Miles M.26 was the designation used to cover the family of ''X''-series design proposals, for long-range transport aircraft. The common factors of most ''X'' design proposals were the use of a

blended wing body A blended wing body (BWB), also known as blended body, hybrid wing body (HWB) or a lifting aerofoil fuselage, is a fixed-wing aircraft having no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the craft. The aircraft has distinct wing ...

and engines buried in the wings, based on principles patented by Nicolas Woyevodsky. A sub-scale prototype of the ''X.9'' proposal was constructed, designated the Miles M.30.

Variants

''Data from:'' Miles aircraft since 1925 ;X.2 :The ''X.2'' design was first published in ''Flight'' in 1938, from work begun in 1936. A projected 300 mph 38-seat transport of about 48,000 lb loaded with 1,000 mile range, it did not use a lifting body fuselage.Flight 28 April 1938 p 411 Initial design powered by four unspecified air-cooled

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

piston engines. Span , gross weight . Met with a cool reaction by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

only receiving a paltry £25,000 development contract and a wooden mock-up to Specification 42/37. ;X.3:A projected six-engined variant. ;X.4 to X.8: Variants of the ''X'' blended wing theme which didn't proceed further than the concept stage, including an eight-engined transatlantic airliner. (''X.8'') ;X.9:A design for a four-engined transport, submitted to the

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

(MAP) in Autumn of 1942, powered by four

Rolls-Royce Griffon The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre (2,240 cubic inch, cu in) Engine displacement, capacity, 60-degree V12 engine, V-12, liquid-cooled Aircraft engine, aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. In keeping with compan ...

V-12 piston engines and fitted with retractable tricycle undercarriage. ;X.10: A small twin-engined airliner / transport, following the blended wing concept but with externally mounted engines. ;X.11:After the

Brabazon Committee The Brabazon Committee was a committee set up by the British government in 1942 to investigate the future needs of the British Empire's civilian airliner market following World War II.Phipp, 2007, pp.15-16 The study was an attempt at defining, in ...

released the ''Type I'' specification (later developed into Air Ministry Specification 2/44) for the post-war transatlantic airliner, only to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, F.G. Miles unofficially submitted a design based on the ''X''series of blended wing aircraft. The ''X.11'' was to be eight-engined, with high cruising speed (for 1943), high wing loading and low power loading, seating at least 50 passengers, but was rejected. (Span , gross weight ). ;X.12: A bomber version of the ''X.11'' ;X.13: A troop transport version of the ''X.11'' ;X.14: After rejection of the ''X.11'', Miles was unofficially encouraged to submit a design for a smaller aircraft not competing with the Brabazon specifications, powered by four

Bristol Centaurus The Centaurus was the final development of the Bristol Engine Company's series of sleeve valve radial aircraft engines. The Centaurus is an 18-cylinder, two-row design that eventually delivered over . The engine was introduced into service ...

radial engines, with a span of and gross weight of ). This submission was also summarily rejected. ;X.15:A revised ''X.14'', to be powered by six

Napier Sabre The Napier Sabre is a British H engine, H-24-cylinder, coolant, liquid-cooled, sleeve valve, piston aircraft engine, aero engine, designed by Frank Halford, Major Frank Halford and built by D. Napier & Son during World War II. The engine evolv ...

H-24 in-line engines. ; Miles M.30:'' X-Minor'' sub-scale aerodynamic test-bed / research aircraft for the ''X.9'' project.

Specifications (M.26 ''X.9'')

References

External links

*https://books.google.com/books?id=M3NhrPVyQiIC&dq=Miles+x+airliner&pg=PA44 {{Miles aircraft Abandoned civil aircraft projects Aviation history of the United Kingdom 1940s British airliners M.26