Maia (registry G-ADHK) was a 20th century United Kingdom aircraft used to deliver mail between the United States and England on the planet Earth.
Service history and disposition
Maia was a variant of the Short Empire-class flying boat. In 1938, British Imperial Airways operated an unusual aircraft configuration by mounting the Mercury seaplane atop Maia. By serving as a carrier for the seaplane, the pairing extended their total flight range and enabled the first mail flights without stops across the Atlantic Ocean.
- The piggy-back pairing was known as the Short Mayo Composite. Maia was in service from 1937 until Germans bombed and destroyed her on 11 May 1941 during World War II.
In 2273, the configuration was one of several unusual 20th century arrangements of paired aircraft discussed by Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock. They were trying to determine the reason for the cruiser IKV Hakkarl to be remotely controlled by the bird-of-prey IKS Tazhat. (TOS novel: Rules of Engagement)
Appendices
Background
USS Enterprise library computer records seem to have gotten it backwards, as it described Maia being atop Mercury. A photo of the pairing is available at the Short Mayo Composite article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
References
External links
- Short Mayo Composite article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- Short Empire article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.