Miles hobby

M.13 hobby
Type:	experimental racing plane
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Miles Aircraft
First flight:	September 4, 1937
Number of pieces:	1

The Miles M.13 Hobby was a racing aircraft made by the British manufacturer Miles Aircraft .

development and construction

The Hobby (German: Baumfalke ), which, like many other aircraft by the designer Frederick George Miles, was named after a bird of prey , was a cantilever low- wing aircraft powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major 2 with a rated output of 145 hp (107 kW ) and a two-bladed variable pitch propeller was driven. The machine was developed on the one hand as a racing aircraft and on the other hand as a test aircraft for researching aerodynamics . It was made entirely of wood. The frame was made of spruce and planked with birch wood. In addition, the surface was covered with fabric. It was particularly unusual for a monoplane that the wingspan was less than the length of the fuselage . Only the rudder was equipped with a horn compensation. The cockpit was positioned behind the wing trailing edge and had a windshield and a hood made of Perspex . The Hobby was equipped with hydraulic landing flaps and hydraulic retractable landing gear . The main landing gear legs were attached almost in the middle under the respective wing and gave the Hobby a large track width . When retracted, the landing gear was completely covered by panels attached to the landing gear legs and additional panels on the wing. A spur was attached to the stern.

Documents from the British Civil Aviation Authority show that the Hobby was registered on April 26, 1937 with the aircraft registration G-AFAW. However, it was only flown by Frederick Miles from Woodley Airfield in early September of that year . This maiden flight took place just a few days before the King's Cup Race . Problems with the new retraction mechanism of the chassis meant that the machine was not ready in time for the qualifying races on September 10th. However, it could be shown at a demonstration flight in Hatfield for the final race on September 11th. Nonetheless, the Hobby was used by Miles Aircraft as a research aircraft until the following spring. In April 1938 it was deleted from the CAA's register and sold to the Royal Aircraft Establishment . There the aircraft was used for wind tunnel tests , as it fit well into the canal due to its small wingspan. The measured values of the flight tests could be compared directly with those of the wind tunnel tests.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view

Parameter	Data
crew	1
length	22.67 ft (6.91 m )
span	21.42 ft (6.53 m)
height	8.42 ft (2.57 m)
Wing area	78 ft² (7.25 m² )
Empty mass	1,140 lb (517 kg )
Max. Takeoff mass	1,527 lb (693 kg)
Top speed	over 200 mph (322 km / h )
Engines	1 × de Havilland Gipsy Major 2 with 145 PS (107 kW )

literature

AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft 1919-59 . tape 2 . Putnam Publishing, London 1960 (English).
AH Lukins: The Book of Miles aircraft . Harborough, Leicester (English).

Web links

Commons : Miles Hobby - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c ^d A. J. Jackson: British Civil Aircraft 1919-59 . tape 2 . Putnam Publishing, London 1960, pp. 385 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d A. H. Lukins: The Book of Miles aircraft . Harborough, Leicester, S. 48.49 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c A Proportional Departure . In: Flight International . Reed Business Information , September 9, 1937, p. 260 (English, archive.org ).
↑ Registration Certificate G-AFAW. Civil Aviation Authority , April 26, 1937, accessed May 4, 2020 .

[Jackson-1] A ^b ^c ^d A. J. Jackson: British Civil Aircraft 1919-59 . tape 2 . Putnam Publishing, London 1960, pp. 385 (English).

[Lukins-2] A. H. Lukins: The Book of Miles aircraft . Harborough, Leicester, S. 48.49 (English).

[Flight37-3] A Proportional Departure . In: Flight International . Reed Business Information , September 9, 1937, p. 260 (English, archive.org ).

[4] Registration Certificate G-AFAW. Civil Aviation Authority , April 26, 1937, accessed May 4, 2020 .