Miles Magister

The Miles M.14 Magister is a British two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft built by the Miles Aircraft for the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. Affectionately known as the Maggie, the Magister was based on Miles' civilian Hawk Major and Hawk Trainer and was the first monoplane designed specifically as a trainer for the RAF. As a low-wing monoplane, it was an ideal introduction to the Spitfire and Hurricane for new pilots. Its sister design, the Miles Master was an advanced trainer also built by Phillips & Powis at Woodley.

M.14 Magister
Role Trainer
Manufacturer Miles Aircraft
Designer G.H. Miles
First flight 20 March 1937
Primary users Royal Air Force
Fleet Air Arm
Number built 1,303
Miles Magister at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford

Design and development

The Miles M.14 was designed to meet Air Ministry Specification T.40/36 and was first flown on 20 March 1937 by F.G. Miles and then christened 'Magister'.[1] Based on Miles' Hawk Trainer, the Magister is an open-cockpit, low wing cantilever monoplane of spruce structure covered in plywood.[1] The wing centre section has no dihedral and is of constant section with outer sections having dihedral and tapering towards the tip.[2] It has a fixed tailwheel undercarriage with spats on the main wheels.[2] Split flaps are fitted as standard.[3][4] Early Magisters (including the first prototype) suffered a number of accidents when the aircraft could not be recovered from a spin. To solve this problem, the tailplane was raised by 6 inches (15 cm), anti-spin strakes fitted to the rear fuselage, and eventually, a new taller rudder. Thus modified, the aircraft became the definitive M.14A.[5]

Notwithstanding the relatively large number built, contemporary glues used to assemble the wooden aircraft have not stood the test of time and few survive today.

Operational history

Production began in October 1937 and by the start of the Second World War over 700 Magisters had entered service with RAF Elementary Flying Training Schools, eventually equipping 16 such schools as well as the Central Flying School. Large numbers of civilian Hawk Majors were also pressed into service as trainers. Production of the Magister continued until 1941 by which time 1,203 had been built by Miles and an additional 100 were built under licence in Turkey. In June 1940, as part of British anti-invasion preparations, about 15 Magisters were fitted with bomb racks for eight 25 pound bombs, with the intention of using them as light bombers in the event of an invasion; a scheme called Operation Banquet which was never put into effect.[6]

Hawk Trainer Coupe G-AJRT at Leeds (Yeadon) Airport in May 1955
Many Magisters were exported postwar, this example being registered in Belgium.

After the war many Magisters were converted for civilian uses and redesignated as the Hawk Trainer III. The 1950 Kings Cup Air Race, in which eight Hawk Trainer IIIs competed, was won by E. Day in a modified cabin version G-AKRV at 138.5 mph. At least two other aircraft were thus modified.[7]

Many Magisters were exported postwar to overseas private pilot owners and flying clubs. Countries purchasing the type included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand and Tunisia.

In 2009, ten Hawk Trainer IIIs were registered in the United Kingdom, of which several were airworthy.

Several ex-service Magisters are preserved and on display – including an ex-RAF example at the Imperial War Museum in the UK, and an ex-Irish Air Corps example at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

Variants
Miles M.14 Magister / Hawk Trainer III
Initial production version.
Miles M.14A Magister I / Hawk Trainer III
Improved variant.
Miles M.14B Magister II / Hawk Trainer II
Improved variant with a 135hp Blackburn Cirrus II engine
Hawk Trainer III

Operators
 Australia
 Canada
Royal Canadian Air Force[8]
 Egypt
  • Egyptian Army Air Force[8]
  • Royal Egyptian Air Force[8] – 42 aircraft.
 Belgium
  • Belgian Air Force – One aircraft operated from 1946 to 1948.
 Estonia
 Ireland
 Latvia
 Malaya
  • Malayan Volunteer Air Force[8]
 New Zealand
 Portugal
 South Africa
 Turkey
 Thailand
  • Thai Air Force[8]
  • Thai Navy[8]
 United Kingdom

Specifications (Miles M.14A)

