The route across the Atlantic was the ultimate challenge for companies competing to be first to fly a commercial service between Britain and America. For Imperial Airways the ocean was the last barrier to reach by air the Canadian part of the British Empire. The flying boats didn't have enough fuel capacity to last the distance without stopping, and Imperial Airways experiemented with a number of different ways to get across.

Corsair taking off

In 1937 Imperial Airways made ten crossings of the North Atlantic as part of an experiment alongside the Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) who had opened up a London - New York - Bermuda, flying boat service. Altering the capacity of the flying boats was one answer to the problem of carrying enough fuel to fly non-stop over the Atlantic carrying passengers and mail. Imperial Airways used two Empire flying boats and fitted them with long-range fuel tanks for the task. The passenger capacity was reduced to seventeen to allow extra mail to be carried. The aircraft made sucessful survey flights over the ocean between Newfoundland and Ireland, the Cambria flying it in a record breaking time of ten and a half hours. The tender tug Calshot was chartered to bring ashore distinguished guests and the cost of a one-way ticket was £125, which in today's prices would now be over six thousand pounds. The flights were successful, coming in on schedule each time, but the fuel capacity of the C Class flying boats was shown to be limited against its Pan Am competitors.

One of the other methods that was tested during this time was assisted take off. Imperial Airways trialed the idea of launching a small sea plane off the back of a larger flying boat whilst the composite aircraft was in mid-air. The Maia/Mercury concept was a sight to behold!

The birth of a national airline

Empire air mail

Atlantic hop

Maia/Mercury experiment

In-flight refuelling