The PR coup

Text and photo: Martin Nilsen

LEE-ON-SOLENT: LN-WND attracted a lot of attention while the machine was at Deadlus airfield in Lee-on-Solent in England on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The local organizers of Daks over Normandy on the English side, in collaboration with the Lee Flying Association, had ensured that a lot happened around the aircraft. As we know from Duxford, there are a number of groups of amateur actors who dress up in period uniforms and civilian clothes and create a historical setting around the planes. There was a real fuss when the chief photographer pulled up with three beautiful ladies (who could also sing!) in flight attendant uniforms from the 1940s. First they entered the door of the Dakota, then the wings and engines, and in fact the whole plane, were put to use for the beautiful posers who, in the sunshine, delivered the goods. They were, as the saying goes, "all over the place". The registered photographers on site, all wearing vests from the organizers, swarmed in a number of 43 around our machine and the models who provided the best multi-voiced singing from the wing edge and doorway. Finally, they checked boarding passes on "boarding passengers". All the while it was crowded around the other seven maxi's on the taxiway. Then it's just a matter of looking through British - and perhaps some other - magazines to see what the outcome was. We can at least say that it was great PR.