Miles M.26 was the designation used to cover the family of X-series design proposals, for long-range transport aircraft. The common factors of most X design proposals were the use of a blended wing body and engines buried in the wings, based on principles patented by Nicolas Woyevodsky.The Westland Dreadnought had been built to test Woyevodsky's ideas in 1924 A sub-scale prototype of the X.9 proposal was constructed, designated the Miles M.30.
Variants Data from: Miles aircraft since 1925 X.2 The X.2 design was first published in Flight in 1938,Flight likened it to the " Nurflügel (all-wing) aircraft visualised more than twenty years ago by the late Professor Junkers" from work begun in 1936. A projected 300 mph 38-seat transport of about 48,000 lb loaded with 1,000 mile range, it did not use a lifting body fuselage.Flight 21 April 1938 p 378Flight 1943 p 703Flight 28 April 1938 p 411 Initial design powered by four unspecified air-cooled Rolls-Royce piston engines. Span , gross weight . Met with a cool reaction by the Air Ministry only receiving a paltry £25,000 development contract and a wooden mock-up to Specification 42/37. X.3A projected six-engined variant. X.4 to X.8 Variants of the X blended wing theme which didn't proceed further than the concept stage, including an eight-engined transatlantic airliner. (X.8) X.9A design for a four-engined transport, submitted to the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) in Autumn of 1942, powered by four Rolls-Royce Griffon V-12 piston engines and fitted with retractable tricycle undercarriage. X.10 A small twin-engined airliner / transport, following the blended wing concept but with externally mounted engines. X.11After the Brabazon Committee released the Type I specification (later developed into Air Ministry Specification 2/44) for the post-war transatlantic airliner, only to Bristol, F.G. Miles unofficially submitted a design based on the Xseries of blended wing aircraft. The X.11 was to be eight-engined, with high cruising speed (for 1943), high wing loading and low power loading, seating at least 50 passengers, but was rejected. (Span , gross weight ). X.12 A bomber version of the X.11 X.13 A troop transport version of the X.11 X.14 After rejection of the X.11, Miles was unofficially encouraged to submit a design for a smaller aircraft not competing with the Brabazon specifications, powered by four Bristol Centaurus radial engines, with a span of and gross weight of ). This submission was also summarily rejected. X.15A revised X.14, to be powered by six Napier Sabre H-24 in-line engines. Miles M.30 X-Minor sub-scale aerodynamic test-bed / research aircraft for the X.9 project.
Specifications (M.26 X.9)
References
External links https://books.google.com/books?id=M3NhrPVyQiIC&dq=Miles+x+airliner&pg=PA44