45-493: The Miles M.38 Messenger is a British four-seat liaison and private owner aircraft built by Miles Aircraft . The Messenger was designed to meet an informal request from a group of British Army officers for a robust, slow speed, low maintenance air observation post and liaison aircraft. The aircraft designed was a cantilever low-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel, powered by the de Havilland Gipsy Major 1D inline engine. Fitted with retractable auxiliary wing flaps enabling
90-526: A $ 500,000 dowry on announcement of her marriage, and the couple lived for a time in Miss Elliott's Regents Park home. Maxine's sister, Diana, was to write that Maxine Elliott had swept Maxine's first marriage out of the hands of her parents. In 1930 Blossom and Inigo, her husband, joined Cecil Pashley ' s Southern Aero Club at Shoreham Airport . Their flying instructor was Frederick George Miles. In February 1931, Blossom and Inigo were having
135-581: A 155 h.p. Cirrus Major III engine. This model was not further developed as it did not provide any advantage over the other variants. Post-war production centred on the Messenger 2A for the civilian market, aircraft being built at Newtownards in Northern Ireland and flown to Woodley for final fitting out. After 71 aircraft were built, production ceased in 1948; a single example was assembled, from existing parts, in 1950. Several examples of
180-586: A contemporary modern design, Blossom's taste. In 1938, Blossom was a Commissioner of the Civil Air Guard , established July 1938, to encourage and subsidize pilot training. Blossom later designed costumes for a revival of the show Berkeley Square at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. Maxine gained her aviation certificate (Royal Aero Club certificate 9585) through her membership in
225-496: A dividend of 7% per cent and a bonus of 24% were recommended, they should reasonably have been expected to know that a big loss was being suffered by the company. Charges were brought against Sir William Malcolm Mount and F. G. Miles. There were 24 charges regarding publication of a Miles Aircraft Ltd prospectus with "false and reckless statements". The trial began on 10 May 1950 at the Old Bailey . After 17 days of sitting,
270-534: A group structure with subsidiary companies as follows: Meridian Airmaps Ltd (whose collection of aerial photographs forms part of the English Heritage Archive ), Miles Development Products Ltd, Miles Electronics Ltd, Miles Marine & Structural Plastics Ltd and Jet Tanks Ltd. The group was initially based at Redhill, but moved to Shoreham in 1953. Miles Electronics was involved in the manufacture of flight simulators; this division merged with
315-531: A low-wing monoplane built at Shoreham Airport . They planned to fly to India, where Freeman-Thomas's father had been appointed Viceroy . On 7 December 1931, The New York Times reported that Viscount Ratendone (Inigo Freeman-Thomas) was seeking a divorce from Viscountess Ratendone (Maxine Freeman-Thomas). "Her husband, the Viscount, was the money behind the fledgling flying school owned by Fred and his partners. In emotional turmoil, Fred sold out his portion of
360-418: A misleading forecast that for 1947 the profit covering the production of aircraft would have been £75,000, whereas there was a substantial loss. It was alleged that they recklessly made the misleading statement that the company had orders on hand which were sufficient to ensure production for the following two years, and that they dishonestly concealed the fact that a profit for the manufacture of aircraft in 1947
405-468: A reorganization scheme. The petitioners, creditors for £5,837, were supported by other creditors for £62,000 and opposed by creditors for £200,000. An affidavit put into court showed that subject to audit, a loss of £630,000 had been incurred on 31 October 1947, but that a rescue plan could not be drawn up until the audit was completed. The principal trade creditors were: Blackburn Aircraft Ltd., De La Rue Extrusions Ltd., Smiths Aircraft Instruments Ltd . and
450-496: A wing loading of around 12.5 lb per square foot, the Messenger had triple fins and rudders in order to maintain sufficient controllability down to the exceptionally low stalling speed of 25 mph. The prototype was converted from a Miles M.28 Mercury and first flew at Woodley on 12 September 1942, some three months after the approach by army officers. When informally test flown by an Aerial Observation Post Squadron it
495-517: Is now a private members' golf club. The Forbes-Robertsons' main family home was located at 22 Bedford Square in the heart of London's Bloomsbury district. Forbes-Robertson was a contemporary of Barbara Cartland , with whom she was presented in 1919 as a debutante . Cartland said of Forbes-Robertson: "I do believe that once you know something nasty you can't erase it. That's why when I had my children ... I wouldn't read any racy novels -- because Blossom Forbes-Robertson, who 'came out' with me in 1919,
