ROYAL TOUR AIRCRAFT

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28479, 8 January 1958, Page 7

ROYAL TOUR AIRCRAFT

No Decision On Landing Place

The organiser of the Queen Mother’s New Zealand tpur next month (Mr A. G. Harper) said yesterday that no decision had been reached on whether the heavy Royal tour DC-7C aircraft would be permitted to land at Whenuapai. The Civil Aviation Administration, which would have the final say in the matter, was still waiting for information about the aircraft from the operating company—British Overseas Airways, he said.

An Air Department spokesman said on Monday that Ohakea would be used subject to the final approval qf the Internal Affairs Department which is responsible for the organisation of Her Majesty’s tour of New Zealand. He said that even if the DC-7C had been able to use Whenuapai, it would, in the event of bad weather, have been diverted to Ohakea. If the final decision was made in favour of Ohakea as the Queen Mother’s landing point in New Zealand, arrangements would be made to fly Her Majesty and her party to Auckland in time for the official welcoming ceremony on the afternoon of February 1. The Prime Minister, Mr Nash, is to welcome Her Majesty at Whenuapai at 3 p.m.

The spokesman said that the maximum loading weight permitted at Whenuapai was a wheel load of 45,0001 b. Even this weight, he added, would do damage to the runways and any aircraft wishing to use the airfield and which had a loading in the vicinity of 45,0001 b was required to have special permission. It was not known what weight the Queen Mother’s aircraft would have, as this depended largely on the number of people aboard and the baggage carried 8.0.A.C. had been asked to supply this information but no reply had been received from London. It could normally be expected, he said, that this information would be supnlied by the operators of the aircraft without it being specially requested. “It is too late to recast the itinerary. We will just have to make what extra arrangements we can. I am still hoping it can land at Whenuapai,” Mr Harper said

Mr Harper said that he had no indication as to when an announcement about the decision would be made. “Everybody wants to know and they are being pressed from all sides,” he said