Miles Monarch

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.

M.17 Monarch
Miles M.17 Monarch operational at Wroughton, Wiltshire, in July 1992
Role Light civil touring aeroplane
Manufacturer Miles Aircraft Limited
Designer Frederick George Miles
First flight 21 February 1938
Introduction 1938
Primary user Royal Air Force
Produced 1938-1939
Number built 11

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 9 Sept. 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
 Belgium
 United Kingdom

Specifications (M.17)

Data from Miles Aircraft since 1925,[2] British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 2 passengers
  • Length: 25 ft 11.75 in (7.9185 m)
  • Wingspan: 35 ft 7 in (10.85 m)
  • Height: 8 ft 9.25 in (2.6734 m)
  • Wing area: 180 sq ft (17 m2)
  • Empty weight: 1,390 lb (630 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,150 lb (975 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 30 imp gal (36 US gal; 140 L) fuel (44 imp gal (53 US gal; 200 L) tank optional) ; 2.5 imp gal (3.0 US gal; 11 L) oil
  • Powerplant: 1 × De Havilland Gipsy Major I 4-cylinder air-cooled inverted in-line piston engine, 130 hp (97 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 140 mph (230 km/h, 120 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 125 mph (201 km/h, 109 kn)
  • Range: 620 mi (1,000 km, 540 nmi) with 30 imp gal (36 US gal; 140 L) tank
910 mi (791 nmi; 1,465 km) with 44 imp gal (53 US gal; 200 L)
  • Service ceiling: 17,400 ft (5,300 m)
  • Rate of climb: 850 ft/min (4.3 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 11.9 lb/sq ft (58 kg/m2)
  • Take-off run: 435 ft (133 m) 5 mph (4.3 kn; 8.0 km/h) wing

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miles Monarch.

Notes
  1. Jackson 1988, p. 73.
  2. Brown, Don L. (1970). Miles Aircraft since 1925 (1st ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. pp. 151-155. ISBN 0-370-00127-3.
  3. Jackson 1988, p. 74.

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.
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