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#1732790182008540-508: The Master advanced trainer, as well as the Martinet and Monitor target tugs . The aircraft designed by Miles were often technologically and aerodynamically advanced for their time; the M.20 emergency production fighter prototype outperformed contemporary Hawker Hurricanes , despite having fixed landing gear. The X Minor was a flying testbed for blended wing-fuselage designs, although
585-469: The Sperry Gyroscope Co. Ltd . Mr. F. G. Miles announced the payment of the 4% per cent preference dividends out of his own resources of £8,600. After Miles Aircraft had been taken over by financiers in 1947, the design and manufacture of aircraft was ended by the new Board. At this time the company had some £5 million worth of business in hand, including substantial orders for the Messenger and
630-596: The "first eight" women pilots in the Air Transport Auxiliary ) flew in the King's Cup air race in 1934. Blossom served as one of five commissioners of the Civil Air Guard which was established in July 1938 to encourage and subsidise pilot training. Formed around civilian flying clubs, subsidised tuition was offered in exchange for an 'honourable undertaking' that in times of emergency, members would serve in
675-521: The 140 hp Gypsy Major engine to complete the 953-mile course with only a single re-fuelling stop. The Miles Trio (George, Fred and Blossom) designs used extensively by the RAF included the Miles Hawk and Miles Master , both of which were used as training aircraft for Hurricane and Spitfire pilots. Maxine (Blossom) was a director of Phillip and Powis Aircraft Ltd, and later, when that company
720-874: The French company, Hurel-Dubois , resulted in the HDM.105 – a standard Miles Aerovan fitted with an Hurel-Dubois high-aspect-ratio wing. This work led to the Hurel-Dubois HD.34 and the Short Skyvan series of aircraft. The company's earlier aircraft include the Hawk Trainer and its military variant, the Magister , as well as the Messenger and the Gemini . During the Second World War, it produced
765-634: The Gemini. In 1948 an application by the Board of Trade for the appointment of an inspector to investigate the affairs of Miles Aircraft Ltd. was granted by Mr. Justice Roxburgh. The B.O.T. case was that when a prospectus was issued in March, 1947 (before the accounts for 1946 were published), the directors should reasonably have been expected to know that all was not well with the company, and when, in August, 1947,
810-623: The Miles Martin Pen Co. Ltd. In 1948, F.G. Miles founded F. G. Miles Limited, which continued to produce aircraft under the Miles brand. The company was based on two sites, Redhill Aerodrome and Shoreham Aerodrome . In 1961, the aviation interests were purchased (along with Auster Aircraft Limited ) by British Executive and General Aviation Limited ( Beagle Aircraft ), initially as Beagle-Miles Ltd, with George Herbert Miles as Chief Designer and Technical Director. The company adopted
855-769: The Royal Air Force Reserve. In 1942, she was a guest speaker at the Women’s Engineering Society 's Annual Dinner, help at the Forum Club , speaking on Women in the Drawing Office , based on her personal experiences working on aircraft engineering and training up other women in the field during World War Two. Seven hundred women applied for the first 16 training places at the Phillip and Powis Aircraft Ltd, offered as part of supporting
900-551: The Southern Aero Club. One of the first aircraft she owned was a De Havilland DH.60X Cirrus Moth , registered G-EBZG, in 1928, after it had been damaged on landing at Shoreham, sold to Southern Aircraft Ltd, and rebuilt; it was then named "Jemimah". Of the aircraft Blossom helped design, the Miles Sparrowhawk , is one of the most notable. F. G. Miles decided to compete in the 1935 King’s Cup Air Race and
945-722: The UK arm of the Link Trainer flight simulator company and was later acquired by the Singer Corporation . In 1975 Hunting Associated Industries acquired a controlling interest in F. G. Miles Engineering and all its subsidiaries. The company was renamed Hunting Hivolt and Jeremy Miles, the son of Fred Miles (who founded the firm), became a non-executive director on the board. Other companies included Miles HiVolt Ltd and Miles-Dufon Ltd (this company went into administration on 15 April 1980). Design work between F. G. Miles Ltd and
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#1732790182008990-408: The business, bought a trainer plane and shipped it to Cape Town, South Africa, to start a new life. " Freeman-Thomas named Frederick George Miles , flying instructor, as co-defendant with Maxine in an undefended suit and was granted a decree nisi . Maxine and Inigo Freeman-Thomas were divorced in 1932. Both Maxine and Freeman-Thomas had been members of the Southern Aero Club of Shoreham, where Miles
1035-658: The company entered receivership following bankruptcy proceedings instigated by Titanine Ltd. , in the Chancery Division of the High Court . Titanine supplied Miles with aviation coatings used in the production of the Miles Gemini aircraft. Mr. Justice Wynn-Parry adjourned the petition of Titanine Ltd., for the winding up of Miles Aircraft Ltd., until 19 January 1948, on the grounds that the company had showed prima facie reasons for not yet having formulated
