Miles Monarch
| M.17 Monarch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Miles M.17 Monarch operational at Wroughton, Wiltshire, in July 1992 | |
| Role | Light civil touring aeroplane |
| Manufacturer | Phillips and Powis Aircraft Ltd |
| Designer | Frederick George Miles |
| First flight | 21 February 1938 |
| Introduction | 1938 |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Produced | 1938-1939 |
| Number built | 11 |
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The Miles M.17 Monarch was a British, light, touring aeroplane of the 1930s. It was a single-engine, three-seat, cabin monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage.
Development
The last civil type produced by Phillips and Powis before the war, the Monarch was a development of their earlier Whitney Straight. Compared to its sibling. the Monarch had an enlarged fuselage, allowing provision of a third seat in part of what had been the luggage space.
Operational history
Eleven aircraft were built between 1938 and 1939, six of these to British customers, the rest going to export.
On the outbreak of war five of the British-registered machines were impressed by the Air Ministry; one machine belonging to Rolls-Royce acquired camouflage paint but remained in its owner's service. All but one of these survived the war, though a Dutch-registered aeroplane (PH-ATP) was destroyed in the Luftwaffe raid on Schiphol on 10 May 1940. One aircraft, OY-DIO, was on the Danish register until Sept. 9, 1939 and owned by a Dane named Hagedorn.
In the 1950s, one Monarch (G-AIDE) enjoyed some success as a racer in the hands of W.P. Bowles
For the most part, the remaining Monarchs led uneventful but useful careers; a number survived into the Sixties. G-AFJU is displayed at the National Museum of Flight at RAF East Fortune near East Linton, Scotland.
Sporting successes (G-AIDE)
- 1st - Goodyear Trophy (1957)[1]
- 3rd - King's Cup Race (1957)
- 1st - Norton Griffiths Trophy (1958)
- 2nd - Osram Cup Race (1958)
Operators
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- Belgian Air Force - One aircraft only.
Specifications (M.17)
Data from British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 2 passengers
- Length: 25 ft 11¾ in (7.92 m)
- Wingspan: 35 ft 7 in (10.85 m)
- Height: 8 ft 9¼ in (2.67 m)
- Wing area: 180 ft² (16.7m²)
- Empty weight: 1,390 lb (632 kg)
- Loaded weight: 2,200 lb (1,000 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × De Havilland Gipsy Major I four-cylinder air-cooled inline piston engine, 130 hp (97 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 145 mph (126 knots, 233 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 130 mph (113 knots, 209 km/h)
- Range: 600 miles (521 nmi, 966 km)
- Service ceiling: 17,400 ft (5,300 m)
- Rate of climb: 850 ft/min (4.3 m/s)
See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miles Monarch. |
Notes
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. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1974. ISBN
- Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.