200 m.p.h. Empire Skyways

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 34, 10 February 1937, Page 5

200 m.p.h. Empire Skyways

London-Sydney in Just Over a Week TRYING OUT THE SPEED FLEET (British Official Wireless.) Received Tuesday, 7 p.m. RUGBY, Feb. 8. Four Empire class Imperial Airways flying boats, the Canopus, Centaurus, Cassioeia and Castor, and two longrange boats, the Caledonia and Cambria, have all made trial flights from Hythe to Alexandria via Marseilles, Brindisi and Athens. On the last of these test flights passengers were carried. At present the flying boats go only as far as Alexandria where passongora for the south tranship to land planes for Capetown and those for the East proceed by land planes for India and Australia.

During the current year the new organisation will gradually be built up until the flying boats will go right through to their overseas Empire termiui.

The' have a top speed of jusl under 200 m.p.h. and carry 24 passengers. When the service is in full operation the England-Sydney journey will take just over a week and India will be reached in a Tittle over three days. When the whole scheme is fully developed it is intended that letters to any Empire destination along the route will be carried for lid per ounce. FLYING-BOATS STRIKE BAD WEATHER. LONDON, Feb. 8. After two delays, one due to engine trouble and the other to bad weather, the new flying-boat Castor took off from Southampton at 7.30 a.m. for Havre. The Centaurus, homeward bound from Alexandria with passengers and mails from South Africa, was forced down by bad weather near London lcfit night, but no damage resulted. The Centaurus reached Southampton from Caudebec after spending the night there.