The Empire Flying Boats

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22109, 3 June 1937, Page 5 (Supplement)

The Empire Flying Boats

Before very long' all letters between Australia and England—including those from New Zealand — will be carried by air. This will be achieved by the use of the new Empire flying boats, 21 ' of wh?®! 1 have been ordered from the makers. The Empire boats are long range craft, and have been specially designed to carry three and a hall tons of mails as well as passengeis. Their names all begin with C Canopus, Caledonia, Capella, Capricornus, Cambria, for example. Ten of them have now been launched. People wonder why flying boats and not aeroplanes have been adopted for the Empire air routes. Some say that it is because ot the freedom of the sea, compared witn the political difficulties of flying over foreign countries, but this >s not the real reason. They have been chosen mainly for reasons having to do with landing places and petrol supplies. High-speed aircraft, and modern devices to help them to land in bad weather, need large landing areas which are expehsive to clear even in civilised countries. Petrol carried by native transport to aerodromes in remote countries may cost as much as £1 a gallon. Seaports provide for flying boats natural landing areas large in extent, where petrol may be taken straight from the tanks of a ship. Flying boats also have certain advantages in operation. Although designed to land on the sea,

they can be put down on land in case of emergency. Land machines forced down on the sea are likely to be a total loss. These Empire flying boats are! ships rather than aircraft. They have two decks, the upper one being reserved for the crew and for storage. The lower deck provides accommodation for 24 passengers in armchairs by day, and 16 in bunks at night, together with their baggage and the stewards who attend to them. The interior of the flying boat is shown in the illustration. Right m the nose of the machine is the mooring compartment. Immediately aft of this is the smoking cabin with settees for seven people. Next are the buffet and lavatories. The buffet is completely equipped for serving meals in flight, having an •ice chest, a hot box, wine case, food cupboard, sink, plate racks, and so oh. Aft of the buffet are the midship cabin, the “promenade” cabin, and the after cabin. All cabins are luxuriously furnished. The chairs are adjustable in a number of positions, and a table is provided for each seat. The cabins are illuminated by dome lights in the roof, with separate wall lamps for each passenger. Large windows are fitted in all the cabins. Every effort has been made to obtain the greatest possible comfort for passengers in such ways as noise reduction, heating, and ventilating the cabins. Passengers enter the boat from the port side by doors in the smoking or promenade cabins. Baggage and mail are loaded through doors on the starboard side of the boat. The baggage compartment is behind the after cabin. On the upper deck there is, forward, the pilots’ cockpit with the captain and first officer seated side-by-side. Immediately behind the captain is the wireless operator, the navigator’s table, and the engineer. Also on the upper deck are the mail compartments, an office for the ship’s clerk, and a compartment for stowing the night equipment during the day. With four engines, each of a maximum of 790 horse-power, the Empire ffying boats have a cruising speed of 165 miles an hour, and a maximum speed of 200 miles an hour. From nose to tail they are 88 feet long, and from wing tip to wing tip they are 114 feet wide. They have proved to be much faster than the American Sikorsky clipper flying boats. ’Die keynote is space for both passengers and crew. Detail has been studied minutely. Apart from • the main heating and ventilation . system, each passenger has a private 1 controllable air-inlet. Chairs are , air-cushioned and adjustable to ■ many angles. Their comfort must be felt to be believed. Tables are

convertible to bookrests. Beddinft when not needed, is stored on me upper deck. The eye is soothed with dark green and dove-grey, ihe captain’s bridge, the companionways. the two decks, the distribution of certain instruments and controls among members of the crew, morning coffee in a curtained bunk, a game of bridge in the aftercabin, flowers on the table and parquet flooring—all belong to the luxury liner rather than to existing ideas of the aeroplane. The crew comprises captain, first office 1 !’, radio operator, ship’s clerk, and two stewards. The Empire flying boats are intended, initially, for the routes from England to South Africa, India, and Australia. The second of the series, the Caledonia, is fitted with long-range tanks for Trans-Atlantie experiments, and plans are under consideration for an all-Bntisn route traversing the North Atlantic, Canada, and the Pacific to New Zealand or Hong Kong, where connexions will be available for other parts of the Empire, or, completing the world circuit, to England. It is the intention of Imperial Airways that, in due course, no part of me Empire shall be more than eight days distant from any other part. The new flying boats are the most important contribution yet made towards the achievement of that ideal,

Egypt’s Might is Tumbled Down

Egypt’s might is tumbled down. Down a-down the deeps of thought: A Greece is fallen and Troy town* Glorious Rome hath lost her crown, Venice’ pride is nought. But the dreams their children dreamed, Fleeting, unsubstantial, vain. Shadowy as the shadows seemed, Airy nothing, as they deemed, These remain. —MARY COLERIDGE. Wishes of an Elderly Gentleman I wish I loved the Human Race; I wish I loved its silly face; I wish I liked the way it walks; I wish I liked the wav it talks; And when I’m introduced to one I wish I thought ‘‘What Jolly Fun. —WALTER RALEIGH. A Thought About History What I like about Clive, ' Is that he is no longer alive. There is something to be said For being dead. —E. C, BENTLEY.