The Parnall 382 was a 1930s

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single-engined

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trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

with two open cockpits, designed and developed by Parnall Aircraft Ltd.

Design and development

The Parnall 382 was designed to meet UK Air Ministry Specification T.1/37 for an 'ab initio' trainer, and was also known as the Parnall Heck III. Its competitors were the Heston T.1/37 and the Miles M.15. The

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AS.36, General Aircraft GAL.32 and

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P.20 were also proposed against specification T.1/37, but not accepted or built. None of the designs was selected for production orders; it has been suggested that the required performance could not be achieved within the constraints of the Specification. Construction was primarily wooden, with plywood-skinned spruce frames. The cantilever oleo-pneumatic fixed main undercarriage legs were faired with spats. The undercarriage, tail unit and outer wing panels were adapted from the Parnall Heck 2C. The propeller was a

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fixed-pitch type. Student and tutor sat in open, tandem cockpits, but the rear cockpit was later enclosed.

Operational history

One example of the Parnall 382 was built by Parnall Aircraft Ltd as a private venture project. The first flight was by G.A.C Warren at

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Aerodrome in February 1939, with B conditions registration J1. In September 1939 it was registered G-AFKF. In June 1941, as the Parnall Heck III, it was allocated serial R9138 under contract 23979/39. In trials at the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at

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, it was assessed as pleasant to fly and generally good as a trainer. Notwithstanding a few modifications, no order was forthcoming, and it was SOC (struck off charge) on 5 March 1943. It was allocated the serial 3600M and ended its days as an

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instructional airframe at Jones' West Monmouth School, Pontypool.

Specifications

References

* {{commons category, Parnall 382 1930s British military trainer aircraft