Miles M.30
M.30 | |
---|---|
Miles M.30 X-Minor | |
Role | Experimental aircraft |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Miles Aircraft |
First flight | February 1942 |
The Miles M.30 X-Minor was an experimental aircraft, designed by Miles Aircraft to evaluate the characteristics of blended fuselage and wing intersections.
Design and development
Begun in 1939, the design was a scaled-down version of the gigantic Miles M.26 airliner (Miles X) then being developed. The proposed Miles X Airliner was to have had a blended fuselage, eight engines driving four sets of contra-rotating propellers, seating 55 with a range of 3,450 miles (5,550 km). The Miles X Airliner was offered as candidate to the post Second World War Brabazon Report Type 1 Requirement for a trans-Atlantic use but was rejected because the Miles design had only half the seating required.
The small size of the X Minor made it impossible to scale the larger design exactly; the engines were too large and resulted in an aircraft similar in layout but differing in aerodynamics. The X Minor first flew in February 1942, providing Miles with useful data for several years. A larger scale prototype of the X transport was planned but never built.
Specifications (M.30 X-Minor)
Data from Miles aircraft since 1925 [1]
General characteristics
- Length: 26 ft 3 in (8.00 m)
- Wingspan: 33 ft (10 m)
- Height: 9 ft (2.7 m)
- Wing area: 200 sq ft (19 m2)
- Aspect ratio: 5.4
- Empty weight: 2,710 lb (1,229 kg)
- Gross weight: 4,240 lb (1,923 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × de Havilland Gipsy Major 4-cyl inverted in-line air-cooled piston engine, 130 hp (97 kW) each
Performance
- Wing loading: 21.2 lb/sq ft (104 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.0613 hp/lb
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Related lists
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miles M.30. |
- Museum of Berkshire Aviation - Miles 30 page
- Eight-Engine, 55-Seat Plane to Have a 3,450-Mile Range Popular Mechanics August 1944