Giant Transporter Visits Gisborne

A giant Lockheed Hercules transporter, the largest aircraft to have landed at Darton Field, demonstrated its capabilities before a crowd of about 2000 on a sunny morning last month.

A tremendously powerful craft, it required less than half the length of the sealed runway for its take-offs and landings, and amazed the spectators by flying on only two of its four enormous engines. If necessary, it can maintain altitude on only one engine.

The aircraft was the first civil version of the extremely successful Hercules military model to be built, and was visiting Gisborne in the course of a world sales promotion tour. It has already visited 13 countries throughout the world during the six weeks since it left America.