Data from Miles Aircraft since 1925[10]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 24 ft 7.5 in (7.506 m)
  • Wingspan: 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
  • Height: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
  • Wing area: 176 sq ft (16.4 m2)
  • Airfoil: root: Clark YH mod (19%) ; tip: Clark YH mod (9%)[11]
  • Empty weight: 1,286 lb (583 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,900 lb (862 kg) normal
1,845 lb (837 kg) for aerobatics
  • Fuel capacity: 21.5 imp gal (25.8 US gal; 98 l) ; oil 2.5 imp gal (3.0 US gal; 11 l)
  • Powerplant: 1 × de Havilland Gipsy Major I 4-cylinder air-cooled inverted in-line piston engine, 130 hp (97 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 142 mph (229 km/h, 123 kn) at 1,000 ft (305 m)
140 mph (122 kn; 225 km/h) at sea level
130 mph (113 kn; 209 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,524 m)
125 mph (109 kn; 201 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
  • Cruise speed: 122 mph (196 km/h, 106 kn)
  • Stall speed: 43 mph (69 km/h, 37 kn) flaps down
52 mph (45 kn; 84 km/h) flaps up
  • Range: 367 mi (591 km, 319 nmi)
  • Endurance: 3 hours
  • Service ceiling: 16,500 ft (5,000 m)
  • Absolute ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,791 m)
  • Rate of climb: 850 ft/min (4.3 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 10.7 lb/sq ft (52 kg/m2)
  • Take-off run: 630 ft (192 m) in 5 mph (4.3 kn; 8.0 km/h) wind
  • Take-off distance to 50 ft (15 m): 1,200 ft (366 m) in 5 mph (4.3 kn; 8.0 km/h) wind
  • Landing run: 420 ft (128 m) in 5 mph (4.3 kn; 8.0 km/h) wind
  • Landing distance from 50 ft (15 m): 975 ft (297 m) in 5 mph (4.3 kn; 8.0 km/h) wind
gollark: The process manager lets you run background processes waaay more easily than in vanilla CC.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: It's called Polychoron, and has waaaaay too many features for what it does.
gollark: Well, this being Lua, all it really needs to do is multiplex a bunch of coroutines.
gollark: It has its own process manager.

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

References
Notes
  1. Johnson Aeroplane Monthly March 1980, pp. 154–155.
  2. Flight 12 June 1941, p. h.
  3. Johnson Aeroplane Monthly March 1980, p. 154.
  4. Thetford 1957, p. 334.
  5. Johnson Aeroplane Monthly March 1980, pp. 155–156.
  6. Mondey, David (1994), The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II, Chancellor Press, ISBN 978-1851526680 (p. 168)
  7. Jackson 1974, p. 69.
  8. Amos 2009, pp. 367–406
  9. MacCarron 1996, p. 138
  10. Brown, Don L. (1970). Miles Aircraft since 1925 (1st ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. pp. 135–146. ISBN 0-370-00127-3.
  11. Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Bibliography
  • Amos, Peter. Miles Aircraft – The early years. Tonbridge: Air-Britain, 2009. ISBN 978-0-85130-410-6.
  • Amos, Peter. Miles Aircraft – The Wartime Years 1939 to 1945. Tonbridge: Air-Britain, 2012. ISBN 978 0 85130 430 4.
  • "Friend or Foe: Two Familiar British Trainers: Tiger Moth and Miles Magister". Flight, Vol. XXXIX, No. 1694, 12 June 1941. p. h.
  • Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. The Aircraft of the World. London: Macdonald, 1955.
  • Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 2. London: Putnam, 1973. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.
  • Johnson, Graham H.R. "RAF Piston Trainers No. 7: Miles M.14 Magister". Aeroplane Monthly, Vol. 8 No. 3, March 1980. pp. 154–161.
  • Lukins, A.H. and D.A. Russell. The Book of Miles Aircraft. Leicester, UK: The Harborough Publishing Company Ltd., 1946.
  • MacCarron, Donal. Wings Over Ireland. Leicester: Midland Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-85780-057-5.
  • Ovčáčík, Michal and Karel Susa. Miles Magister: M.14, M14A, M14B. Prague: Mark I Ltd., 2001. ISBN 80-902559-4-9.
  • Simpson, Rod The Archive Photographs Series Miles Aircraft Stroud: Chalford Publishing Ltd, 1998.
  • Swanborough, Gordon. British Aircraft at War, 1939–1945. East Sussex, UK: HPC Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0-9531421-0-8.
  • Temple, Julian C. Wings over Woodley – The Story of Miles Aircraft & and the Adwest Group Bourne End: Aston Publications, 1987.
  • Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918–57. London: Putnam, 1957.
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