Miles Magister
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| M.14 Magister | |
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| Type | Trainer |
| Manufacturer | Miles Aircraft |
| Designed by | G.H. Miles |
| Maiden flight | 1937 |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force Fleet Air Arm |
| Number built | 1,303 |
The Miles M.14 Magister was a British two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft built by the Miles Aircraft for the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. Affectionately known as the Maggie, the Magister was based on Miles' civilian Hawk Major and Hawk Trainer and was the first monoplane designed specifically as a trainer for the RAF. As a low-wing monoplane, it was an ideal introduction to the Spitfire and Hurricane for new pilots.
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[edit] Design and development
The Magister was designed to meet Air Ministry Specification T.40/36P and first flew in March 1937. The design was based on an open-cockpit, low wing cantilever monoplane of spruce structure covered in plywood. The wing centre section has no dihedral and is of constant section with outer sections having dihedral and tapering towards the tip. Split flaps were fitted as standard. The initial M.14 was followed by the definitive Miles M.14A Magister I with a taller rudder, deeper rear fuselage and, eventually, anti-spin strakes on rear fuselage. Notwithstanding the relatively large number built, contemporary glues used to assemble the wooden aircraft have not stood the test of time and seemingly only one remains airworthy on the British register in 2007 with a few others designated Hawk Trainers.
[edit] Operational history
The Miles Magister is a phrase in Latin, pronounced Me-lays Mag-ister, that translates as "soldier-teacher" which was very fitting for its eventual role as a basic training aircraft. Production began in October 1937 and by the start of the Second World War over 700 Magisters had entered service with RAF Elementary Flying Training Schools, eventually equipping 16 such schools as well as the Central Flying School. Large numbers of civilian Hawk Majors were also pressed into service as trainers. Production of the Magister continued until 1941 by which time 1,203 had been built by Miles and an additional 100 were built under licence in Turkey. After the war many Magisters were converted for civilian uses and redesignated as the Hawk Trainer III.
[edit] Variants
- Miles M.14 :
- Miles M.14A :
- Hawk Trainer III :
.jpg/180px-Miles_Hawk_(Magister).jpg)
[edit] Specifications (Miles M.14A)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (instructor and student)
- Length: 24 ft 7 in (7.51 m)
- Wingspan: 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
- Height: 9 ft 1 in (2.77 m)
- Wing area: 176 ft² (16.3 m²)
- Empty weight: 1,260 lb (570 kg)
- Loaded weight: 1,863 lb (845 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× de Havilland Gipsy Major I inverted inline piston, 130 hp (97 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 132 mph at 1,000 ft (212 km/h)
- Range: 380 miles (610 km)
- Service ceiling 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
- Rate of climb: 850 ft/min (260 m/min)
- Wing loading: 10.6 lb/ft² (51.8 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.07 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)
[edit] Operators
- Royal Australian Air Force (one aircraft)
Egypt (42 aircraft)
Ireland (15 aircraft)
New Zealand
- Royal New Zealand Air Force (two aircraft)
- Fleet Air Arm
- Royal Air Force
- No. 24 Squadron RAF
- No. 81 Squadron RAF
- No. 173 Squadron RAF
- No. 267 Squadron RAF
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Amos, Peter and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0.
- Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-37000-127-3.
- Green, William and Pollinger, Gerald. The Aircraft of the World. London: Macdonald, 1955.
- Lukins, A.H. and Russell, D.A. The Book of Miles Aircraft. Leicester, UK: The Harborough Publishing Company Ltd., 1946.
- Ovčáčík, Michal and Susa, Karel. Miles Magister: M.14, M14A, M14B. Prague, Czechia: Mark I Ltd., 2001. ISBN 80-902559-4-9.
- Swanborough, Gordon. British Aircraft at War, 1939-1945. East Sussex, UK: HPC Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0-9531421-0-8.
[edit] External links
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