Around the world in a year

Flight Journal, Dec 2002 by Hanrahan, Chris

Marking a century of aviation, IrenDornier, 43-year-old grandson of flying-boat pioneer Claude Dornier, plans to fly a 60-year-old Dornier Do 24 seaplane around the world in 2003.

Built in the early 1940s, the Do 24 was a successor to the Do X-a 12-engine flying boat that was the world's largest passenger plane in 1929. Despite much incredulity concerning its practicality, the Do X flew from Germany to New York in 1931.

"The Do 24 is my favorite flying boat among all the aircraft my grandfather built," says Iren Dornier. "There was only one left flying in all the world when I bought it" from Daimler Benz Aerospace (now majority owner of Dornier Luftfahrt).

Dornier, who holds airline transport and flight instructor's licenses for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, is currently renovating the Do 24. He plans to start his round-the-world journey in the Philippines, where his business interests include commuter-carrier Southeast Asian Airlines and an upscale tourist resort.

The round-the-world trip will last for about a year. Dornier will fly many of the old transoceanic routes that his grandfather's original flying boats took in the 1920s.

How will Dornier finance his adventure? "We are inviting corporate sponsors," the German-born entrepreneur explains. "The idea is to position it as a marketing opportunity for companies that wish to be associated with the glamour of a year-long celebration of a century of aviation.

"We are going to fly the aircraft all over the world to the nicest places and participate in famous airshows, such as Paris and Oshkosh. We will invite VIPs to visit the flying boat and give them aero tours in it." Chris Hanrahan