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Percival Prentice performance and specifications
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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 |
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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 :
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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 |
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Max. speed
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134 kts |
249 km/h |
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Service
ceiling : |
17995 ft |
5485 m |
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Range :
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432 nm |
800 km |
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Propulsion |
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Kind :
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KRei |
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Type :
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DH Gipsy Queen 51 |
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Power
rating (max.) : |
292 hp |
296 ps |
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Count :
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1 |
1
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Total power
rating (max.) : |
292 hp |
296 ps |
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Other |
Crew :
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0
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0
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