Miles Aircraft was a British manufacturer of light civil and military aircraft. The company was founded by Charles Powis and Jack Phillips as Philips and Powis Aircraft.
Famous creations include the Hawk Trainer and its military variant, the Magister, as well as the Messenger and the Gemini. During the Second World War they produced the Master advanced trainer and Martinet target-tug.
Having produced a revolutionary load carrier, the Aerovan, and almost produced the first jet aircraft to break the sound barrier - the Miles M.52 Supersonic Research aircraft whose design greatly influenced the Bell X-1, the company went into receivership in 1947, with its aircraft interests being mainly bought by Handley Page Aircraft. Eventually the Aerovan concept was further developed by Short Brothers into the Skyvan, and finally the SD360 "Flying Shed."
Aircraft
The following table lists the Mark number, name, year of first flight and number produced of all Miles aircraft.
Aircraft were used on occasion to drop supplies to cut-off or besieged forces, but the methods were primitive in the extreme: bags of food, medical supplies, or munitions were dropped from bomb racks or simply heaved over the side.
Beginning in the 1920s, steady advances in aircraft performance had been produced by improved structures and drag-reduction technologies and by more powerful, supercharged engines, but by the early 1930s it had become apparent to a handful of farsighted engineers that speeds would soon be possible which would exceed the capabilities of reciprocating engines and propellers.
Many aircraft of this generation employed variable-geometry wings, permitting the amount of sweep to be changed in flight to obtain optimal performance for a given speed.
GEORGE MILES, the aircraft designer and test pilot who has died aged 88, was a member of the remarkable Miles aviation family.
George Miles was involved in the designs of the Messenger (one of which was used by Field Marshal Montgomery), Monitor, Gemini, Aerovan and Merchantman aircraft.
Among the aircraft which he helped to build for them was the Ambassador, known to airline passengers as the British European Airways Elizabethan.
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