Miles M.39B in flight.

The M.35 and M.39 Libellula (from Libellulidae, the taxonomic name for dragonflies) were a pair of tandem wing aircraft built by Miles Aircraft. Genera see text The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. ... Taxonomy (from Greek ταξινομία from the words taxis = order and nomos = law) may refer to either a hierarchical classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. ... Families Aeshnidae Austropetaliidae Cordulegastridae Corduliidae Gomphidae Libellulidae Macromiidae Neopetaliidae Petaluridae A dragonfly is any insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera. ... A tandem wing aircraft usually involves two full-sized wings, both of which are full airfoils. ... Miles Aircraft was a British manufacturer of light civil and military aircraft. ...

Development

There were two designs, the smaller fighter-sized M.35 and the larger M.39. In the end, only prototype M.35 and a reduced-scale M.39B were built and tested. Both designs used one wing at the rear of the fuselage and a smaller one at the front in a tandem wing arrangement; the configuration was like that on canard aircraft designs, but with the front wing contributing more lift. The wings were also at different heights—the front at the top of the fuselage and the rear at the bottom on the M.35, and the other way around for the M.39B. This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

The Miles Libellula M.35

M.35

The M.35, drawn up in 1941 was powered by a single pusher engine, the pilot sat at the front with the fore wing just behind and level with his head giving a clear view in most directions. A flying example was built and flown, with typical Miles speed, in six weeks. A British WWI-era F.E.2b pusher. ...

The Miles Libellula M.39B.

M.39

Though it had some problems, the M.35 proved sufficient to show the idea had merits, and the larger M.39 was drawn up. This would be a twin engined design. A scale version at 5/8ths, the M.39B, was built, flying in mid-1943. Miles continued testing privately, but passed his aircraft over to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough in 1944. It was damaged in two accidents and repaired each time, but was later broken up with the project’s cancellation. This article needs cleanup. ... Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport (IATA: FAB, ICAO: EGLF) (previously called RAE Farnborough) is an airport situated in Farnborough, Hampshire in England. ...

Specifications (M.35)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 20 ft 3 in (6.1 m)
• Wingspan: 20 ft (6 m)
• Height: 6 ft 9 in (2.05 m)
• Wing area: 45 sq ft front and 90 sq ft rear (4 m², 8.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,460 1b (662 kg)
• Loaded weight: 1,850 lb (839 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× de Havilland Gipsy Major piston, 130 hp ()

Performance

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... The de Havilland Gipsy Major was a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft in the 1930s including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. ...

Specifications (M.39B)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22 ft 2 in (6.7 m)
• Wingspan: *Front 25 ft
• Rear: 37 ft 7 in (7.6 m and 10.5 m)
• Height: 9 ft 3 in (2.8 m)
• Wing area: 61.7 sq ft and 187.5 sq ft (6.64 m² and 20.16 m²)
• Empty weight: 2,405 lb (1,108kg)
• Loaded weight: 2,800 lb (1,270kg)
• Powerplant: 2× de Havilland Gipsy Major IC inline piston, 140 hp () each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 164 mph (367 km/h)

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... The de Havilland Gipsy Major was a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft in the 1930s including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ...

References

• The Miles 'Dragonflies' - Aeroplane Monthly - June 1973

External links

• Miles Aircraft History site - Original link no longer available; using archive.org copy from January 2006 instead. (Checked 3 January 2007)
• British Aircraft Directory M.35
• M.35 at British Aircraft of WW2
• British Aircraft Directory M.39B
• M.39B at British Aircraft of WW2

See also

• Kyūshū J7W
• Henschel P.75
• XP-55 Ascender
• List of experimental aircraft