed.
See also
literature
- AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume III . Putnam, London 1988, ISBN 0-85177-818-6 (English).
- Cecil Lewis: Gemini To Joburg . Penguin Viking, Harmondsworth 1984, ISBN 978-0-670-80062-9 (English).
- Lon Nordeen: Fighters Over Israel . Guild Publishing, London 1991 (English).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Don L. Brown: Miles Aircraft since 1925 , Putnam & Co., 1970, p. 324
- ^ The King's Cup Air Race . In: Flight International . Reed Business Information , August 11, 1949, ISSN 0015-3710 , p. 152 (English, archive.org ).
- ^ Lon Nordeen: Fighters Over Israel . Guild Publishing, London 1991, pp. 195 (English).
- ↑ ZK-AQO Miles M.65 Gemini 1A. Archived from the original ; accessed on June 20, 2010 (English).
- ↑ G-INFO search. Civil Aviation Authority , accessed April 6, 2020 .
- ↑ Miles Gemini - flyhistorie sørlandsk. Vest-Agder Museet, accessed April 6, 2020 (Norwegian).
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