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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0736.PDF
352 FLIGHT. APRIL 4, i935. The cabin of the "Merlin" seats four passengers in perfect comfort, one beside the pilot and three on the seat behind. The door slides up easily and allows ample space for getting in and out of the cabin. very considerable advance over anything which Mr. Miles has yet designed. In spite of the fact that the new Ratier controllable-pitch airscrew was not then available and that a standard wooden airscrew had to be used, the perform ance was quite outstanding. With five people and full tanks the take-ofl was below the two-hundred-yard mark, and with flaps down the landing speed was, by A.S.I., about 46 m.p.h. In the air it is at once noticeable that the in creased dihedral of the wings gives that high degree of positive lateral stability which, we consider, is a desirable fea ture of commercial aeroplanes. The '' Merlin '' can be flown '' hands-ofl for long periods with perfect safety, even without the feet on the rudder-bar; in other words, directional as well as lateral stability is ample and definite. Furthermore, we are assured by the designer that bumps are corrected with out any undue lurching, so that the machine may be considered as one which can be safely left to fly itself while maps are examined or lunch is eaten. This is a very desirable fea ture, particularly when it is combined with a high degree of manoeuvrability, and when, as in the "Merlin," the fin areas are so proportioned that turns can be made without touch ing the rudder. The occasion of our flight was one of fine drizzling rain, so it was possible to prove the practicability of the unusual wind screen design; it was extremely pleasing to find that there was no difficulty at all in sitting forward so as to get very near the windscreen—a great help in conditions of this kind. Another Attractive Feature As can be seen from the table on p. 353, tne ratio of gross weight to tare weight is unusually good for this class of aero plane, thus there is yet another reason why the machine should prove admirable for taxi operators. That is realiy just what would be expected when it is known how the Merlin " came to be conceived. Even with the high percentage pay- load which can be carried—in the present model the figure is about 8oolb.—the range is excellent, the tankage for fortv- four gallons of fuel permitting journeys of about 800 miles without refuelling, and when the controliable-pitch airscrew is available both this and the cruising speed will probably be improved. The last truly commercial aeroplane—that is, one which enabled operators to make profits—to be built as the direct outcome of a designer giving an operator what he asked for was, perhaps, the D.H. "Dragon." This was designed as a result of collaboration with the late Mr. E. Hillman, and proved to be one of the most successful machines of recent times. It is interesting to note that it was built of wood just after a phase when most machines .were built in metal. Now we have the "Merlin," also built in similar circum stances and also of wood , if it finds as much favour among operators abroad as has the other, it will certainly appear that MILES "MERLIN" "GIPSY SIX" ENGINE SPAN - LENGTH 35 ft. o in. 25 ft. 10 in.
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