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Percival Prentice
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History
The Percival Prentice was conceived at the end of WW2 as an
advanced side-by-side trainer to replace the Tiger Moth and
Harvards then in service with the RAF. The prototype flew in
1946, powered by a DH Gypsy Queen engine, similar to that that
powered the much lighter Tiger Moth. A resemblance can be seen
around the front engine cowling. In its rash economies forced on
it after the end of the war, the UK air ministry made similar
mistakes to those it made after WW1, and anyone could have
forecast that the underpowered Prentice could have only ever
have been a stopgap, and consequently, was never a great
achiever.
The Prentice had to be replaced by the early 1950s with the
Percival Provost and the Boulton Paul Balliol. Nevertheless, the
Prentice was a roomy aircraft, and equipped a number of Flight
Training Schools from 1947-1952. It was sold to Argentina and
to India, where it was manufactured under licence, and several
are still flying today. An interesting bit of trivia is that the
remaining airworthy Prentices in the 1960s had the distinction
of being converted to double for Ju-88 Stukas in the 1966 film,
"The Battle of Britain".
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Sizes and weights |
| Total Length : |
31.234 ft |
9.520 m |
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Greatest height : |
12.795 ft |
3.900 m |
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Wingspan : |
45.997 ft |
14.020 m |
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Max take off weight : |
3790.4 lbs |
1719.0 kg |
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Performance data |
| Max. speed : |
134 kts |
249 km/h |
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Service ceiling : |
17995 ft |
5485 m |
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Range : |
432 nm |
800 km |
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Propulsion |
| Kind : |
KRei
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Type : |
DH Gipsy Queen 51
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Power rating (max.) : |
292 hp |
296 ps |
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Count : |
1 |
1
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Total power rating (max.) :
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292 hp |
296 ps |
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Other |
| Crew : |
0 |
0
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