Miles Mercury
The Miles M.28 Mercury was a British aircraft designed for either training or communications 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 were operated in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.
Variants
- No.1 – 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major I
- No.2, M.28 Mark II - 140 hp (100 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major IIA (later 150 hp (110 kW) Blackburn Cirrus Major III)
- No.2 - 145 hp (108 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major IIA
- all others 150 hp (110 kW) Blackburn Cirrus Major III
- M28 Mark III - PW937 fitted with three sets of flying controls.[3]
Specifications (M.28)
Data from The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: two or three passengers
- Length: 24 ft (7.32 m)
- Wingspan: 30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
- Height: ()
- Wing area: 162 ft² (15.1 m²)
- Empty weight: 1,658 lb (752 kg)
- Loaded weight: lb (kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 2,500 lb (1,134 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Blackburn Cirrus Major III inline, 150 hp (112 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 138 knots (159 mph, 256 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 132 knots (152 mph, 245 km/h)
- Range: 355 NM (408 mi, 657 km)
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
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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. 1974. Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-370-10014-X
- 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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