Miles Whitney Straight
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The Miles M.11 Whitney Straight was a 2-seat light aircraft with a dual-control, 'side-by-side' cockpit configuration developed in 1936 as a collaboration between Miles Aircraft and American-born Whitney Straight, best known as a Grand Prix motor racing driver and later an Royal Air Force pilot. First flying on 14 May 1936, the M.11 was intended to provide a low-powered and economical aircraft suitable for civil operation by flying enthusiasts.
A total of 50 M.11A and M.11B Whitney Straights were built. The most common was the M.11A, powered by a 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major I while the M.11B was powered by a 135 hp (101 kW) Amherst Villiers Maya I, adding 10 mph (16 km/h) to its maximum speed and 200 ft/min (60 m/min) to its rate of climb. A single M.11C prototype, fitted with a 145 hp (108 kW) de Havilland Gypsy Major II engine and variable-pitch propeller, was tested. It crashed at Harefield, Berkshire on 28 June, 1938, killing the test pilot, Wing Commander F.W. Stent.
At the outbreak of World War II the Royal Air Force impressed 23 Whitney Straights for use as communications aircraft. Twenty-one of these served in the UK, one in India and one in Egypt. One M.11A also served with the Fleet Air Arm from 1940 to 1943 and three with the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
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Specifications (M.11A)
General Characteristics
- Crew: two
- Length: 25 ft (7.6 m)
- Wingspan: 35 ft 8 in (10.9 m)
- Height: 6 ft 6 in (2.0 m)
- Wing area: 178 ft² (16.5 m²)
- Empty: 1,250 lb (570 kg)
- Loaded: 2,000 lb (900 kg)
- Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
- Powerplant: 1 x de Havilland Gipsy Major I, 130 hp (97 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 145 mph (233 km/h)
- Range: 570 miles (920 km)
- Service ceiling: 18,500 ft (5,600 m)
- Rate of climb: 850 ft/min (260 m/min)
- Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
- Power/Mass: hp/lb ( kW/kg)
Armament
- none
Related content
Related development: Miles Monarch
Comparable aircraft:
Designation sequence: M.8 - M.9 - M.9A - M.11 - M.12 - M.13 - M.14
See also
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