Miles Monarch

M.17 Monarch
Miles M.17 Monarch operational at Wroughton, Wiltshire, in July 1992
General information
TypeLight civil touring aeroplane
ManufacturerMiles Aircraft Limited
Designer
Primary userRoyal Air Force
Number built11
History
Manufactured1938-1939
Introduction date
1938
First flight21 February 1938

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.

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)

Operators

 Belgium
 United Kingdom

Specifications (M.17)

Data from Miles Aircraft since 1925, British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III

General characteristics

Performance

910 mi (791 nmi; 1,465 km) with 44 imp gal (53 US gal; 200 L)

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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.