At Harewood Tomorrow

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30313, 13 December 1963, Page 16

At Harewood Tomorrow

One of the largest cargo planes to come to Christchurch in recent years—a Douglas Cargomaster—is due at Harewood late on Saturday. Two Cargomasters were here three years ago and delivered the snowmillers used to carve out the under-snow Byrd Station.

The Cargomaster, belonging to the United States Military Air Transport Service, is flying to Wellington from the Travis Air Force Base in California with a new shaft for the Navy icebreaker. Atka, which is due in Wellington on Sunday. The Atka lost a shaft and a propeller last week w'hile smashing its way through thick ice in McMurdo Sound.

The C 133 is expected to leave Christchurch on its homeward flight on Sunday. It will probably carry, back

men of the United States Air Force Antarctic task unit whose job this season will be over by Saturday. The Cargomaster is the lar. gest aircraft in the M ATS, fleet. Designed to handle outsize cargo it can carry all American operational missiles. In December 1959 a Cargomaster established the world’s record by taking 118,0001 b of cargo to 10.000 ft, beating previous records by

Normally the Cargomaster operates between 15,000 and 30,000 ft. cruising at almost 300 miles an hour. With a 20-ton payload its range is more than 3700 miles. The plane carries a crew of five and is powered by four Pratt and Whitney turbo-prop engines. each developing 6000 equivalent shaft horsepower. M.A.T.S. has 47 of these large planes.