Flight, March 1938

TRAINING for TO-MORROW

   EVEN were there no other reasons, the Miles Magister is particularly interesting as a flying machine be­cause it is the first basic trainer of the new era and because it is a low-wing machine with a full aerobatic C. of A.
   Since the majority of present-day military and civil types are of such design it was obvious that it would soon be necessary to train both civil and Service pilots from the very start on the kind of machine which they would eventually need to fly. In the ordinary course of events nobody who can handle a normal training biplane with proficiency is liable to go very far wrong with any type of machine, but the psychological effect of a drastic change-over must not be forgotten and there are, in fact, one or two flying characteristics of the low-wing machine which are not repeated in one of what is still, for some reason, called “conventional” design.
   The firm of Phillips and Powis were in a good position, since they had already been producing low-wing types for a number of years, and the Magister may virtually be considered as a natural development of the Hawk Major. Various important changes and modifications have, of course, been necessary in order to bring the Magister into line with accepted ideas on aerobatic manners and strengths, but the basic design is unaltered.
   A third, and perhaps more important, reason why the Magister has a special interest from the pilot’s point of view concerns the many opinions which have lately been current on the spinning characteristics of the low-wing type and (because of the work for which it is being used) of the Magister in particular. The fact of the matter is that the introduction of the machines designed on what has been called the "modern formula" has changed most of our ideas on the subject of spinning. Whereas in the old days every machine except those of the very largest size were automatically tested and expected to behave quite normally in a spin, the tendency at present is to treat this manoeuvre as one which should never be used. A comparatively recent Air Ministry demand in the matter of tail parachutes for all spinning tests effectively echoes official feeling in this matter. It would probably be true to say that no two low-wing machines spin or recover in quite the same way, and that few, if any, machines of this type, other than the Magister, have been allowed to do more than one or two turns before recovery.

Practical Demonstration

   Nevertheless - even if the machines which a pilot will eventually fly have not been and are not expected to be spun, it is obviously necessary that he should both know how to recover and have practice in this recovery during his training. Furthermore, this practice and experience should preferably be gained on a type which might reasonably be considered to perform in a similar manner to that of the machines in service.
   My first and most obvious interest in the Magister concerned its behaviour during this old-fashioned manoeuvre, and to this end I did dual at Reading with Mr. H. W. C. Skinner, the Phillips and Powis test pilot, who acted as instructor in this affair of low-wing spinning and who provided some moral support while I did my worst in the matter. He has, one way and another, done so much spinning in this particular type that he could be forgiven for being thoroughly tired of the whole business. However, he proceeded to demonstrate a long-period spin and the recovery therefrom and afterwards handed over to me.
   After two or three turns I always tend rather to lose interest in the labour of counting these turns, but I should say that the maximum number, carried out consecutively both to the right and to the left, was something like fifteen. And if a machine is to develop any unreasonable characteristics during the spinning process these should certainly appear some long time before the fifteenth turn. Actually, the Magister does not lose height very rapidly during a spin and it was not necessary to waste too much time in climbing up to a safe height; 5,000ft. was our starting point on each attempt.
   Let it be admitted straightway that a machine of this type does not, and cannot be expected to, act quite like a biplane during a spin. It would only be curious if it did. Nevertheless, beyond the fact that reasonably vigorous recovery measures had to be taken, I was not told any­thing about such differences before leaving the ground. Yet no particular difficulties were experienced, and the sensations were not sufficiently different from those noticed with other “conventional” trainers to cause anything more than interested comment after returning to earth.

Differences

   So far as right-hand spins are concerned, at any rate, one's weight is rather disconcertingly offset - a fact which might possibly worry the uninitiated new-comer into the belief that there was something wrong - and every third turn is made at a somewhat swifter tempo. Both these characteristics are apparent also in left-hand spins, but in this direction they are not sufficiently marked to be notice­able. The autorotation begins without preamble just as soon as the controls are crossed at or about stalling speed.
   During recovery conventional ideas about centralisation or "easing the stick forward" must be forgotten. In fact, I was taught to use opposite rudder in my original training, so the fact that this control was present for use and not merely for ornament did not come as a surprise. The stick, however, must definitely be moved forward of the neutral position, and, as the resisting pressure is not inconsiderable, there is no question of "easing."
   Alter six, twelve, or fifteen consecutive turns in either direction, let it be impressed, the firm use of full opposite rudder, followed immediately by forward pressure on the stick, causes the Magister to stop spinning without a moment’s hesitation. It is difficult to estimate the speed of recovery after a very large number of turns, but it seemed that the rotation could be stopped always in something rather less than a whole turn. Needless to say, with a machine as clean as the Magister quite a lot of speed is gathered during recovery from the diving position and the pull-out should be done without unreasonable hesitation.
   As an aerobatic or ab initio trainer it is difficult to find fault with the machine except, perhaps, that it is a little too easy to fly - a fault which may be said to have applied to almost every training aeroplane that has ever been built. For best results the take-off must be made in the usual low-wing manner, getting the tail well up for initial acceleration and easing the stick a little back again before take-off speed is reached, so that the machine is allowed to show the necessary signs of being air borne. The process of landing has that air of easy finality which one has learnt to expect in the low-wing type - a feature which discourages pump-handling and which gives one the impression that the machine has landed itself.

