Begun in 1938, the X series of designs was Miles designation
M.26, covering a wide range of aircraft designs from small feeder-liners to very large 8-engined transatlantic transports. To investigate the design philosophy of the blended wing/body Miles was given a contract to design and build a sub-scale flying model of the
X.9 design, which emerged as the M.30 X-Minor. The small size of the X Minor made it impossible to follow the buried engine design exactly; the engines were too large and had to be mounted externally, resulting in an aircraft similar in layout but differing in
aerodynamics. The X Minor first flew in February 1942, providing Miles with useful data for several years. A larger scale
prototype of the X transport was planned but never built. ==Specifications (M.30 X-Minor)==