Miles Whitney Straight

M.11 Whitney Straight
	; M.11A Whitney Straight (G-AEZO) after the King's Cup Race in Hatfield on September 11, 1937
Type:	Light aircraft
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Miles Aircraft
First flight:	May 14, 1936
Production time:	1936-1937
Number of pieces:	50

The Miles M.11 Whitney Straight is a two-seat light aircraft from the British manufacturer Miles Aircraft , which was designed for use in flying clubs in Great Britain.

development and construction

Miles Whitney Straight G-AERV, 2011

Miles Whitney Straight G-AERV, 2013

The M.11 Whitney Straight was developed by Frederick George Miles at Phillips and Powis in collaboration with racing driver , pilot and businessman Whitney Straight . The aim was to comfortably accommodate the occupants and their luggage in a closed cockpit with seats arranged next to each other. The result was a low-wing aircraft with a rigid, aerodynamically clad tail wheel landing gear . The aircraft consists of frames made of spruce wood , which are clad with three-layer Port Orford cedar plywood , mostly made of wood. The wings have vacuum operated slotted flaps . It is powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major I with a nominal output of 130 PS (96 kW ).

use

On 14 May 1936, the completed prototype with the air vehicle registration G-AECT controlled by Frederick Miles its maiden flight from the airfield in Woodley . When production ceased in 1937, 50 had been built.

On June 28, 1938, the M.11C with the registration G-AEYI crashed over Harefield in Berkshire . The pilot Wing Commander FW Stent was killed in the crash. Modified Whitney Straights were used for engine testing and testing of various flap designs . After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Air Ministry requisitioned twenty-three machines for military service as liaison aircraft . Twenty-one of these were stationed in the United Kingdom , one in India and one in Egypt . One M.11A was used by the Fleet Air Arm between 1940 and 1943 , and three more by the Royal New Zealand Air Force .

Between 1939 and 1943, Alan Pritchard used an M.11A at Ninety Mile Beach , New Zealand, for experiments with airborne seeds and later for spraying superphosphate . These attempts were part of the development of agricultural fertilizer flying.

Versions

Source: DL Brown, 1970, pp. 377-380

M.11: Prototype, one copy built
M.11A: Series version, 49 copies built.
M.11B: Third production copy (serial number 305), which was equipped with an Amherst Villiers Maya I with 135 HP (99 kW ). It gave the machine a 10 mph (16 km / h ) increased maximum speed and a maximum rate of climb of 200 ft / min (1 m / s).
M.11C: Serial production number 341 was equipped with a de Havilland Gipsy Major II with 145 HP (107 kW) and a controllable pitch propeller .

operator

New Zealand New Zealand

United Kingdom United Kingdom

Preserved copies

G-AERV in England
G-AFGK at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin , Alberta

Technical data (M.11A)

Parameter	Data
crew	1
Passengers	1
length	25 ft (7.62 m )
span	35.67 ft (10.87 m)
height	6.5 ft (1.98 m)
Wing area	187 ft² (17.4 m² )
Wing extension	6.8
Empty mass	1,275 lb (578 kg )
Max. Takeoff mass	1,896 lb (860 kg)
Cruising speed	130 mph (209 km / h )
Top speed	145 mph (233 km / h)
Service ceiling	18,500 ft (5,639 m)
Range	500 NM (926 km )
Engines	1 × de Havilland Gipsy Major I with 130 PS (96 kW )

literature

Don L. Brown: Miles Aircraft since 1925 , Putnam & Co., 1970, ISBN 0 370 00127 3 ; Pp. 121-128
Arthur WJG Ord-Hume: British Light Airplanes - Their Evolution, Development and Perfection 1920-1940 , GMS Aviation Books, 2000, ISBN 1-870384-76-8 , pp. 421-422
David Mondey: The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II . Chancellor Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85152-668-4 (English).

Web links

Commons : Miles Whitney Straight - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

↑ Tom Moulson: The Millionaires' Squadron: The Remarkable Story of 601 Squadron and the Flying Sword . Pen and Sword, Barnsley, South Yorkshire 2014, ISBN 978-1-78346-339-8 , pp. 110 ff . (English, google.com ).
^ Martin Bowman: Lost Wings of WWI: Downed Airmen on the Western Front 1914-1918 . Pen and Sword, Barnsley, South Yorkshire 2014, ISBN 978-1-4738-4226-7 , pp. 303 ff . (English, google.com ).
^ ^A ^b ^c Don L. Brown: Miles Aircraft since 1925 . 1st edition. Putnam & Company Ltd., London 1970, ISBN 0-370-00127-3 , pp. 121-128 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c A. J. Jackson: British civil aircraft 1919–1972 Volume III . 2nd Edition. Putnam, London 1974, ISBN 978-0-370-10014-2 , pp. 62-65 (English).

[Moulson2014-1] Tom Moulson: The Millionaires' Squadron: The Remarkable Story of 601 Squadron and the Flying Sword . Pen and Sword, Barnsley, South Yorkshire 2014, ISBN 978-1-78346-339-8 , pp. 110 ff . (English, google.com ).

[Bowman2014-2] Martin Bowman: Lost Wings of WWI: Downed Airmen on the Western Front 1914-1918 . Pen and Sword, Barnsley, South Yorkshire 2014, ISBN 978-1-4738-4226-7 , pp. 303 ff . (English, google.com ).

[Brown-3] A ^b ^c Don L. Brown: Miles Aircraft since 1925 . 1st edition. Putnam & Company Ltd., London 1970, ISBN 0-370-00127-3 , pp. 121-128 (English).

[jackson88-4] A. J. Jackson: British civil aircraft 1919–1972 Volume III . 2nd Edition. Putnam, London 1974, ISBN 978-0-370-10014-2 , pp. 62-65 (English).