1080-506: The company number, name, year of first flight and number produced of all Miles aircraft. The Miles Aircraft Collection was established in 1993 for anyone interested in Miles aircraft and related subjects and aims to encourage the preservation of all surviving examples worldwide (ideally in flying condition or otherwise in museums and collections open to the public). Maxine Blossom Miles Maxine Frances Mary " Blossom " Miles ( née Forbes-Robertson ; 22 September 1901 – 6 April 1984)
1125-545: The guise of this aircraft – attended the 60th D-Day commemorations at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in 2004.) Seventeen of the 21 Messenger 1s produced survived the war, and when retired from RAF duties most were converted for civilian use as the Messenger 4A . They were flown by private pilots and business owners. In 1944 the prototype was rebuilt as the M.48 Messenger 3 with fully retractable electrically operated split trailing-edge flaps and
1170-442: The job of producing a suitable aircraft fell to Maxine, who had just eight weeks to produce an aeroplane. With neither the time or the facilities to create something from scratch, she took a Miles Hawk , shortened the fuselage, improved the streamlining, reduced the wingspan by 5 ft, reduced the height of the undercarriage, moved the legs outwards and away from the propeller slipstream and, finally, installed extra tanks to enable
1215-411: The jury stopped the case against Miles and Sir William, and they were discharged. They had appeared on charges of inducing people to acquire shares in the company by making a misleading forecast and dishonestly concealing a material fact in a prospectus. According to Flight , "Twenty of the original 24 counts were thrown out before the defence was reached. The prosecution alleged that the defendants gave
1260-407: The large commercial transport intended to be produced from this research never entered production. The gigantic Miles X Airliner was to seat 55 and have eight engines buried in the wings, driving four sets of contra-rotating props and achieve a range of 3,450 miles. The Miles Libellula (named after dragonflies ) were experimental tandem-wing designs. A fighter prototype M.35 , designed to give
1305-478: The pilot a better landing view, and to fit on aircraft carriers without a need for folding wings, was funded and built by the company (with wood) in only six weeks but was rejected by the Ministry of Aircraft Production . A bomber version was designed, and then a prototype ordered for a "high speed bomber" requirement, but that prototype was never built. Instead, the company built a 5/8th scale version M.39B which
1350-506: The production of components of the aircraft. A hangar at RAF Long Kesh was used for assembly of the aircraft and flight testing was carried out at the airfield. The company moved to Newtownards following the end of the war in 1946. The company opened the Miles Aeronautical Technical School in 1943 under the directorship of Maxine (Blossom) Miles The school had a "Headmaster", Walter Evans. In 1947,
1395-403: The theatre and appeared on the London stage with members of her family on occasion. Maxine spent her early years with her parents Gertrude Elliott and Johnston Forbes-Robertson , and sisters Jean , Chloe and Diana at Hartsbourne Manor, the home of her aunt Maxine Elliott , a wing of which was used exclusively by Miles's parents. The house, formerly the family seat of Sir Thomas Thompson
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1440-537: The town of Reading , Berkshire. In 1936, Rolls-Royce bought into the company. Although aircraft were produced under the Miles name, it was not until 1943 that the firm became Miles Aircraft Limited when Rolls-Royce's interests were bought out. The company needed to increase production of the Miles Messenger and to do so it took over a former linen mill in Banbridge , County Down, Northern Ireland for
1485-765: The type were sold to Australia and others were exported to Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand, South Africa and Switzerland. The aircraft was a popular touring and racing aircraft during the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1954 Harold Wood in G-AKBO won the King's Cup Race air race at 133 mph. Several examples were still flying in the United Kingdom and New Zealand in early 2011 with private owners and flying groups. Data from For Business And Pleasure General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Miles Aircraft Miles
1530-399: The war George Miles continued to experiment with the prototype and suggested the aircraft (known as the M.38A) could be operated in the anti-submarine role using a small 60 foot (18.29 metre) deck aboard small merchant ships, landing using a simple arrester wire system. This was tried at Woodley using a simulated deck (with passengers simulating the weight of depth charges). No official interest
