Miles Mercury

M.28 Mercury
The Miles M.28 Mercury 6 at Wolverhampton (Pendeford) Airport in May 1951. This aircraft later went to Denmark.
Role Trainer & communications aircraft
Manufacturer Phillips & Powis
Designer Ray Bournon
First flight 11 July 1941
Status one remains operational
Primary user private pilot owners
Number built six


The Miles M.28 Mercury was a British aircraft designed to meet the need for a training and communications plane during the Second World War. It was a single-engined monoplane of wooden construction with a twin tail and a tailwheel undercarriage with retractable main units.

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 and 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 of the type were operated in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.

Variants

Specifications (M.28)

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

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miles Mercury.

Notes

  1. Mondey 2002, p. 172.
  2. Jackson, 1974, p.271
  3. Mason 2010, p. 251.

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. Miles Aircraft Since 1925. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00127-3.
  • Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume 3. 1974. Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.
  • Mason, Tim. The Secret Years: Flight Testing at Boscombe Down, 1939-1945. Crowborough, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2010. ISBN 978-1-9021-0914-5.
  • 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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