a maximum of each. Both models placed their engines in the same positions: two engines on the upper wing and one on each side of the fuselage on the lower wing; while this arrangement was uncommon, it was not an original innovation, having been previously used on aircraft produced by Blériot. The upper engines are placed as close together as permissible by the diameter of their propellers. The engines are mounted on rigid duralumin plates that are attached to rear wing spar via welded steel tubing; fuel for the engines is housed within the upper wing and is gravity-fed to all four engines. The throttle controls for the engine includes a 'lost motion' mechanism, which uses the first degrees of movement from the idle position to turn on the fuel. The crew compartment, which was located at the very front of the aircraft, was fully enclosed, then a relatively new and uncommon feature. There were two separate passenger cabins, one forward of the wings and the other aft. The H.P.42E carried six (later 12) in the forward compartment and twelve in the aft. There was also substantial space allocated for storing baggage. The improved H.P.42W variant seated 18 passengers forward and 20 aft, at the cost of a reduced baggage capacity over the preceding model. The cabins featured a high degree of luxury, having been intentionally styled to resemble Pullman railway carriages akin to the Orient Express; other features intended to increase passenger comfort were a high level of spaciousness, relatively wide windows, and full onboard services. Initially, there were no seatbelts present upon any of the seating until an unrelated air accident motivated Imperial Airways to instate this feature. On the ground, passengers could both embark and egress without using steps or ladders due to the low position of both the doors and the fuselage overall. Operational history On 14 November 1930, the type's maiden flight was conducted by G-AAGX, later to be named Hannibal; it was flown by Squadron Leader Thomas Harold England. During May 1931, the aircraft was granted its certificate of airworthiness, permitting the instatement of commercial services. On 11 June of that year, the first flight with fare-paying passengers was conducted to Paris. Due to the high cost of air travel at this time, typical passengers were usually members of high society, such as royalty, celebrities, and senior business figures; the H.P.42/45 fleet were viewed