The De Havilland DH89 - Tainui - ZK-ACO

[aerohydro]

Hello All,

First time poster here.  An online friend is an avid modeller.  You can see examples of his work here.

Gabriel's current project is the De Havilland DH89 - Tainui - ZK-ACO - which had been a New Zealand entry in the 1934 MacRobertson air race.


He's found enough information about its exterior, with photos and references, but precious little about the interior and how it was laid out.  In particular, he's keen to know more about the radio and navigator stations, what they were like and where they located.
 

If you happen to have anything that would cast light on the Tainui's interior, please share! 

Thanks, in advance, for your help.

[davidd]

This Dragon Rapide (also known as a Dragon Six when first into production) was almost certainly a bespoke (custom-fitted) aircraft at the DH factory, so the interior may have had some (or no) resemblance to other aircraft produced at the same time. The only likely sources of that sort of information might be something which appeared in the aviation press at the time (Aeroplane, or Flight) and perhaps memoirs, of either C E Kay, J D Hewett (spelling?) or (Frank?) Stewart. I have a copy of Kay's book somewhere, but don't think he mentions much about interior trim, and not certain if Hewett left any memoirs. However Stewart may have been a journalist, so there may be SOMETHING out there. However chances of anybody mentioning interior trim are, I feel, rather on the slim side. Regardless of my feelings, best of luck in your quest.
David D

[aerohydro]

Hello David,

Thanks for your post. There was a "Flight" magazine sketch that showed some additional tanks fitted to ZK-ACO , but nothing else. I'll search out for the pilots' memoirs, in case they happen to contain some pertinent information. Thanks for the heads-up for that lead.

Cheers,
Paul