Miles M.30

M.30
Miles M.30 X-Minor
Role	Experimental aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Miles Aircraft
First flight	February 1942

The Miles M.30 X-Minor was an experimental aircraft, designed by Miles Aircraft to evaluate the characteristics of blended fuselage and wing intersections.

Design and development

Begun in 1939, the design was a scaled-down version of the gigantic Miles M.26 airliner (Miles X) then being developed. The proposed Miles X Airliner was to have had a blended fuselage, eight engines driving four sets of contra-rotating propellers, seating 55 with a range of 3,450 miles (5,550 km). The Miles X Airliner was offered as candidate to the post Second World War Brabazon Report Type 1 Requirement for a trans-Atlantic use but was rejected because the Miles design had only half the seating required.

The small size of the X Minor made it impossible to scale the larger design exactly; the engines were too large and resulted in an aircraft similar in layout but differing in aerodynamics. The X Minor first flew in February 1942, providing Miles with useful data for several years. A larger scale prototype of the X transport was planned but never built.

Specifications (M.30 X-Minor)

Data from Miles aircraft since 1925 ^[1]

General characteristics

• Length: 26 ft 3 in (8.00 m)
• Wingspan: 33 ft (10 m)
• Height: 9 ft (2.7 m)
• Wing area: 200 sq ft (19 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.4
• Empty weight: 2,710 lb (1,229 kg)
• Gross weight: 4,240 lb (1,923 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × de Havilland Gipsy Major 4-cyl inverted in-line air-cooled piston engine, 130 hp (97 kW) each

Performance

• Wing loading: 21.2 lb/sq ft (104 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.0613 hp/lb

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Westland Dreadnought

Related lists

• List of experimental aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United Kingdom

References

Notes

1. Brown, Don L. (1970). Miles aircraft since 1925 (1st ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. pp. 202–204. ISBN 0-370-00127-3.

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 (1970). Miles aircraft since 1925 (1st ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. pp. 202–204. ISBN 0-370-00127-3.

External links

• Museum of Berkshire Aviation - Miles 30 page
• Eight-Engine, 55-Seat Plane to Have a 3,450-Mile Range Popular Mechanics August 1944