Painted in oils on canvas. 2005. 500mm x 600mm.

“That’s the way to learn to fly”

Whitney Straight was a millionaire racing driver who was trying to popularise aviation by establishing a number of flying clubs around the  country. Following P&P’s success in the King’s Cup, he approached Miles and, in much the same way that the original Hawk had been evolved with Charles Powis three years before, they discussed ideas for the ideal aircraft for both club flying and the private owner.

Their thoughts coincided and the two-seat Miles Whitney Straight was quickly designed and put into production. It was the first aircraft specifically designed for flying training where the instructor and pupil sat side-by-side in a comfortable covered cabin, with dual-controls and advanced features such as trailing-edge flaps and brakes. At the time it first flew most flying training was still undertaken in the old fashioned de Havilland Moth and pilots who had learned to fly in them must have appreciated the considerable advance that the new Miles design represented.

The Straight Corporation had sole selling rights and many overseas customers were included for the fifty or so aircraft that were built in just two years.

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