Miles Magister



The Miles M.14 Magister was a British two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft built by the Miles Aircraft for the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. Affectionately known as the Maggie, the Magister was based on Miles' civilian Hawk Major and Hawk Trainer and was the first monoplane designed specifically as a trainer for the RAF. As a low-wing monoplane, it was an ideal introduction to the Spitfire and Hurricane for new pilots. Its sister design, the Miles Master was an advanced trainer also built by Phillips & Powis at Woodley.

Design and development
The Miles M.14 was designed to meet Air Ministry Specification T.40/36 and was first flown on 20 March 1937 by F.G. Miles and then christened 'Magister'. Based on Miles' Hawk Trainer, the Magister is an open-cockpit, low wing cantilever monoplane of spruce structure covered in plywood. The wing centre section has no dihedral and is of constant section with outer sections having dihedral and tapering towards the tip. It has a fixed tailwheel undercarriage with spats on the main wheels. Split flaps are fitted as standard. Early Magisters (including the first prototype) suffered a number of accidents when the aircraft could not be recovered from a spin. To solve this problem, the tailplane was raised by 6 in, anti-spin strakes fitted to the rear fuselage, and eventually, a new taller rudder. Thus modified, the aircraft became the definitive M.14A.

Notwithstanding the relatively large number built, contemporary glues used to assemble the wooden aircraft have not stood the test of time and few survive today.

Operational history
Production began in October 1937 and by the start of the Second World War over 700 Magisters had entered service with RAF Elementary Flying Training Schools, eventually equipping 16 such schools as well as the Central Flying School. Large numbers of civilian Hawk Majors were also pressed into service as trainers. Production of the Magister continued until 1941 by which time 1,203 had been built by Miles and an additional 100 were built under licence in Turkey.



After the war many Magisters were converted for civilian uses and redesignated as the Hawk Trainer III. The 1950 Kings Cup Air Race, in which eight Hawk Trainer IIIs competed, was won by E. Day in a modified cabin version G-AKRV at 138.5 mph. At least two other aircraft were thus modified. In 2009, 10 Hawk Trainer IIIs were registered in the United Kingdom, of which several were airworthy.

Variants

 * Miles M.14 Magister / Hawk Trainer III
 * Initial production version.


 * Miles M.14A Magister I / Hawk Trainer III
 * Improved variant.


 * Miles M.14B Magister II / Hawk Trainer II
 * Improved variant with a 135hp Blackburn Cirrus II engine



Operators

 * Royal Australian Air Force - One aircraft.
 * 🇨🇦 Canada
 * Royal Canadian Air Force
 * Royal Canadian Air Force


 * 🇪🇬 Egypt
 * Egyptian Army Air Force
 * Royal Egyptian Air Force - 42 aircraft.
 * Belgian Air Force - One aircraft operated from 1946 to 1948.
 * Estonian Air Force - One aircraft
 * Irish Air Corps - 27 aircraft  from 1939 to 1952.
 * Latvian Aviation Regiment
 * Malaya
 * Malayan Volunteer Air Force
 * Royal New Zealand Air Force - Two aircraft.
 * No. 1 Squadron RNZAF
 * No. 42 Squadron RNZAF
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal
 * Portuguese Air Force - Ten aircraft.
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa
 * South African Air Force
 * Turkish Air Force
 * Thai Air Force
 * Thai Navy
 * Fleet Air Arm
 * Royal Air Force
 * No. 24 Squadron RAF
 * No. 81 Squadron RAF
 * No. 173 Squadron RAF
 * No. 267 Squadron RAF
 * Thai Navy
 * Fleet Air Arm
 * Royal Air Force
 * No. 24 Squadron RAF
 * No. 81 Squadron RAF
 * No. 173 Squadron RAF
 * No. 267 Squadron RAF
 * No. 267 Squadron RAF