PICK-A-BACK PLANES

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20465, 4 April 1938, Page 9

PICK-A-BACK PLANES

TESTS OF ‘AIRWORTHINESS’ AMBITIOUS CAREER PLANNED EXPERIMENTS IN BRITAIN (From a Correspondent.) LONDON, March 9 Final makers’ tests of the Mayo composite aircraft, built for the Air Ministry and Imperial Airways, are now taking place, and this week it will go to the Royal Air Force station at Felixstowe to receive the official seal of accomplishment, the Certificate of Airworthiness. After that the composite is to carry out a'big programme of long-range tests. Until the final makers’ tests are made known, even the speed of the aircraft can only be estimated. In the long-range flights, Mercury, the seaplane which forms the upper component, will show her paces to the world. Launched in the air with her heavy load of petrol (eight tons), the graceful little craft is expected to achieve a range of 3750 miles carrying her full payload of 10001 b. in addition to normal crew. She is really like a flying petrol tank, the fuel storage running along the main wing spar right across the 'plane. About 90001 b. of her total loaded weight of 20,5001 b. will represent petrol. Flights Planned Her long-range flights will begin with one all round Britain, so that an opportunity will be available for the public to see her in the air. Then it is intended she will fly over parts of the Empire routes to Africa and Australia. Whether the craft will fly the whole distance to Australia is not known, but it is believed that a nonstop flight of about 2000 miles from Southampton to Cairo is contemplated. The culmination of the ambitious programme, planned at present for this summer, will be flights across the Atlantic, for which service she is primarily Resigned. Leaving from this side, she will be launched in mid-air as usual because of prevailing winds. But it is hoped that, flying from the American 'side with a following wind, she will need less petrol anti will be able to take her burden aloft unassisted by the mother-craft. Captain A. S. Wilcockson, hero of three of the return Atlantic flights last summer, is mentioned as the possible pilot of one of the components. Mr. 'H. L. Piper, the New Zealand airman, who piloted the Mercury during the test and separation flights in the capacity of test pilot for Short Brothers, the makers, severs his connection with the craft when it is handed over to Imperial Airways and will therefore not take part in the long-range flights.