Simple Aerobatics

   Where aerobatics are concerned, I contented myself with a few vertical turns and straightforward loops. The latter appeared to be best carried out with an initial speed of about 140 m.p.h. and the circuit graduated on the stick so that the constant pressure was half as much again as that normally experienced through the action of gravity; by this means it was possible te loop without any appreciable loss of height. As might be expected, the ailerons are a little heavier than those which are customary on aerobatic biplane types, but little pressure or movement is necessary in going from bank to bank unless the change-over is required to be very rapid.
   From the initial training point of view it is a good thing that the Magister should have the now almost universal split flaps so that the pupil, from the very start, learns to make use of them. Though not quite so potent, perhaps, as those, for instance, of the Whitney Straight, they are efficient enough, yet not so efficient that the hold-off from a natural approach speed is dangerously shortened in time, or that the change ol angle during the landing process is too difficult for the new-comer.
   There was practically no wind on the particular day when I flew the machine, and the float from an approach speed of 60 m.p.h. with the flaps down was quite sufficient to provide the necessary time for landing adjustment. Incidentally, the flaps are vacuum-operated on the Theed system, their operation being quite automatic, following the movement of a small sliding control placed below the throttle gate. Below this flap control is the hand-brake lever, whilst the trimming lever is on the right-hand side of the cockpit to match the throttle control.
   Altogether, it must be admitted that it was a pleasant and interesting experience to treat a low-wing type, for once, as one would treat any of the aerobatic trainers on which most of us were originally educated. An experience, too, with a moral.


MILES MAGISTER. (130 h.p. Gipsy Major).
Span 33ft. 10in.
Length 25ft. 3in.
Weight, empty 1,240 lb.
All-up weight 1,825 lb.
Maximum speed 145 m.p.h.
Cruising speed 125 m.p.h.
Landing speed 45 m.p.h.
Range 400 miles.
Service ceiling 18.000ft.
Rate of climb at sea level 1,200ft./min.
Makers : Phillips and Powis Aircraft, Ltd. Reading Aerodrome, Reading, Berks.

Flight, September 1939

To-day's Light Aeroplanes

MILES

   AS far as lighter types are concerned, Phillips & Powis have concentrated during the past few months on the manufacture of the Miles Magister, which is a general-purpose trainer in the modern style. The cabin Monarch is no longer in production. The Magister is an all-wood low-wing cantilever monoplane with split flaps. Though now very much improved on it from the training value point of view, the Magister may be considered as a development of the Hawk Major, which set a new standard in its class.
   The Magister is of all-wood construction with ply-covered wing and fuselage. It will be remembered that Mr. Miles popularised the low wing type in the lighter class and was one of the first to fit flaps to machines in this class. The Magister is extensively used at elementary training schools

Span 33ft. 10in.
Length 25ft. 3in.
Weight empty 1,240 lb.
All-up weight 1,825 lb.
Max. speed 145 m.p.h.
Cruising speed 125 m.p.h.
Landing speed 45 m.p.h.
Initial rate of climb 1,200ft./min.
Range 400 miles.
Makers: Phillips and Powis, Ltd., Reading Aerodrome, Woodley, Berks.

M.14 Magister

Britain's Military Aircraft
A Survey of Our Service Machines

PHILLIPS and POWIS

   TRAINING aircraft of low and high power are in large-scale production at the Phillips and Powis works.
   The smaller of the two types is the Miles Magister, a two-seater monoplane of wooden construction designed for ah initio training, which is claimed to reproduce the characteristics of modern high-performance machines. It is fully aerobatic and its range of 400 miles is ample for cross-country flying training. With a Gipsy Major engine the top speed is 145 m.p.h. The landing speed is 45 m.p.h. and the service ceiling 18,000ft.

Phillips and Powis Aircraft, Ltd., The Aerodrome Reading, Berks.