Mercury in 20th Century Aviation
The Short Mayo Composite was a piggy-back long-range seaplane/flying boat combination produced by Short Brothers to provide a reliable long-range air transport service to the United States and the far reaches of the British Empire and Commonwealth.
The Short-Mayo composite project comprised the Short S.21 Maia, which was a variant of the Short "C-Class" Empire flying-boat fitted with a trestle or pylon on the top of the fuselage to support the Short S.20 Mercury. Although generally similar to the Empire boat, Maia differed considerably in detail: the hull sides were flared and had "tumblehome" rather than being vertical as on the Empire to increase the planing surface (necessary for the higher takeoff weights); larger control surfaces; an increase in total wing area from 1,500 sq ft (140 m2) to 1,750 sq ft (163 m2); the engines were mounted further from the wing root to clear Mercury's floats and the rear fuselage was swept up to raise the tailplane relative to the wing. Like the Empire boats, Maia could be equipped to carry 18 passengers. Maia first flew (without Mercury) on 27 July 1937.
The upper component, Mercury, was a twin-float, four-engine seaplane crewed by a single pilot and a navigator, who sat in tandem in a fully enclosed cockpit. There was capacity for 1,000 lb (456 kg) of mail. Mercury's flight controls, except for elevator and rudder trim tabs, were locked in neutral until separation. Mercury's first flight, also piloted by Parker, was on 5 September 1937.
The upper component, Mercury, was a twin-float, four-engine seaplane crewed by a single pilot and a navigator, who sat in tandem in a fully enclosed cockpit. There was capacity for 1,000 lb (456 kg) of mail. Mercury's flight controls, except for elevator and rudder trim tabs, were locked in neutral until separation. Mercury's first flight, also piloted by Parker, was on 5 September 1937.
The first successful in-flight separation was carried out from the Shorts works at Borstal, near Rochester, on 6 February 1938. Following further successful tests, the first transatlantic flight was made on 21 July 1938 from Foynes, on the west coast of Ireland, to Boucherville, Montreal, a flight of 2,930 miles (4,714.4 km). Maia, flown by Captain A.S. Wilcockson, took off from Southampton carrying Mercury piloted by Captain Don Bennett. As well as Mercury, the launch aircraft Maia was also carrying 10 passengers and luggage. Mercury separated from her carrier at 8 pm to continue what was to become the first commercial non-stop East-to-West transatlantic flight by a heavier-than-air machine. This initial journey took 20 hrs 21 min at an average ground speed of 144 mph (232 km/h).
A YouTube movie of the progress to launch and eventual arrival in Montreal can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYtazEBQ1K8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Mayo_Composite accessed 28th May 2012
A YouTube movie of the progress to launch and eventual arrival in Montreal can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYtazEBQ1K8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Mayo_Composite accessed 28th May 2012
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