James Kightly brings us a detailed examination of an airliner family that showed the advantages of purpose-built designs
Development
New designs for a new era of purpose-built airliners
The Handley Page W-class, while mostly forgotten today, bridged the gap between the converted bombers of the Great War that were used as ad hoc airliners, and the famed Handley Page HP42 of the thirties. Despite the limitations of the era, these aircraft flew a remarkable number of miles with relatively few injuries to their thousands of passengers.
