General Aircraft Monospar ST-25

The General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 was a British 1930s light twin-engined utility aircraft.

Design and development The Monospar ST-25 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fabric-covered metal structure. The monospar name came from the use of a single spar in the wing structure, that had been developed by H J Stieger. The cabin was enclosed with five seats. It was based on the GAL Monospar ST-10, with the addition of a folding seat for a fifth passenger, extra side windows, and the addition of a radio receiver. On 19 June 1935, the prototype (G-ADIV) made its first flight at Hanworth Air Park. It was designated Monospar ST-25 Jubilee, to honour the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.Jackson 1973, pp. 215–220

Operational history The last flying Monospar ST-25 (ZK-AFF), of Piet Van Asch, the owner of New Zealand Aerial Mapping Ltd, was lost in 1986 in a hangar fire.PIET VAN ASCH – New Zealand's Aerial Mapping Pioneer at wings.net.nz The last surviving Monospar ST-25 (OY-DAZ), an ST-25 Ambulance, was fully restored during 1989–1999, and is now displayed in Egeskov Veteranmuseum at Egeskov Castle, Denmark.Ogden (2009)

Variants

Monospar ST-25 Jubilee (1935-1936) Single fin and rudder. 30 built. Monospar ST-25 De Luxe One Monospar ST-25 Jubilee with a large single fin and two Niagara II engines, later converted to the prototype Monospar ST-25 Universal, with twin fins. Monospar ST-25 Ambulance Variants of both Monospar ST-25 Jubilee and ST-25 Universal, with a large door on the starboard side to allow a stretcher to be loaded. Monospar ST-25 Universal (1936-1939) Twin fin and twin rudder. 29 built, including the conversion of the De Luxe. Monospar ST-25 Freighter A variant of the Monospar ST-25 Universal, with a large freight door but without the passenger seating. GAL.26 One modified Monospar ST-25 Jubilee, fitted with two Cirrus Minor I engines in 1936. GAL.41 One experimental aircraft based on the Monospar ST-25 Universal. A new fuselage was built containing a pressurized section with two seats. Its purpose was to test possible pressurization systems for a proposed airliner, the GAL.40. The GAL.41 flew for the first time on 11 May 1939, and was grounded in 1941.General Aircraft Monopar ST-25 – British Aircraft of World War II accessed 1 July 2017]

Operators

Arabian Airways

Adelaide Airways/Australian National Airways Airlines WA

Eastern Canada Air Lines (five ST-25 Freighters, delivered in 1936) Maritime Airways

Zone-Redningskorpset - 1 ambulance version

ES-AXY "Vahur", in the service of the Ministry of Transport and CommunicationsEstonian National Archives Photo Database, EFA.446.0.194553

Armée de l'Air (2 ST-25 in Indochine (Vietnam) in November 1945)

Van Melle's Confectionery Works, Breskens (one Jubilee, PH-IPM "Dubbele Arend", delivered in 1935)

New Zealand Aerial Mapping Royal New Zealand Air Force

Royal Romanian Air Force

Spanish Republican Air Force

Spanish Air Force

General Command of Mapping (Turkey) Turkish Government (two ST-25 Freighters for parachute training delivered in 1937)

Crilly Airways Utility Airways Royal Aircraft Establishment (two Jubilees used for radio development) Royal Air Force (impressed civil aircraft used during the second world war)

Specifications (Monospar ST-25 Jubilee)

General Aircraft Monospar ST-25

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