IMPERIAL AIRWAYS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 160, 24 July 1937, Page 5

IMPERIAL AIRWAYS

New Zealander's Important Post Tlie command *of the Castor, one of the largest flying-boats in Imperial Airways' services, has been given to a young New Zealander, Captain John Weir Burgess, youngest son of Captain J. W. Burgess, of the Government lighthouse steamer Matai. The New Zealand aviator gained his experience in the Eoyal Air Force in England, and after a specialised course with flying-boats at Calshot, spent two years with this type of machine at Basra. He flew oilt to Melbourne with the Royal Air Force boats during the ceutenary celebrations, and, returning to England, accepted an appointment with Imperial Airways, which commenced with intensive training in the navigation and management of the giant machines designed for longdistance mail services throughout the

Empire. Captain Burgess is now in command of the Castor, one of the largest of the regular fleet, and is making regular flights betwpen Southampton and Alexandria in Egypt, which is part of the route for air mail communication between New Zealand and England. The Castor flies direet to Brindisi, in Italy, and completes the journey to Egypt in the second hop. It is a four-engined fiying-boat with horse-power of 3680, capable of providing a maximum speed of 200 miles an hour, and a cruising speed of 160 miles an hour. The loaded weight o.f the Castor is 40,5001b