var fDesc=new Array(); fDesc[0] = "The Short Singapore I flying boat was built in 1926, and was the first, large flying boat of all-metal construction (the wings and the tail unit were fabric-covered, though). Short had hoped for an RAF order, but the RAF was committed to the Supermarine Southampton, and had no immediate need for another aircraft in the same category. Instead, the Singapore I, which proved itself to be an excellent design, was used for a number of important survey flights, the most famous being Sir Alan Cobham’s long flight around Africa 1927-28."; function tShowHide(id, show) { var s = document.getElementById("desc"); if ((s.innerHTML.length<=212 || show==1) && show!=2) { s.innerHTML = fDesc[id]; if (document.getElementById('m1')) document.getElementById('m1').style.display='none'; if (document.getElementById('m2')) document.getElementById('m2').style.display='none'; if (document.getElementById('more_txt')) document.getElementById('more_txt').style.display='inline'; } else { s.innerHTML = ''; } }