Miles Whitney Straight


The Miles M.11 Whitney Straight was a 1930s British two-seat cabin monoplane with dual-controls.

Design and development

The M.11 Whitney Straight was designed by F.G. Miles of Philips and Powis as the result of collaboration with Whitney Straight, a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator and businessman. The aim was to provide comfortable accommodation for pilot, passenger and luggage in an enclosed 'side-by-side' cockpit. It was a low-wing monoplane, with fixed main undercarriage in aerodynamic fairings plus a fixed tailwheel. Construction was mainly of wood, with spruce frames and three-ply birch covering, and the wings had vacuum-operated split flaps. It was initially powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major I piston engine.

Operational history

On 14 May 1936, the prototype, built by Philips and Powis, first flew at Woodley Aerodrome, piloted by F.G. Miles. When production ended in 1937, 50 Whitney Straights had been built.
On 28 June 1938, the M.11C crashed at Harefield, Berkshire, killing the test pilot, Wing Commander F.W. Stent. Modified Whitney Straights were also used as engine test beds and by Miles to test different flap designs. After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Air Ministry impressed 23 Whitney Straights into military service, for use as communications aircraft. Twenty-one of those served in the UK, one in India, and one in Egypt. One M.11A also served with the Fleet Air Arm from 1940 to 1943, and three with the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Between 1939 and 1943, a New Zealand machine piloted by Alan Pritchard was used for aerial seed sowing trials at Ninety Mile Beach and later spreading superphosphate. These trials were part of the experiments which led to the development of aerial topdressing,.

Variants

Data from:British civil aircraft 1919-1972 Volume III
;M.11:
;M.11B: the sole M.11B was powered by a Amherst Villiers Maya I engine, adding to its maximum speed and to its rate of climb.
;M.11C: the sole M.11C was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major II engine driving a variable-pitch propeller.

Operators