> FLIGHT TEST Miles ahead of its

WORDS Francis Donaldon PHOTOS Nigel Hitchman

The Whitney Straight took pre-war design to a new level. This stunning restoration shows just how advanced the fi rm’s designs were

FRED MILES was a remarkable man everything and fl ed the country to escape the ideal primer for those destined to fl y the new of incredible energy and little respect scandal... changed his mind, came back and breed of fi ghters. for authority; his life story reads like married the (then divorced) lady. Persuading During the war, Miles’ ability to turn out something from the most fanciful of novels. a mathematician friend to coach them in prototypes in a very short time led his company The son of a Sussex laundry owner, as a the rudiments of aircraft stressing, they set into some very interesting research aircraft, young man in the 1920s he scraped together themselves up to design, and later build, a and post-war their M52 jet project might well enough money to buy an old , found a fi eld world-beating range of wooden have given ‘FG’ the credit for designing the fi rst to fl y it from near Shoreham and persuaded designed jointly by Fred (always referred to as supersonic aircraft in the world, had not the an instructor to teach him to fl y it. As soon as ‘FG’) and Blossom. government decided to cancel the contract at he had soloed, he started to train others to fl y His new wife apparently transitioned from a late stage because they thought the days of without worrying about such things as licenses drawing-room socialite to a pokey makeshift manned fl ight were coming to an end. for himself as pilot or the aeroplane. drawing offi ce over a shop in Sevenoaks with The Whitney Straight was one of the last He managed to accumulate a rag-tag nary a look back - despite the disability of of Miles’s pre-war civilian aircraft designs, collection of aircraft by buying them at scrap only having a single functioning eye. Indeed, being a typical Miles low-wing cantilever prices and patching them up, set up a fl ying the beautiful lines of many of Miles’ aircraft monoplane of all wooden construction with club and publicised it with an inaugural have been credited to the fair hand of artistic a fi xed spatted tailwheel undercarriage. Like fl ying display - only to fi nd the Director of Civil ‘Blossom’ Miles. the contemporary Hornet Moth Aviation himself, Sir Sefton Branker, turned up By the outbreak of World War Two, Miles biplane, it featured folding wings, side-by-side to see what was going on! Aircraft of Woodley Aerodrome near Reading seating in an enclosed cockpit and a large Reading the riot act over Miles’ complete was producing a formidable range of aircraft. luggage area behind the seats accessible to the contempt for the paperwork – but not until Low-wing cantilever tourers made de crew in fl ight, rather than the tandem open after the display was safely over – Miles was Havilland’s biplanes and strutted monoplanes cockpit and external baggage locker typical of forced to put his act in order. look like something of another era – racers previous civilian club aircraft such as the Moth. He then became romantically linked with one which almost swept the board at the annual The Whitney Straight acquired its name from of his lady pupils, Maxine ‘Blossom’ Freeman- Kings Cup air race, and low-wing military the man who had proposed it to Miles, and Thomas, the wife of a peer of the realm, sold up trainers which were selected by the RAF as the who had set up a chain of aerodromes and

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fl ying clubs throughout Britain and wanted a who continued fl ying it until 1962, when it was befi ts the immaculate condition of the more-modern, general-purpose two-seater sold to Mr RT Boyes at Newtownards. aeroplane throughout. than the biplanes popular at the time, 1935. The aircraft was loaned, still in fl ying condition, The Whitney Straight airframe is a It featured the popular Gipsy Major engine of to the Belfast Transport Museum in 1966. conventional wooden affair with a two-spar 135 horsepower and very effective fl aps, which Unfortunately, it was then allowed to deteriorate ply-covered three-piece wing and ply-covered gave it a wide speed range of 38mph to 145mph in damp storage to the point where by the end box fuselage with a curved top decking. and allowed it to operate from the small of the 1990s the once-beautiful wooden aircraft An area of the rebuild that was particularly airfi elds of the time. An unusual windscreen was a total wreck with terminal glue failure, challenging was the raked windscreen, which of forward-raked design was used, perhaps to literally falling apart at all the seams. involved fi nding a fi rm willing to mould the give the crew a perpendicular view through ‘RV was rescued from dereliction by Richard complex and deeply-drawn shape from the screen and so avoid optical distortion - in Seeley, who commissioned a complete rebuild Perspex. Eventually, the job had to be sent to any case, the jutting, beaked screen certainly by prolifi c vintage aircraft restorer Ron Souch a highly specialist fi rm in Switzerland. The adds distinction to what is already a very good- and his team of craftsmen at Aero Antiques. oleo-pneumatic undercarriage, which had to looking aircraft with shapely tapered wings, The Whitney Straight has been painstakingly be remade from scratch, was another major lovely rolled and beaten aluminium alloy recreated using almost all the original metal challenge, especially as the stock sizes of wing and tail root fairings (no fi berglass on this parts but largely new wood - not only the steel tubing used originally were no longer aircraft!) and rakish fi n and . ply skinning, but perfect new spars, ribs and available, so the tubes had to be machined and Of 50 Whitney Straights built before the onset longerons. It recently emerged from Ron’s ground specially from oversize stock. of the war, the subject of this article – G-AERV – workshops at Durley near Southampton, The aircraft has been rebuilt with the original is the only one its kind currently airworthy and setting a new standard for Miles aircraft Gipsy Major 1F engine, but with electric start and is remarkable for the small number of owners it rebuilds which would be very hard to better. generator added. A Fairey-Reed propeller from a has had during its 70-year life. ‘RV has been set off by a lustrous silver and Chipmunk has been fi tted, because the original Mr WH Moore bought it new from Miles in blue paint job by Airtime at Hurn, the same type of Fairey-Reed propeller installed during 1937, and operated it in the UK pre-war. It was scheme as it had when it fi rst emerged from the rebuild was found to be too coarse and gave impressed in June 1941 and used by the RAF at the factory at Woodley in 1937 – except that the inadequate take-off performance on the initial Abingdon, then returned to Mr Moore in 1947, quality of the fi nish is breathtaking, as post-rebuild test fl ight. ➽

