science

Miles M.76

Miles M.76 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Miles M.76 rather than just read about it. In short: In 1947 a British Gliding Association design competition, for a two-seat sailplane, was won by Hugh Kendall, Miles' assistant test pilot. It was a side-by-side two seater called the Kendall Crabpot I, with a 60 ft. span and an aspect ratio of 18.

Key takeaways

Miles M.76 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Miles M.76 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Miles M.76 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In 1947 a British Gliding Association design competition, for a two-seat sailplane, was won by Hugh Kendall, Miles' assistant test pilot. It was a side-by-side two seater called the Kendall Crabpot I, with a 60 ft. span and an aspect ratio of 18. A version with a novel asbestos fibre-polymer wing and a wooden fuselage with a butterfly tail was proposed by Miles, but the wing failed under low loads. Elliotts of Newbury built a conventional wooden wing to use with Miles' fuselage. The resulting glider flew, but not well and development was abandoned with just one example built.

Development The wooden Crabpot was not built as designed but developed in two forms, differing in their wing construction. The most radical version was that part constructed by Kendall's employer, Miles Aircraft. This, known as the Miles M.76, was undertaken for the British Gliding Association, with financial backing for the project from the Miles company, the Kemsley Flying Trust, and the Ministry of Supply. The design included an experimental wing from by the plastics division of F. G. Miles, Ltd., built from a phenolic/asbestos fibre material stabilized with a paper honeycomb, the manufacturing technique being based on the vacuum moulding process pioneered by the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. The 60 ft (18.29 m) span wing was to be made in two semi-span sections each consisting of one 30 ft (9.14 m) moulding, considered to be the largest one-piece moulded phenolic/asbestos structures manufactured at that time. The new wing also had a different section from that of the Crabpot, a laminar flow 6- digit NACA airfoil rather than the original 5-digit one. However, the structure proved much weaker under test than intended and was abandoned. The possible failure of this novel wing to be delivered in time had been anticipated by the building of a wooden wing to the same specification by Elliotts of Newbury, to be fitted to the Miles-built wooden fuselage, shorter than the Crabpot and with a butterfly tail. This glider was known as the Kendall K.1 or by the Elliotts' designation EoN Type 9 K.1 and first flew in March 1954. It was not a success, failing to obtain its certificate of airworthiness because of insoluble spinning characteristics.

Designer Hugh McLennan Kendall flew with the Fleet Air Arm during the war, and was involved in air-racing prior to and after the war. He was the Chief Test Pilot for Handley Page (Reading), formerly Miles Aircraft Ltd., and as such flight tested many types. He flew the maiden flight of the Mamba powered H.P/Miles Marathon 2. As well as designing the Crabpot, Kendall was the designer and test pilot for the Somers-Kendall SK-1, Britain's first ever light jet. The maiden flight was made by Hugh Kendall on 8 October 1955. After he ended his test flying career, he joined Shell-Mex & BP as technical liaison with the aircraft industry and airlines. He died in 1999.

Specifications (Kendall K.1) Data from Ellison (1971)General characteristics Crew: Two Length: 23 ft 0 in (7.01 m) Wingspan: 60 ft 0 in (18.29 m) Airfoil: NASA 663418 at root, 642415 Empty weight: 661 lb (300 kg) Gross weight: 1,000 lb (454 kg) Performance

Maximum speed: 120 mph (200 km/h, 110 kn) Stall speed: 40 mph (64 km/h, 35 kn) Lift-to-drag: 35:1

References

Notes

Bibliography Ellison, Norman (1971). British Gliders and Sailplanes. London: A & C Black. p. 139. ISBN 0 7136 1189 8.

External links

NACA 663418 airfoil NACA 642415 airfoil

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Miles M.76

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Miles M.76 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Miles M.76 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Miles M.76 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Miles M.76

In research: Miles M.76 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Miles M.76 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Miles M.76 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950s British sailplanes, Aircraft first flown in 1954, Aircraft with fixed bicycle landing gear, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Miles M.76 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Miles M.76 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Miles M.76 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Miles M.76 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miles M.76 in simple terms?

Why does Miles M.76 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Miles M.76?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Miles M.76.