PAN AMERICAN CLIPPER

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27036, 11 May 1953, Page 11

PAN AMERICAN CLIPPER

SUPER FOUR VISITS HAREWOOD large crowd inspects AIRCRAFT Few overseas aircraft that have visited Harewood since it became an international airport nearly three years ago have attracted as much attention as the Pan American World Airways Clipper Lightfoot, which arrived at Christchurch last evening to make courtesy flights over Canterbury. Several thousand people were at the airport to see the aircraft—a Skymaster converted to include luxury fittings—land between the long lines of twinkling runway lights, and hundreds of them passed through it in the hour it was open for public inspection.

Originally the aircraft was to have been open for inspection between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., but it did not arrive from Paraparaumu until 7.30 p.m. Before its navigation lights were seen overhead, there was a large crowd assembled in front of the terminal building, and cars parked three deep on the road inside the airport area. As soon as the aircraft was open for inspection the crowd surged towards

After half an hour there was still a large crowd waiting to see what the blue, white, and silver Skymaster looked like inside. The courtesy flight, »et down for 8.30 p.m., was postponed until 9 p.m. When the crowd was informed of this over the public address system there was another surge towards the aircraft, and the announcer i j ask that women and children should be allowed to go first, and that a n qul f£ q ueu e” should be formed. To allow the greatest number of people to pass through, another gangway was partmMt °* P assen ger comPan American Airways describes the converted Skymaster as a Super Four it is used to operate the AucklandFiji section of the company’s South Pacific service, and connects with the Stratocruisers flying through from Sydney to San Francisco twice a week. is , a medium-sized aircnrft, but it provides all the comfort emties of a bigger aircraft like J^ rath^ cr Ji lse £ Seating has been re„iCedL?nd the Super Four carries P assei W rs - The remaining space is occupied by a lounge and mfittings usually carried decks 6 lower ot tbe Stratocruiser’s

Lounge Attracts Interest in^L?.t he hundreds of people who inspected the aircraft last evening were most interested in the lounge They admired the modernist decor and indirect lighting, the bleached walnut 7u nel J ng ’ the na utical touch bj L f reen lights on each side of the lounge, the ceiling of soft yellow plastic sheets, and the red and green window curtains with their world map motif. A picture of a clipper ship at one end of the lounge was a reminder that Pan American Airways aircraft are known the world over as clippers, and are named after such ships. Twenty people who were given a courtesy flight over Christchurch for 40 minutes enjoyed for a brief period the kind of travel that passengers between Auckland and Fiji now expertence. While the aircraft, commanded “J Captain Wesley Gray, cruised above the thousands of twinkling city lights, the passengers sat on the red upholstered seats in the lounge and chatted while drinks -and savouries were served to them by the flight stewardess and bar steward. They were ab 'V? , ss v ?K £r ®2 1 y about in »® alr ‘ craft until the time came to return ,® ea * s *nd fasten heir safety belts for the landing and the return to the tarmac outside the terminal build‘fi«> where a small crowd still waited to have their last view of the aircraft. TTils morning the Clipper Lightfoot Will make another courtesy flight from Harewood over Canterbury. It will leave for Auckland before midday to resume the service to Fiji at 3.15 p.m.