| Hawk Speed Six | |
|---|---|
| |
| Hawk Speed Six G-ADGP wearing race No. 96 at Leeds (Yeadon) Airport in May 1955 | |
| Role | Single-seat racing monoplane
Type of aircraft
|
| Manufacturer | Miles Aircraft Limited |
| Designer | Frederick George Miles |
| First flight | 1934 |
| Number built | 3 |
| Developed from | Miles Hawk Major |
The Miles Hawk Speed Six was a 1930s British two-seat light monoplane, developed by Miles Aircraft from the Miles Hawk Major by fitting the longer and more powerful Gipsy Six engine and removing the forward crew member.
The Hawk Major was a variant of the two-seat Miles M.2 Hawk low-wing cantilever monoplane, developed by F.G. Miles to take advantage of the new inverted de Havilland Gipsy Major engine. The Hawk Speed Six was developed in parallel as a more powerful single-seat racer, as the one-off M.2E, with the 200 hpde Havilland Gipsy Six engine. To make room for the longer, six-cylinder engine the front cockpit was removed, making it a single-seater, and the rear cockpit was repositioned to retain balance.
Only three examples of the Speed Six were built, each tailored to its specific requirements, but they had a significant impact on the Golden Age of British air racing:[1]
G-ACTE was the prototype Speed Six, powered by a 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Six engine. It was first flown in 1934, the same year as the Hawk Major.[2]
G-ACTE was initially sold to Sir Charles Rose. It was subsequently bought by Bill Humble, and sold abroad in 1937.[3]
G-ADGP was built to the order of Luis Fontés for the 1935 King's Cup air race. Compared to the prototype it had greater dihedral and split trailing-edge flaps. Again powered by the 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Six engine, it was completed in 1935. Unfortunately, it failed to complete the race that year.[4] Fontes went on to race it for several years, with some success. During this period it underwent progressive modification. It was further modified for the 1939 King's Cup, but the race was cancelled. By now the canopy had been modified and the wing span reduced from 38 ft to 28 ft.[5]
The aircraft has changed hands several times since and had a significant postwar racing career.[1][5]
G-ADGP is now flying with the Shuttleworth Collection, still with its original engine.[4]
G-ADOD was built to the order of Ruth Fontés, who already owned M2F Hawk Major G-ACXT, with the intent of beating her brother Luis (see above) in the 1935 King's Cup. It was fitted with an even more powerful 220 hp Gipsy Six R racing engine, originally developed for the de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer. Fontés entered the race under the pseudonym "Miss R. Slow" but, like her brother, failed to complete the race.[4]
In 1936 A. E. Clouston and his backer F. E. Tasker bought G-ADOD. Clouston had it modified with a cockpit canopy, reclining seat and greater fuel capacity, and entered it in the Schlesinger Race from PortsmouthtoJohannesburg. Engine trouble forced him down 150 miles south of Salisbury, just short of the finish. The plane was destroyed in the crash-landing.[6][7]
Clouston salvaged the engine and brought it back to England.[1] It remained in store with Essex Aero until after WWII. When the company went bankrupt, the engine was auctioned off to a private collector.[4] It is one of only two Gipsy Six R engines to have survived.
Data from British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume 3[8]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
