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The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the United Kingdom aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was affectionately known as the Maggie. It was authorised to perform aerobatics.
The Magister was developed during the 1930s to Specification T.40/36, itself based on the existing Miles Hawk Trainer which had been ordered in small numbers." Miles Magister", Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, September 2009. (Retrieved 28 April 2022) The first prototype's maiden flight was on 20 March 1937. It quickly became praised for its handling qualities, and was ordered into quantity production.
Entering service barely a year before the start of the Second World War, the Magister became a key training aircraft. It was the first monoplane designed as a trainer to be used by the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the war it was purchased in large numbers for the RAF, the Fleet Air Arm and various overseas military operators. It proved an ideal introduction to the Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane for new pilots.
After the war surplus Magisters were exported in large numbers, with many converted for civilian use.
The new type was broadly similar to the Hawk Trainer: the majority of the differences between the two pertained to the cockpit, which was enlarged and had numerous new features to better meet military training requirements. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 20 March 1937, flown by F.G. Miles.Johnson Aeroplane Monthly March 1980, pp. 154–155. During the following month, the aircraft was named the Magister. During early flights the aircraft exhibited a tendency to spin; this problem was solved by several modifications, including elevating the tailplane by , the fitting of anti-spin strakes to the rear fuselage and the adoption of a taller rudder.Johnson Aeroplane Monthly March 1980, pp. 155–156. The alterations worked so well that the Magister became the first low-wing cantilever monoplane to be authorised by the Air Ministry to perform aerobatics.Brown 1970, p. 136.
The Magister is largely built of wood, the fuselage consisting of a spruce structure with a plywood covering; similar materials were used for the three-piece wing and the tail unit. The wing centre section has no dihedral and is of constant section with outer sections having dihedral and tapering towards the tip. Flight 12 June 1941, p. h. It has split flaps as standard; it was the first RAF trainer to have flaps.Johnson Aeroplane Monthly March 1980, p. 154.Thetford 1957, p. 334. It has a fixed tailwheel undercarriage with drag-reducing Aircraft fairing on the main wheels; to reduce the landing distance, the undercarriage was fitted with Bendix Aviation . Power is provided by a 130 hp de Havilland Gipsy Major engine and the fuel is contained in a pair of tanks in the centre section.
The flying characteristics and performance of the Magister lent themselves well to the trainer role; the Magister possessed superior performance to any contemporary elementary trainer. It readily enabled trainee pilots to safely learn the handling techniques of modern frontline fighter aircraft. Its ease of handling and safety were attributes that were vigorously demonstrated by Frederick Miles performing stunts such as hands-free landings and formation flying while inverted.Brown 1970, p. 139. The flight controls are cable-actuated; some of the controls, such as the rudder pedals, can be adjusted to suit the individual pilot.
Production of the Magister continued until 1941, by which time 1,203 aircraft had been built by Miles.Brown 1970, pp. 144-145. More than a hundred Magisters were licence built in Turkey. Contemporary glues used to assemble the wooden aircraft have not stood the test of time and few Magisters have survived.
During June 1940, as part of British anti-invasion preparations, roughly 15 Magisters were fitted with for the carriage of up to eight , to fly as a under a scheme called Operation Banquet. The preparations were never put into effect and the type never saw active combat use in this capacity.Mondey 1994, p. 168.Brown 1970, p. 140.
The Magister also participated in experimental wartime research, such as to evaluate a long range ground attack platform during 1941. Seeking to increase the payloads of conventional , British military planners suggested the use of a so-called 'auxiliary wing' that could be towed like a glider behind a bomber; this wing would be loaded with either additional fuel or munitions. To test this concept, a modified Magister was produced; by the time testing had reached an advanced stage, the RAF had significantly bolstered its offensive forces with , removing the need to deploy the auxiliary wing concept.Brown 1970, pp. 140-141. Other aircraft received experimental modifications to evaluate new equipment or aerodynamic features.Brown 1970, pp. 141-144.
Following the end of the conflict, large numbers of Magisters were disposed of, leading to many being converted for civilian use. Such aircraft were renamed the Hawk Trainer III.Brown 1970, p. 145. Amongst its civil uses was air racing; during the 1950 Kings Cup Air Race alone, eight Hawk Trainer IIIs were entered, one of which (a modified cabin version G-AKRV), piloted by E. Day, was awarded first place, having achieved a recorded speed of 138.5 mph while doing so. At least two other aircraft were thus modified.Jackson 1974, p. 69.
During the postwar years, many Magisters were exported to overseas customers, including private pilot owners and flying clubs. Countries that purchased the type included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand and Tunisia.
One Miles Magister was restored to airworthy in the Aeroclub of San Martín, Mendoza, Argentina. Since 2019, this aircraft has been under Czech ownership and is operated by R.A.F. Station Czechoslovakia at Podhořany airport, in the Pardubice region of the Czech Republic.
ZK-AWY is preserved in the Museum of Transport and Technology, New Zealand.
TC-KAY is preserved in the Turkish Air Force Museum.
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