Pick-A-Back Plane Prepares For Cape Town Flight (1938)

Titles read: “PICK-A-BACK PLANE PREPARES FOR CAPE TOWN FLIGHT“. Dundee, Scotland. Various shots of the ’Pick-A-Back’ planes, ’Mercury’, being prepared for a non-stop flight from Dundee to Cape Town in South Africa. A group of men sit on the quayside watching. Mercury is lifted from the water by a crane and lowered onto the back of the large seaplane, ’Maia’, and is hooked into position. Mercury will be so heavily loaded with petrol that she will be unable to take off on her own so Maia will lift her into the air where the coupling will be unhooked. Petrol is pumped onto the plane by men on a floating petrol boat. Commentator suggests this is an attempt to break the world record for a long distance flight. It was currently held by the Russians. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT’S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT