Miles Hawk Major

The Miles Hawk Major was a 1930s British two-seat light monoplane developed by Miles Aircraft from the Miles Hawk.

Hawk Major
Miles M.2H Hawk Major at White Waltham Airfield, near Maidenhead Berkshire, in June 1953
Role Two-seat touring and racing monoplane
Manufacturer Miles Aircraft Limited
Designer Frederick George Miles
First flight 1934
Primary user Royal Air Force
Number built 64
Developed from Miles Hawk

Design and development

The Hawk Major was a variant of the Miles M.2 Hawk, developed by F.G. Miles to take advantage of the new inverted de Havilland Gipsy Major engine. Other changes included metal (instead of wood) engine mounts and streamlined undercarriage. The prototype M.2F Hawk Major) was first flown in 1934 and went on to second place in the 1934 King's Cup Race at an average speed of 147.78 mph. A racing version was developed as the one-off single-seat M.2E Gipsy Six Hawk with a 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Six engine. The production Hawk Major had the 130 hp de Havilland Gipsy Major engine. The aircraft sold well to private owners, including two that were fitted with smoke generators to allow them to be used as skywriters. An improved version (the M.2H) with a trailing edge flap replaced the M.2F on the production line. A number of special one-off racing versions were also built.[1] In October 1934, Squadron Leader Malcolm Charles McGregor flew a Hawk Major from RAF Mildenhall to Melbourne, Australia in 7 days, 15 hours while competing in the MacRobertson Air Race.[2][3] In 1936 Miles Hawk Speed Six, G-ADOD was entered into the Schlesinger Race from Portsmouth to Johannesburg and flown by A. E. Clouston who nearly made it all the way to Johannesburg but had to make a crash landing due to engine trouble 150 miles south of Salisbury.[1]

In 1935, an improved version for training use was developed as the Miles Hawk Trainer.

Variants
M.2F Hawk Major
Production version powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine.
M.2G Hawk Major
Three-seat cabin version, one built.
M.2H Hawk Major
Production version powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine.
M.2K Hawk Major
Powered by a 105 hp Cirrus Hermes II engine, one built.
M.2M Hawk Major
Three-seat version powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine, two built.
M.2P Hawk Major
Dual control version powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine, three built.
M.2R Hawk Major de Luxe
Racing version powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine, two built.
M.2S
Long-range version Powered by a 150 hp Blackburn Cirrus Major engine.
M.2T
Long-range single-seater powered by 150 hp Blackburn Cirrus Major engine, two built.

Miles Hawk Speed Six
The Miles M.2L Hawk Speed Six wearing racing No.96 at Leeds (Yeadon) Airport in May 1955

The Speed Six was a single-seat racing variant of the Hawk Major fitted with the larger six-cylinder Gipsy Six engine. Only three were made, each tailored to specific requirements.

M.2E (Initially the Miles Gipsy Six Hawk)
Powered by a 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Six engine.
M.2L Hawk Speed Six G-ADGP
Powered by a 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Six 1F engine.
M.2U Hawk Speed Six G-ADOD
Powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Six R engine.

Survivors
  • M.2L Speed Six G-ADGP is airworthy in 2020 and in the Shuttleworth Collection based at Old Warden.
  • M.2H Hawk Major (DG590) (Civilian Registration was G-ADMW) at Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, Montrose, Angus, Scotland, under restoration as of 2020.[4]
  • M.2H Hawk Major registered G-ADAS and based at Museu TAM, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil. This exemplar is the only one that have the capacity of fly.

Operators
 United Kingdom

Specifications (M.2F)

General characteristics

  • Capacity: Two
  • Length: 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
  • Wingspan: 33 ft 0 in (10.06 m)
  • Height: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
  • Wing area: 169 sq ft (15.70 m2)
  • Empty weight: 1,150 lb (522 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,850 lb (840 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × de Havilland Gipsy Major , 200 hp (149 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 150 mph (241 km/h, 130 kn)
  • Range: 560 mi (901 km, 490 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)

See also

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. "1936 | 2706 | Flight Archive". Flightglobal.com. 8 October 1936. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  2. "aero club | baby ruth | macpherson robertson | 1934 | 1072 | Flight Archive". Flightglobal.com. 18 October 1934. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. "lockheed vega | 1934 | 1075 | Flight Archive". Flightglobal.com. 18 October 1934. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  4. Dunnell, Brian (August 2020). "Workshop: Going the Extra Miles". Aeroplane. Vol. 48 no. 8. pp. 14–18. ISSN 0143-7240.

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.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing.
  • Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 3. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1974. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.
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