1575-403: Was a British aviation engineer , socialite , businesswoman, engraver , costume designer , and gardener. She was born into a well-known family of actors. She became interested in aviation in the 1920s, and married her flight instructor, Frederick George Miles . Together they eventually founded Miles Aircraft , where she was a draughtswoman and aircraft designer . Maxine Forbes-Robertson
1620-459: Was a director and instructor. Miles flew his Simmonds Spartan aircraft to South Africa to escape the situation and consider his position; almost immediately he returned. On 6 August 1932 Maxine and Miles were married at Holborn Registry Office. Blossom and Fred had two children, Jeremy born in 1933 and Mary Susannah born in 1939. The couple's home, Lands' End in Twyford, Berkshire , was of
1665-872: Was acquired by the Nashua Corporation in 1963. The Philidas locking nut unit became an independent company. The bookbinding machinery and actuator production were taken over by a specifically formed company, the Western Manufacturing Estate Ltd, the name "Western" referring to its location on the Woodley aerodrome. This company later merged with the Adamant Engineering Company Ltd. to form the Adwest Group. Miles also manufactured ballpoint pens designed by László Bíró through an associated company,
1710-399: Was born in 1901 to actors Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson and Gertrude Elliott . Her father was acclaimed, and his family was at the heart of London society. A privileged but grounded upbringing ensured that "Blossom", as she was known in her family, was able to develop her intellectual, sporting, and artistic abilities to the full, despite losing an eye at an early age. She was no stranger to
1755-654: Was born with an empty eye socket after her mother acted the role of a one-eyed woman during pregnancy. So I just tried to think beautiful thoughts." As a 'bright young thing' along with Lady Diana Cooper and Elsa Maxwell , Forbes-Robertson organised 'treasure hunt' parties across London. Maxine married Captain Hon Inigo Freeman-Thomas (later 2nd Marquess of Willingdon), son of Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon and Lady Marie Brassey, on 8 October 1924. Her married name became Freeman-Thomas. Maxine Elliott (her Aunt) gave Freeman-Thomas
1800-407: Was declared a success, meeting all the army's requirements, however the Ministry of Aircraft Production , having not been consulted, reprimanded George Miles for failing to seek the ministry's permission before rebuilding the aircraft and no orders for the Miles M.38 were placed for the aerial observation post role, AOP units using light, fixed-wing aircraft, notably various marks of Auster . During
1845-611: Was expressed in this scheme, but a year later a small order against Specification 17/43 was placed on behalf of the British Royal Air Force for the Messenger I to be employed in the VIP transport passenger transport role. Wartime users of the type included Marshal of the Royal Air Force 1st Baron Tedder and Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery . (The Messenger shown at the beginning of this article – in
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1890-521: Was purchased by her husband and brother-in-law, a shareholder of Miles Aircraft Ltd. Within the Miles company, Blossom Miles was a draughtswoman as well as looking after the social and welfare issues faced by the rapidly expanding company. In 1943 The Miles Aeronautical Technical School opened under her directorship. She designed the Miles Hawk G-ACIZ aircraft which Gabrielle Patterson , Britain's first woman flying instructor (and later one of
1935-410: Was sold to the government for research and testing; it was scrapped after being damaged and the bomber procurement had been cancelled. Tandem-wing designs, with a wing at both ends of an aircraft, reduce centre of gravity problems due to fuel or ammunition usage. The Miles M.52 was a turbojet-powered supersonic research aircraft project that was cancelled before completion. The following table lists
1980-495: Was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles , who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herbert Miles , designed numerous light civil and military aircraft and a range of curious prototypes. A company was founded in 1928 by Charles Powis and Jack Phillips as Phillips & Powis Aircraft (Reading) Ltd . In 1929 they opened Woodley Aerodrome , near
2025-667: Was unlikely." Both men said that they believed every word of the prospectus was true. After the acquittal, an application for costs for £20,000 was disallowed. The aviation assets were purchased by Handley Page as Handley Page Reading Ltd. Handley Page produced the Miles-designed M.60 Marathon as the H.P.R.1 Marathon . The Miles Aeronautical Technical School was taken over by the Reading Technical College . Other products in which Miles had interests included photocopiers; this business became Copycat Ltd, which
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