REPLACEMENT OF AIRCRAFT

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26692, 28 March 1952, Page 6

REPLACEMENT OF AIRCRAFT

SUBSTITUTE FOR DAKOTAS . MAKERS INVESTIGATING REQUIREMENTS “The Press" Special Service „ AUCKLAND, March 36. Group Captain A. F. Bandidt, personal representative of Sir Frederick Handley Page, chairman of Handley , M* 1 -. aircraft manufacturers, arrived in Auckland by Tasman Empire Airways Solent yesterday. p ?FP ose . °f. Group Captain Bandidt's visit.; which is part of a world tour, will be to And out what type required to replace the DCS (Douglas Dakota) when it becomes obsolete. The tour has been arranged so that Group Captain Bandidt can obtain an idea of what will be expected of the new plane when it is built, especially from the people who will have to maintain and operate it, and the airfields on which it will be based. “We have in mind an all-metal plane weighing about 26,5001 b, powered by four engines and having a cruising speed of not less than 200 miles an hour, he said.

Group Captain Bandidt said he had with him some specifications of the proposed aircraft, and would discuss with New Zealand authorities what modifications or improvements they would like in the design. "This must be one of the first tours ever arranged,” he said, “where a representative of the maker has come to consuit with the people concerned about what they require.” After leaving New Zealand, Group Captgin Bandidt will return to Australia. From there he will travel to india. South Africa. South America, the United States and Canada. He will be in New Zealand for about seven days.