VH-ULS Dornier Do A
Libelle
(c/n 103A)
A rare Frank Walters collection of a Dornier
Libelle (Dragonfly) on Sydney Harbour circa 1929.
(Possibly Pyrmont, pre-bridge days?). The
diminutive flying boat (see adjacent D.H.60 on floats)
was designed
as early as 1921 by Dr. Claudius Dornier as a sport/trainer aircraft
and had accomm-
odation
for pilot and two passengers .. It was a parasol wing monoplane of
metal construction and
with the well-proven
Dornier pontoon floats. The aircraft
featured a folding wing set and was
originally powered by a 80 hp Seimens-Halske Sh 5 engine.
-ULS, however, had a 104 hp
Cirrus Hermes installed which doubtless gave it a somewhat better
performance. The little Libelle
was
originally to have
been purchased by Mandated Territory Airlines, but this sale did not go
through
and the machine was acquired by General Aircraft Co Ltd
of Mascot who then sold it to
Port Jackson
Aviation Co. Ltd in April 1930. Its CofA lapsed in
May of
1931 and it was sold
to
the British Solomon Islands.