The Percival Merganser was a light, civil transport of the late 1940s. It was a twin-engine, high-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

of all-metal,

stressed skin In mechanical engineering, stressed skin is a type of rigid construction, intermediate between monocoque and a rigid frame with a non-loaded covering. A stressed skin structure has its compression-taking elements localized and its tension-taking e ...

construction with retractable

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ge ...

Design and development

The Merganser was designed as a five-passenger, light

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

with an emphasis on "passenger appeal". To this end, a high-wing configuration and tricycle landing gear were chosen to provide the best view and a low, level floor for easy access.Jackson 1988, p. 112. The fuselage, having been completed in November 1946, was shipped by train ferry to Paris to be displayed at the Aero Show. By this time, the Merganser was already doomed, since it was designed to be powered by de Havilland Gipsy Queen 51 engines and neither these nor any suitable substitute were available.

Operational history

Only one Merganser was flown; when it made its first flight on 9 May 1947 from

Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...

, the engines were on loan from the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...

. The company was able to carry out extensive flight trials and obtain much valuable data. Although it appeared at the SBAC Show at

Radlett Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East and ...

in September 1947, it was scrapped at Luton in August 1948. A second Merganser was used as a static and structural test airframe.PER50 "Prince Pembroke."
''ab-ix.co..'' Retrieved: 5 December 2012. Although the Merganser never entered production, further development, based on the data gathered from its test programme, would lead to the larger

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and Pembroke series for which a suitable powerplant was available.

Variants

;P.48 Merganser :Five to eight-seat transport, one completed and two fuselages. ;P.48A Merganser :Proposed floatplane variant, not built. ;P.48B Merganser ;Proposed ski-plane variant, not built. ;P.49 Merganser II :Proposed aerial survey variant, not built.

Specifications (Merganser)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume III''. London: Putnam, 1988. .

External links

G-AHMH Percival P.48 Merganser (c/n AU.1)

"It Packs A Load," ''Popular Science'' September 1947
{{Hunting Percival aircraft

Merganser ''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers , fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird. The common merganser (''Merg ...

1940s British civil utility aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft