Miles M.38 Messenger 2A
Aircraft Details
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Description
Wilco Aviation is pleased to present for sale this Miles M.38 Messenger 2A, registration G-AIEK, built in 1946 and carrying serial number 6339 as seen in the August 2026 LAA magazine. The aircraft is currently based in Lincolnshire and is available for viewing by appointment.
As far as the seller is aware, only six Messengers remain flying in the world today, making this a rare opportunity to join a genuinely exclusive club. The Miles Messenger was built in Britain in the 1940s, seats four, gets in and out of short strips with ease, yet still cruises at a genuinely useful 90–100 mph — enough to take the whole family somewhere and be home the same day. This is not a hangar queen freshly emerged from an eye-watering restoration: G-AIEK was a regular at UK airshows through the late 1990s, a role it could easily resume, and it was recently exhibited in the Spirit of Aviation display at the Goodwood Revival.
Messenger serial no. 6339 was built at Miles’ Newtownards factory in 1946. It was ferried across the Irish Sea under a military “U” registration before being granted its UK civil registration, G-AIEK, on 6th September 1946 — a registration it has carried ever since. The aircraft has a continuous history from that day, with a full set of Journey Books recording its early flights from Woodley and its many subsequent trips through the 1950s to Le Touquet, Ostend, Le Mans, Bilbao, Biarritz, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and even a landing on Skegness beach in 1954.
G-AIEK flew on a CAA Certificate of Airworthiness until the 1970s, by which time the logs recorded around 1,300 hours. It was fortunate enough to go into storage rather than sit outside, and was “discovered” and completely dismantled, overhauled and reglued in the 1980s using modern adhesives — at which point it also took on the identity of “RG333,” converting it to the military Mk4 appearance with the large rear windows and skylight. RG333 was one of a pair of Messengers provided for Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s personal use during the Normandy campaign, hence the aircraft’s nickname, “Monty’s Messenger” (continued use of that name remains entirely optional for the next owner).
The airframe was completely dismantled, overhauled, reglued and signed off by the UK CAA on 4th June 1984, with 1,351 hours and 15 minutes recorded in the logs at that point. The front fuselage was stripped, jigs were manufactured, and the whole structure was reassembled using as much of the original material as possible; the required double curvatures were achieved through careful 45-degree overlapping of opposing skins, and the exterior was then covered with fabric and doped just as it would have been originally. The rear fuselage had undergone sternpost repairs in the late 1970s using modern adhesives, with the rest reskinned as necessary. A specialist who has inspected the fuselage from the inside described it as the best he’s seen, with little or no sign of the “starved horse” look found on some other Miles airframes. The mainplane, stabiliser, fins, flaps and ailerons were completely overhauled, stripped and jigged, with new main and rear spar facings front and rear, all ribs reglued or replaced, and skins and trailing edges replaced as necessary. The large doors, which provide access to both front and rear seats, were dismantled, jigged and reassembled with new skins, and all ancillaries such as the undercarriage, tailwheel and engine mount were stripped of paint, crack-tested and fitted with new hardware and bearings as required.
All of this work was carried out and fully documented while the aircraft still held a UK Certificate of Airworthiness, with every material and process recorded before sign-off.
The aeroplane went on to become an airshow regular through the 1980s and 1990s, before passing to an owner who flew it only occasionally. The current owner found it in a large heated hangar at Middle Wallop and, after a thorough inspection, ferried it to North Coates airfield in Lincolnshire around 2017/18. The aircraft was transferred to a UK LAA Permit in 2019, renewed most recently earlier this year.
Likely the reason the aircraft wasn’t flown much before its rediscovery was the engine which has since been comprehensively sorted. Following a thorough inspection, the cylinder barrels were found to be within limits, as were the pistons, and the cylinder heads were also in good basic condition. New piston rings were installed, new gaskets were manufactured by Dobson Gaskets, and new rubber parts for the pushrod tubes and similar components were manufactured by Butser Rubber. Vintec supplied a New Old Stock Hobson carburettor to the latest modification state, and Mark Wood overhauled the magnetos and the rigging was corrected by the current owner. All parts were sourced to overhaul the top end of the engine to new installation standard.
The engine now starts on the first or second blade and holds good oil pressure even in hot weather, while using very little oil. A bespoke ignition harness, the latest Mk4B specification, has been manufactured to suit NGK plugs — necessary because modern radios are far more susceptible to interference than the original type of plug, which was last manufactured in the 1950s. The NGK plugs never foul and are cheap enough to replace before they need cleaning, though that hasn’t so far been necessary, and there is now no interference apparent on the radio; the harness could be replicated again should that ever be required. The metal Fairey Reed propeller was overhauled by Brinkley Aviation approximately 50 hours ago.
A backup electric fuel pump with a pressure gauge has been installed, along with a gascolator. The Cirrus Major features a double Amal mechanical pump, but the drive is by a single quill shaft — a single point of failure which the electric backup addresses; the original aircraft doesn’t feature a gascolator either, which is a useful visual aid. The fuel tanks are flexible bags inside a box, much like those found on a modern race car, and these go hard over time, crack and leak; Premier Fuel Systems, who make tanks for the Royal Navy Historic Flight among others, made a new pair complete with BSF fittings and release notes.
G-AIEK also features hydraulic Dunlop disc brakes and wheels of a type originally fitted to a Chipmunk, replacing the original Auster drums. These are discreet because they are hidden inside the wheel, so they don’t look like a set of Clevelands, good though those are. The braking system uses the aircraft’s original mixer under the floor, transferring the pilot’s command on the rudder pedal to a separate master cylinder hidden in each wing; the point at which the brake comes on in response to rudder input is varied by a lever in the cockpit, located just above the power lever, which also activates both brakes together if required. It’s harder to describe than it is to use, but it means the aeroplane can be more easily operated in a crosswind. The aircraft also has an electric start, a substantial generator, and a wet vacuum pump for the flight instruments.
The aircraft is fitted with a Trig TY96 10W radio and a Trig TT21 Mode S transponder, together with a full vacuum-driven blind flying panel comprising Directional Indicator, Artificial Horizon and Turn & Slip, all of which work perfectly. Fuel capacity is 36 Imperial gallons, giving approximately four hours’ endurance plus reserve, and the aircraft cruises at 90–100 mph at 2000–2100 rpm with excellent short-field performance. There are no cables anywhere in the flight controls; everything is via rods and bellcranks, so there is little or no breakout force, and the aircraft remains delightful to fly, in a way that most more modern aircraft aren’t.
There is a large spares package available which could keep the aeroplane flying for many years to come. This includes a quantity of serviceable cylinders, heads and pistons, a quantity of all consumable gaskets, a complete set of new inlet and exhaust valves, new piston ring sets, and new valve springs. There is also a quantity of engine parts including camshafts, several new Chipmunk wheels with bearings, spare NOS calipers, seals and brake pads, a pair of undercarriage legs with oleos, a spare Fairey-Reed propeller in perfect condition, a spare double-contact tailwheel tyre, and a complete set of covers.
Miles aircraft have long been undervalued relative to their history and capability, and G-AIEK — with its documented restoration, sorted engine, comprehensive spares package — represents excellent value. There is nothing else quite like it currently flying.
Flying images kindly supplied by Ed Hicks.
Total fuel: 36 IMP Gallons (163litres)
Interior: Traditional with new leather
Exterior: RG333 scheme
Trig TY96 (8·33 kHz spaced)
Trig TT21 (Mode S) Transponder
Air Speed Indicator
Altitude Indicator
Direction Indicator (DI)
Turn & Slip
Altimeter
Oil temperature gauge (INOP)
Fuel pressure gauge
Oil pressure gauge
Fuel gauges
Trim indicator
Andair fuel valve
Interior - 6
Exterior - 6
Year: 1946
Make: Miles Aircraft Ltd
Model: M.38 Messenger 2A
Reg Number: G-AIEK
Aircraft Type: Single Engine Fixed Wing
Airframe Hours: 1920 (+/- 5hrs)
Engine Make: Blackburn Cirrus Major 3
Engine Hours: 815 TT 344 SMOH 44 STOH (+/- 5hrs)
Prop Make: Fairey-Reed
Prop Hours: 44 (+/- 5hrs)
Prop Overhaul: 2019
Permit: 05/09/2026 - New on sale
Empty Weight: 762kg (1681lbs)
MTOW: 1088kg (2400lbs)
Hangared: Yes
Price: £75,000.00 GBP
Telephone: 01963 602182
Email: sales@wilcoaviation.co.uk
https://wilcoaviation.co.uk/aircraft/miles-m-38-messenger-2a_g-aiek-for-sale-at-wilco-aviation/