Good Morning, Oppo

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 05/13/2020 at 09:01 • Filed to: good morning oppo

3

15

Imperial Airways Handley Page H.P. 42 refueling at Semakh, British Mandate Palestine in 1931.

That’s a Handley Pa ge H.P. 42, named Hanno . Handley Pa ge built four H.P. 42s and four H.P. 45s, which had more room for passengers but a shorter range. All the aircraft were given names that started with “H”:

H.P.42: Hannibal , Horsa , Hanno , Hadrian

H.P.45: Heracles , Horatius , Hengist , Helena

By 1940, all eight had either crashed or been destroyed in accidents.

Future next gen S2000 owner > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 09:19

2

Nothing like having the lower prop tip too far away from the cabin. Don’t want the passengers to have any notion of t being a safety.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 09:20

3

Now I know what to name each hour of the coming day...

It’s quite likely all of them will result in something  physically or emotionally  crashing and burning.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 09:27

0

It’s like a bigger, slightly less sexy Dragon Rapide

ttyymmnn > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 05/13/2020 at 09:30

1

Perhaps. But in that era, it was more like, “Let’s bolt enough wings and engines on it until it flies.”

Cé hé sin > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 10:30

1

From the heroic era of long distance air travel, where the plane stopped each night after the day’s run (unless it had crashed) and the few passengers were accommo dated s omewhere luxurious overnight and then set off for another run the following day, if the plane was still running and enough fuel had been located.

ttyymmnn > Cé hé sin 05/13/2020 at 10:32

0

By that time, the Brits would have had established outposts all the way to India. Speed of the H.P.42 was only 100 mph, but it still beat the hell out of driving. It would have been quite the adventure, and by the looks of the traveler’s attire, an adventure only for those with deep pockets. 

facw > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 10:39

1

Not a beautiful plane, but vastly larger than most of its contemporaries.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 10:48

1

The alternative would have been to sail by P&O, British India, or Orient ocean liner, which was certainly much more comfortable, but took something like 2 weeks. But, if you absolutely, positively had to be there in a few days, and had the cash...

Cé hé sin > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 10:52

0

Deep pockets indeed - this would have been hugely expensive!

ttyymmnn > ranwhenparked 05/13/2020 at 10:53

0

I hadn’t realized just how old the Suez Canal is. It opened in 1869.

ttyymmnn > Cé hé sin 05/13/2020 at 10:58

1

Hopefully, this link will work for you. It talks about going from London to Singapore back in the day. Fascinating. 

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 11:01

1

Yep, that’s when P&O Lines and Orient Line expanded their service to the eastern half of the e mpire, before then, Palestine and Egypt were considered “the Orient” and were the east ernmost terminus of the liner routes.

ttyymmnn > ranwhenparked 05/13/2020 at 11:07

0

Nobody bothered to sail around Africa, or was it just too long a trip? I’ve read Around The World In Eighty Days , which is actually a rather fascinating travelogue of the time. I seem to recall that even in the late 1870s there was rail across India, though in the book, they had to abandon the rail for elephants. Now that I think about it, they abandoned because the rail was not yet completed. Then again, if they hadn’t taken to elephants, they never would have met Shirley MacLaine.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 11:14

1

Not passenger liners, after the canal opened, anyway. Just cargo ships looking to save money on canal tolls. You did have the Union Castle Line, which offered an “Around Africa” service, though. Their liners would leave the UK, make calls along the w est c oast of Africa, round the Cape, then make calls up the east coast, pass through Suez, and then a few stops across the Mediterranean and back up to the UK.

Cé hé sin > ttyymmnn 05/13/2020 at 12:45

1

“For the next few hours there was nothing to do, so I got a book from the library.”

The plane flew as low as 300 ft so you could see sharks, sting rays,sea sn akes and a few tortoises.

Flying has changed and not always for the better.

There was the whole crashing thing of course...