G-AILC Miles M.57 Aerovan IV
(c/n 6392)
One incongruity I have noticed regarding
British aircraft manufacturers of the 1940s and 1950s
is that
they were able assign many different mark numbers to types with very
limited production
runs.
The Aerovan above is a typical example. Although only 50 of these
light utility transports
was
built, Miles managed to come up with 6 different marques of
it. The Mark IV above was
the most numerous (40 built) and
differed from the Mark III in detail only. The
aircraft was
constructed of
bonded plywood and hence did not do well in tropical
climes. Note triple tail
and very
low aspect ratio wings. G-AILC was one of four which went to
Spain in November
of 1947,
becoming EC-ABA.