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e ‘Entry to and exit from the aircraft is via a single upward-sliding door on the left-hand side of the cockpit, reached by a conventional wing

The aircraft has been rebuilt FLIGHT TEST incorporating modern hydraulic What follows is extracted from the disc brakes operated by dual LAA fl ight test report, which was toe-brake pedals, rather based on fl ight tests carried out than the original Bendix by Jeremy Cooke and myself from mechanical system linked to Turweston, where the aircraft has the rudder pedals. With the been based for most of the post- new arrangements, the original rebuild fl ight testing. The initial mechanical parking brake lever fl ights were carried out by Ron on the left cockpit sidewall has Souch from an airstrip ‘somewhere been connected to a hydraulic in Hampshire’. park brake valve so as to retain its Entry to and exit from the aircraft An Aeronca it most certainly is not! original function. is via a single upward-sliding door The all-new fuselage at Ron Souch’s The original pneumatic fl ap on the left-hand side of the cockpit, workshop. Note beaten aluminium system components were reached by a conventional wing wing route fairing. corroded beyond redemption, so walkway accessed from the trailing the aircraft has been rebuilt with edge of the wing. Stepping across to a modern electrical irreversible jack replacing the right-hand seat requires a certain amount fi ttings, so that the adjustment buckles were the pneumatics. Conventional split fl aps are of bodily contortion, and it helps if the spring- brought out from in between the seats. fi tted plus a drag fl ap, hinged along its rear edge type elevator trimmer is fi rst placed in the fully Full dual controls are fi tted and everything is under the belly of the fuselage. nose-down position, which moves the control easily reached apart from the fuel cock, which An unusual feature of the design is that the columns forward out of the way of your legs. is located below and forward of the instrument drag fl ap only starts to open progressively after The door, which seems surprisingly heavy, panel and can only be reached from the P1 side, the split fl aps have opened through about 20 like something you might fi nd in a railway and then only by fi rst loosening his shoulder degrees defl ection. A conventional fl ap lever carriage, folds as it slides upwards, guided by harness slightly. It would, therefore, be diffi cult switch is used to increment the fl ap position pins in grooves at the front and back edges. A to change tanks quickly in the event of an as desired, being infi nitely variable between rectangular sliding DV panel is provided in the engine failure on take off. fl aps up and fully down. The three-position left-hand window. The door latch is of a toggle/ The lateral throw on the long control columns switch is sprung to neutral from the ‘lower over-centre type, accessible only from inside is greater than one would expect, and to fl aps’ position but remains in the ‘fl ap raise’ the aircraft. A split pin is used as an additional achieve the full range of aileron travel the pilot position when selected, so that the fl aps can be safety retainer, as there have been cases of and passenger have to keep their knees well fully raised without the pilot having to keep his doors of this type opening during fl ight. apart for clearance. hand on the switch, most useful to ease cockpit The cockpit feels similar to a Jodel 1050 in workload during a go-around. Electrical limit terms of size and seating position relative START UP switches prevent the motor from stalling when to the wing. The view from the cockpit is The engine starts easily using standard pump- fully up or fully down positions are reached. good for this class of aircraft, including above fed Gipsy Major technique of priming on the As the fl aps are of split type and thus not (and ‘into’ turns) via the clear roof panels. The manual hand lever of the fuel pump while visible from the cockpit, a marine position view directly ahead and over an arc about holding the carburettor fl oat depressed using indicator has been adapted to show the pilot 30 degrees to the far side of the centerline is the pull ring provided for the purpose, then the fl ap position. A warning light is also fi tted, restricted by the engine cowling when in the sucking in four blades with throttle closed operated by a microswitch, which triggers static ground attitude. before ‘set’ and ‘contact’. when the fl aps are in the operating range in Adjusting the lap straps involves putting your The angle of the propeller must be such that which the drag fl ap is open. hand into the narrow gap between the two the combined engine-driven/hand operated When lowering the fl ap, the point at which seats to reach the adjustment buckles. The fuel pump is ‘off the cam’ when priming the light illuminates signifi es that the drag fl ap adjusters are also tight, making the operation otherwise the pump cannot be operated is about to open and that the split fl aps are diffi cult. It would be much easier if there were manually. The engine is fi tted with a starter and in a position equating to a take-off setting ie fi xed links a few inches long between the generator, so can be started from the cockpit additional lift but little extra drag. brackets on the structure and the harness end without external assistance. Alternatively, if the

