A rare Dornier Do-24 ATT is scheduled to make an historic landing on Aug. 27 in New York Harbor.
The tri-motor amphibian, designed in the late 1930s by German aviation pioneer Claude Dornier, recently underwent a multimillion dollar restoration overseen by Dornier’s grandson, Iren Dornier, who owns Southeast Asia Airlines in the Philippines. The original 1,000 hp Bramo engines were replaced with Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turborprops during the restoration.
The legendary aircraft is in the midst of a world tour, patterned after one undertaken by Claude Dornier in 1931 to introduce the world to his giant Do-X flying boat. The restored Do-24 stopped at AirVenture in Oshkosh last month, its first stop in the U.S.
Later this month, the plane is set to make an historic landing on the river next to Battery Park in New York City, at the “same spot, same time and same day” as when Claude Dornier landed the Do-X flying boat there 74 years ago, according to Dr. Klaus Daser, international coordinator for the world tour.