Percival Prentice

Infobox Aircraft
infoboxwidth=18
name= Prentice


caption=A preserved Percival P.40 Prentice T.1 giving a pleasure flight in 2007
type=Military trainer aircraft
manufacturer=Percival
designer=
first flight=avyear|1946
introduced=avyear|1947
retired=avyear|1953
status=
primary user=Royal Air Force
more users=
produced=
number built=>300
unit cost=
variants with their own articles=

The Percival Prentice was an "ab initio" trainer of the Royal Air Force in the early post-war period, contemporary with the de Havilland Chipmunk. It was a low-wing, monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Seating was in a side-by-side configuration.

Design and development

The prototype first flew in 1946. Over 300 were built and they were in service from 1947 to 1953. A number (60?) were later bought by Aviation Traders Ltd, a company owned by Freddie Laker, and converted for civil use with 2 seats and 2 jumpseats behind the 2 pilots' seats, separated by a structure which housed the original 4-channel radio. This conversion had quite poor performance with 4 passengers. One (G-AOPL) was acquired from Shackleton Aviation at Sywell by a Captain in the Trucial Oman Scouts and flown to Sharjah in 1967; later being flown on to South Africa where it remained until it ceased flying.

The aircraft was notorious for its poor performance with any load at high temperatures, and for its spin recovery difficulties.

Sixty-six aircraft were built under licence by Hindustan Aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

Operators

;ARG;IND;LBN;UK
*Royal Air Force

urvivors

Prentice T.1 VS623, Midland Air Museum, Coventry, England.

pecifications (T.1)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraftcite book|last=Angelucci|first=Enzo|title=World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft]

crew=2
capacity=
length main=31 ft 3 in
length alt=9.52 m
span main=46 ft 0 in
span alt=14.0 m
height main=12 ft 10 in
height alt=3.91 m
area main= ft²
area alt= m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= lb
empty weight alt= kg
loaded weight main=4,200 lb
loaded weight alt=1,905 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=

engine (prop)=de Havilland Gipsy Queen 32
type of prop=6-cylinder, air-cooled inline engine
number of props=1
power main=251 hp
power alt=187 kW

max speed main=124 knots
max speed alt=143 mph, 230 km/h
max speed more=at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
range main=344 knots
range alt=396 mi, 637 km
ceiling main= ft
ceiling alt= m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=
* de Havilland Chipmunk
* Zlin Trener
* Yakovlev Yak-18
* LWD Junak

lists=
* List of aircraft of the RAF
* List of trainer aircraft

see also=

References

External links

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=518 British Aircraft Directory, Percival Prentice]