72-011 MILES M.57 AEROVAN

The Miles M.57 Aerovan was a British short-range high-wing transport aircraft from the Second World War and the post-war period. The plane was flown in January 1945, and serial production began in 1946. About 50 copies of this plane were built in its course. The drive - in the Aerovan 3 version - was provided by two Blackburn Cirrus Major IIA engines with 150 HP each. Design work on the Miles M.57 Aerovan began in 1944 and from the outset the focus was on making the aircraft as simple as possible, easy to load and unload and low operating costs. Finally, a plane with a very bulky fuselage was created, with as many as three rudders placed on two tail beams. In the course of serial production, several development versions were created, among which are worth mentioning, for example: Aerovan 3 (the first mass-produced version of the aircraft), Aerovan 4 (slightly improved version "3") or Aerovan 5 (version powered by de Havilland Gipsy Major engines). Miles M.57 Aerovan planes were used by, for example, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Great Britain and Italy.