Miles Mentor

M.16 Mentor

Role: Training and Communications
Manufacturer: Miles Aircraft Limited
First flight: 1938
Introduced: 1938
Retired: 1950
Status: Retired or Destroyed
Primary user: Royal Air Force
Number built: 45
Developed from: Miles M.7 Nighthawk

The Miles M.16 Mentor was a 1930s British single-engined three-seat monoplane training and communications aircraft built by Miles Aircraft Limited.

Design and development

The Mentor was developed from the Miles M.7 Nighthawk to meet the Air Ministry Specification 38/37 for a three-seat cabin monoplane for use in a communications role. The requirement asked for the aircraft to able to carry out instrument and radio training in day or night.

Operational history

The first prototype (Serial L4392) first flew on 5 January 1938. An order for 45 aircraft was received and they were all delivered to the Royal Air Force between April 1938 and February 1939. They were mainly used by No. 24 Squadron and by RAF station flights.

Only one aircraft survived the Second World War, Serial L4420 was sold for civilian use in May 1946 as G-AHKM. It crashed on 1 April 1950 at Clayhidon, Devon and was destroyed.

Operators

United Kingdom

Royal Air Force
No. 24 Squadron RAF

Specifications (Mentor)

General characteristics

Crew: one, pilot
Length: 26 ft 1¾ in (7.97 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 9½ in (10.6 m)
Height: ()
Empty weight: 1,978 lb (903 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 2,710 lb (1,232 kg)
Powerplant: 1x— de Havilland Gipsy Six 6-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine, 200 hp (149 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 134 knots (156 mph, 253 km/h)

Bibliography

Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0.
Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-37000-127-3.
Halley, J.J. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-N9999. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. 1993. ISBN 0-85130-208-4.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.
Swanborough, Gordon. British Aircraft at War, 1939-1945. East Sussex, UK: HPC Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0-9531421-0-8.

Miles Mentor Pictures and Miles Mentor for Sale.

Living Warbirds: The best warbirds DVD series.

Source: WikiPedia