Percival Merganser
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| P.48 Merganser | |
|---|---|
 This image of the Merganser taken from a Percival Aircraft brochure, c. 1947. |
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| Type | Light utility aeroplane |
| Manufacturer | Percival Aircraft Limited |
| Designed by | Edgar Percival |
| Maiden flight | 9 May 1947 |
| Retired | 1948 |
| Number built | 2 (1 flying) |
The Percival Merganser was a light, civil transport of the late 1940s. It was a twin-engine, high-wing monoplane of all-metal, stressed skin construction with retractable tricycle undercarriage.
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[edit] Design and development
The Merganser was designed as a five-passenger, light airliner with an emphasis on "passenger appeal". To this end, a high-wing configuration and tricycle landing gear were chosen to provide the best view and a low, level floor for easy access.[1]
The fuselage, having been completed in November 1946, was shipped by train ferry to Paris to be displayed at the Aero Show. By this time, the Merganser was already doomed, since it was designed to be powered by de Havilland Gipsy Queen engines and neither these nor any suitable substitute were available.
[edit] Operational history
Only one Merganser was flown; when it made its first flight on 9 May 1947 from Luton Airport, the engines were on loan from the Ministry of Supply[1]. The company was able to carry out extensive flight trials and obtain much valuable data. Although it appeared at the SBAC Show at Radlett in September 1947, it was scrapped at Luton in August 1948.
A second Merganser was used as a static and structural test airframe[2].
Although the Merganser never entered production, further development, based on the data gathered from its test programme, would lead to the larger Prince, President and Pembroke series for which a suitable powerplant was available.[3]
[edit] Specifications (Merganser)
Data from The Probert Encyclopaedia of Aircraft[4][1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 5 passengers
- Length: 47 ft 9 in ()
- Wingspan: 40 ft 8 in ()
- Height: 13 ft 9 in ()
- Wing area: 319 ft² ()
- Empty weight: 5,300 lb ()
- Loaded weight: 7,300 lb ()
- Powerplant: 2× de Havilland Gipsy Queen 51 or 71 six-cylinder inline, 296 hp (221 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 168 knots (193 mph, 310 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 160 mph
- Range: 719 nm (827 mi, 1,330 km)
- Rate of climb: 1,010 ft/min ()
[edit] See also
Related development
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Jackson 1974
- ^ PER50 Prince Pembroke
- ^ British Aircraft Directory
- ^ Percival Merganser, The Probert Encyclopaedia of Aircraft.
[edit] Bibliography
- Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 3. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.
[edit] External links
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