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p038-044.flight test miles.indd 40 23/2/09 14:35:35 battery is a little tired (as in the recent freezing STALLS conditions) it can be easily hand-swung. ‘The quality of the A wings-level power-off stall, fl apless, Once the engine is running, the tachometer resulted in the aircraft entering a wings-level needle oscillates around an idle speed of about fi nish is breathtaking mush at 65mph with stick fully back. Light 500-600rpm. The parking brake held during run throughout’ airframe buffet warning was felt at speeds up to max static rpm, which was approximately below 68mph. When the stall was entered 2000. Mag drops could not be measured in any dynamically from a more rapid deceleration, meaningful way due to the quivering tacho to the direction of propeller rotation, the critical either wing dropped through about 40 needle, but were audibly judged normal for a case would be a crosswind from the right. degrees with little or no warning. There Gipsy Major engine, ie approx 50rpm. Flapless, with the stick in neutral, the tail was no tendency to auto-rotate, however, rose of its own accord at approximately 40mph and response to normal recovery action (ie TAXI IAS and the aircraft fl ew off when ready at relaxation of back pressure and opposite The aircraft has a free castering tailwheel. approximately 75mph. Alternatively, the rudder) was immediate. Taxying is straightforward, steering using aircraft could be taken off from the tail down With fl aps at the fi rst stage (indicator light the slipstream over the rudder aided by attitude, or the tail could be raised earlier by just on), there was some slight pre-stall buffet independent toe-brakes. For this long-legged early cautious use of forward stick. Excessive warning commencing at 67mph IAS, the wing pilot, there was a tendency to apply toe brakes forward stick must be avoided due to the risk of dropping tendency was lessened and the inadvertently due to the pressure of the toes over-rotating and propeller ground strike. aircraft instead usually entered a wings-level resting normally on the pedals, leading to In the climb, an IAS of 85mph produced the descent with gentle pitch bucking, stick full ‘riding the brakes’. It would be helpful if the best compromise between rate of climb and back, at an indicated 60mph. A full-fl ap stall, toe-brake pedals could be adjusted to angle forward view over the nose (rate of climb was power off, yielded similar results, but with buffet forward more from the vertical before the essentially unchanged between 70mph and commencing at 60mph IAS and a minimum brakes start to operate. 85mph IAS) and the aircraft was approximately speed of 58mph IAS with stick full back. in trim with the trimmer set neutral. Full In attempted turning stalls with 60 degrees TAKE OFF AND CLIMB throttle rpm was approximately 2100. of bank, the aircraft was stick-limited and a With the wind straight up Turweston’s hard A timed climb was carried out above cloud stall could not be achieved. The back stop was runway 09, only moderate left rudder defl ection between 2750ft and 4500ft with 1013 set and reached just after the onset of buffet. was required to keep straight as the tail rose yielded a mean ROC of 583fpm at 85mph IAS. during the take-off run. Previous operations in Engine temperature gauges are not fi tted; but STABILITY AND CONTROL up to 15-knot crosswind from the left had not oil pressure remained at 42psi throughout, with The aircraft had essentially neutral longitudinal revealed any control diffi culties. However, due no suggestion of engine overheating. static stability stick-free. For any given ➽

