Miles Aerovan
1940s British civil utility aircraft / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Miles M.57 Aerovan was a British twin-engined short-range low-cost transport aircraft designed and produced by Miles Aircraft. It was primarily used for freight and passenger services.[2]
M.57 Aerovan | |
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Aerovan 4 of Channel Islands Air Freight at Manchester (Ringway) Airport in May 1955 | |
Role | Short haul transport |
National origin | United Kingdom |
Manufacturer | Miles Aircraft |
Designer | George Herbert Miles |
First flight | 26 January 1945 |
Status | retired |
Number built | 48[1] |
Variants | Miles M.68 |
Development of the Aerovan started during the latter years of the Second World War as an affordable freighter suitable for both civilian and military purposes. It was suited to austere operations, and possessed an atypically high payload capacity for its power output. Relatively large payloads, including a single car, could be transported by the aircraft, being loaded via its large clamshell freight door. While Miles intended to produce the Aerovan for the British Army as a wartime asset, development was put on hold by order of the Air Ministry until the end of the conflict.
On 26 January 1945, the maiden flight of the Aerovan took place. Quantity production formally commenced during 1946, although customer demand exceeded the company's production capacity. The Aerovan was primarily flown by commercial operators, but was also operated by a number of military users. Numerous variants were developed, and further models were envisioned, including a flying boat model; however, production was halted as a result of the company's bankruptcy in late 1947.