The strange piggy-back aircraft -The Short Mayo Composite Aircraft #aviationhistory #britishhistory

Full video and history of the Short Composite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACiTKbl2U04 The Short Mayo Composite was a rather strange and unique experiment in aviation history. The brainchild of Imperial Airways technical general, R.H Mayo, the Short Mayo Composite was made up of two components: a large four-engined seaplane on the bottom and a smaller four-engined floatplane mounted on top. Designed to carry cargo and passengers across the Atlantic, the idea was that the bottom aircraft would act as a carrier aircraft, essentially giving a piggy back to the top aircraft which would be overloaded and unable to take off on its own. Once at the correct altitude and a designated point, the two would separate, with the bottom aircraft returning to base while the top aircraft would fly on across the Atlantic. The Short Mayo Composite consisted of the Short S.20 Mercury floatplane for the top component and the Short S.21 Maia as the carrier aircraft. The Short Mayo Composite flying machine would make a series of successful flights before experiments stop due to World War Two. To learn the full history behind the intriguing design that is the Short Mayo Composite check out the latest episode from the Antique Airshow. #aviation #strangehistory #aircraft #seaplanes