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p038-044.flight test miles.indd 41 23/2/09 14:36:08 > FLIGHT TEST ‘Four landings were carried out to investigate landing characteristics. At all times the aircraft was predictable and easily controlled using Turweston’s tarmac runway 09’

power setting it would fl y hands-off in trim within a range of speeds from 75mph to 150mph without change in trim setting. Airspeeds below 75mph and above 150mph IAS did, however, show positive static stability, Flight characteristics were good, showing perhaps Miles’ expertise in training aircraft pre-War. requiring light, but easily detectable, stick forces and stick defl ections. IN THE CRUISE Due to the fl at stick force v’s speed A comfortable cruise speed of 118mph IAS characteristic over the majority of the airspeed was achieved at approximately 2000rpm, range, the aircraft could not demonstrate a increasing to 144mph IAS at full throttle at conventional phugoid. In this respect, it is approximately 2400rpm. A gentle dive to Vne better than the contemporary Puss Moth, of 187mph IAS was also carried out, which which has markedly negative longitudinal required the throttle to be almost fully closed to static stability especially at high speed. keep the rpm within the 2400rpm red line. The manoeuvre stability and short period characteristics were satisfactory, however, DESCENT and it was easy to hold a desired speed or to The pilot’s notes states 75mph to be the achieve and capture a target speed. Rudder and brakes make ground steering easy. full fl ap limiting speed, but do not discuss The stick force per g was assessed in 60 partial fl ap being used. In a descent, the degree banked wind-up turns, a rearward a more positive returning tendency from aircraft felt reluctant to slow down to the stick force of approximately 10 pounds a left slip than a right slip. approved max fl ap deployment speed and was required to achieve an estimated 2g Adverse yaw was marked with aileron the speed easily slipped back to 80-90mph vertical acceleration. defl ection, despite the generous amount of if attention was not paid to maintaining the The lateral stability was just positive as differential effect in the rigging of the aileron high alpha associated with an airspeed of only demonstrated by the low wing lifting when system. However, it was possible to enter and 75mph. In view of the small margin between the aileron control was released in a sideslip. recover from turns on aileron alone, feet off or the full-fl ap limiting speed and the fl aps-up Results were masked by a slight lateral out rudder fi xed. stall speed, an 85mph IAS limiting speed of trim condition, the aircraft having a gentle With feet off, the time taken to achieve a with fi rst stage of fl ap has been used, which residual roll tendency to the right when hands positive yaw rate (ie yaw rate in the same provides a safe margin above the stall in this off, irrespective of whether the previous roll direction as the roll input) was approximately confi guration. Maintaining 85mph with fi rst control input was to the right or left - ie this was three seconds after application of aileron, and stage of fl ap was straightforward, although the not caused by friction in the control system. the initial yaw angle in the opposite direction tendency to accelerate through 85mph still Positive dihedral effect was also shown by the was only of the order of ten degrees. In this has to be watched. fact that it was possible to enter and recover respect, the adverse yaw characteristics are The view over the nose in the approach from turns using rudder only. much better than a Tiger Moth, albeit poorer confi guration is good, whether fl apless, fi rst Signifi cantly, sideslipping also resulted than most modern aircraft. stage or full fl ap is selected. There is no need in a marked nose-down pitch, similar to The Dutch roll mode could be excited either to sideslip the aircraft to maintain sight of that in the . This was particularly using a rudder doublet or using the secondary the runway. noticeable with a right-wing-down sideslip effects of aileron. The Dutch roll mode was well than with the left wing down. With the damped feet off, more so with rudder fi xed, and FLAPS right wing down, progressively crossing the involved approximately 2:1 yaw to roll ratio. There was very little change in pitch trim when rudder and aileron controls resulted in full fl aps were lowered or raised. The rate of sink, up elevator being needed to control the CONTROL HARMONY power off, with full fl ap was impressively rapid, nose-down pitch at about the same point The controls are light in pitch, roll and yaw, producing an approach path comparable with, that full aileron was reached, with further allowing the aircraft to be manoeuvred or steeper than, a typical wire-braced biplane. rudder movement (and hence yaw angles) with very little effort, at least to the extent The rate of climb following a simulated still being available. appropriate for a touring/training aircraft go-around with full fl ap was checked at Due to reaching the controllability limits with rather than a sporting type. full throttle, using a speed of 75mph IAS, only a moderate yaw angle, it was not possible While the control forces are pleasantly low, but the aircraft was unable to climb in this to achieve a signifi cantly increased rate of the control harmony is rather let down by the confi guration at max gross weight. The descent in the sideslip, so the sideslip is not large lateral stick movements associated both service ceiling in this confi guration is below considered a satisfactory manoeuvre in this with manoeuvring and with keeping the wings ground level! aircraft, particularly at low altitude where the level in turbulence. nose-down pitch could pose a danger. This gave the impression of the lateral control LANDING Directionally, the aircraft was just lacking in authority, although the roll rate Four landings were carried out to investigate positively statically stable feet-off, showing with full aileron (aided by rudder) was, in fact, landing characteristics. At all times the aircraft a slight tendency to return to balanced fl ight adequate. The aircraft would be nicer to fl y in was predictable and easily controlled, using when displaced in yaw. The directional turbulence if the aileron control system was Turweston’s tarmac runway 09. Previous out-of-trim masked the results, (slight left higher geared so that smaller lateral stick was operations had been carried out from grass rudder required to centre the ball) giving required to level the wings. without trouble. There was no diffi culty in ➽

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keeping straight during or after touchdown. In landing power-off with fi rst stage of fl ap, MILESGorgeous WHITNEY STRAIGHT using an approach speed of 75mph, the stick aeroplane over reached the back stop during the fi nal part of gorgeous English the fl are, just before the three-point attitude countryside! was reached, which suggested that it might ‘run out of elevator’ with full fl ap. This characteristic was, however, found to be no worse with full fl ap, using the same approach speed. While this was undesirable, it was considered acceptable bearing in mind that the aircraft was loaded with the cg as far forward as it would be likely to be in normal use, and that carrying baggage would move the cg rearwards and improve the control authority in the nose- up sense. Pitch control authority could be increased using a trickle of power in the fl are; alternatively, the three-point attitude could be reached power-off by using a more positive fl are control input.

CONCLUSION Put alongside the competing Moth biplane, the monoplane Whitney Straight is faster on the same engine, yet its very effective fl aps make it equally happy operating from small fi elds. Entry and exit from the cockpit was easier - in the Hornet Moth you have to duck between the wings and avoid tripping over the wing fl ying wires as you board - and once in place, the view from the cockpit is better without the Hornet’s upper wing blocking the view into turns. Crosswinds are more easily handled because the Whitney Straight’s wingtips have plenty of ground clearance, whereas it is all too easy to drag the Hornet’s lower wingtip on the ground if you should happen to touch down with even Engine is a 135hp Gipsy Major, with the the slightest bit of into-wind bank on. helpful addition of electric start. The door is Neither the Hornet nor the Whitney Straight surprisingly heavy, but the controls are light, has particularly lively controls, but the Whitney and the cockpit well appointed. Overall the Straight has more roll authority if you are quality of fi nish on this restoration is stunning ➽ prepared to use all of the considerable travel and sets new standards. on the stick. Both have large, nicely appointed cockpits and plenty of baggage capacity and around 600 mile range, making them comfortable and effi cient long-distance tourers. On the down side, the Whitney Straight only has one door, so the passenger can’t get out unless the pilot does so too - not so good for hand-swinging the prop with a non-pilot passenger - but then with electric start this should not be necessary. With the Whitney Straight having its fuel tanks in the wing roots rather than in the cabin, there should be slightly less danger of a fi re following a crash; on the other hand the Hornet Moth, as with SPECIFICATION other biplanes, is a safer proposition in an overturn accident because the upper wings MILES WHITNEY STRAIGHT protect the cockpit from being crushed and jamming the doors. PERFORMANCE WEIGHTS Altogether, the Whitney Straight with its Vne 187mph Mtow 2000lb (900kg) thick cantilever wing must have seemed very Cruise 118mph Empty 1250lb (570kg) modern for those accustomed to the externally Stall clean 65mph Useful load 750lb strutted monoplanes and wire-braced biplanes Stall fl ap 60mph (340kg) of the time. Its performance was very good for Rate of climb its day – it took post-war Jodel and their magic 580ftm POWER cranked wing to better it, the Jodel Mascaret for Range 570miles Engine Gipsy Major example being faster on 30 less horsepower, 1F 135hp with a similar level of comfort and range. DIMENSIONS G-AERV is a brilliant example of the restorer’s Wingspan 35ft 8in MANUFACTURER art, rescued from the brink of destruction and (10.9m) Philips and Powis turned into a better-than-new showpiece. Length 25ft (7.6m) Aircraft, Woodley However, it is no hangar queen, because the Height 6ft 6in (2m) Aerodrome, Reading, owner plans to use it for what it was designed Wing area 178sq ft for - as a fast, practical and comfortable tourer (16.5m2) for everyday use, which will no doubt give him a great deal of pleasure!

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