The sleek and shiny Dornier Do-24ATT is temporarily based at the Batavia airport. Airplane enthusiasts have only until the end of the month to examine its exterior. Photograph by Walter Horylev

Nikos Gitsis took a break from airline projects when he visited his hometown of Ogden recently. He related some of his experiences since graduation from Spencerport High School in 1986. Photograph by Walter Horylev.

Unique Dornier aircraft makes stop in Batavia
Airline co-owner is Spencerport graduate

Nikos Gitsis, in his mid-30s, doesn't look like a co-owner of an airline, but he's been one for the past ten years. A former resident of Ogden, he grew up on the family farm on Whittier Road and graduated from Spencerport High School in 1986. He always wanted to be a pilot and, after graduation, ended up in Colorado where he learned to fly aircraft.

He is also a co-owner of Silver Lake Restaurant in Warsaw with his father, Steve, (and also is a co-owner with his cousin, George Gitsis, of the Pony Express, a convenience store and pizza shop in Warsaw) and spent time in that business before going to California. There he met Iren Dornier, grandson of Claudius Dornier who designed the world's first 12-engined seaplane.

Nikos and Iren became friends and, after a time, ferry pilots, delivering airplanes from Germany to South America. The availability of relatively cheap airplanes gave them the opportunity and incentive to form their own airline and brought them to the Philippines. They worked on building the company, South East Asian Airlines, and, in 1998, an opportunity arose that looked like it could provide a lift for their venture.

The scene changes to nearby Batavia.
That unusual looking airplane parked on the tarmac at Batavia Airport is a Dornier Do-24 ATT, a one-of-a-kind amphibian. It was built by the Dornier Company in 1938 as a Do-24 model, the most successful flying boat in Germany, to be used by the Dutch government in their colonies, particularly Indonesia. After about 30 planes were built, an improved version, the Do-24T, replaced it. It served very well as a sea rescue and transport vehicle and was used extensively by the Spanish sea rescue wing.

The next step in improvements, the ATT prototype, featured Pratt and Whitney PT6A-45B turbo-prop engines, a new wing and other changes. This modified version first flew in 1983. It was used for commuter aircraft studies and a number of test flights were made. Meanwhile, the company was sold and the plane was retired to the Deutsch Museum in Germany in 1984.

Iren Dornier, grandson of the founder of the original company, acquired the plane in 1998 and brought it out to the Philippines in 2003 where it became a part of the South East Asian Airlines, (SEAIR), a company formed about 10 years ago and co-owned by Iren Dornier and Nikos Gitsis. Housed at their home base, the Diosdato Macapagal International Airport (formerly Clark Field) in Manila, the plane underwent a nearly six million dollar refurbishment.

During a recent interview in Ogden, Nikos said that the Do-24ATT has a wingspan of 100 ft., a maximum takeoff weight of 30,864 lbs. on land and 26,455 on water and cruises at 213km/hr., (about 128 mph) with a top speed of 266 km/hr., (about 160 mph.) The partners are currently awaiting ratification of two world record claims for their plane in its class: Time to climb to 3,000 meters (13 min. 41 sec.) and time to climb to 6,000 meters (47 min. 22 sec.)

Iren Dornier has been flying the Do-24ATT on a year-long world tour to promote Philippine tourism and UNICEF, copying to some extent the world tour route his grandfather, Claude Dornier, took in 1931 in the 12 engine Dornier Do-X, the largest and heaviest plane in the world at the time. This tour began in Manila in April and the project has been dubbed "Kayang-Kaya!," or "We can do it," a Historic Flight for Dreams for education and awareness. It's directed towards the Child-Friendly School System in the Philippines, (a UNICEF-supported program), enabling more children to enroll in school, more teachers to upgrade their skills and more schools to acquire better learning materials. The company donated $60,000 to UNICEF.

The British Petroleum company has been paying for all the fuel used on the promotional tour; more corporate sponsors are being sought. Nikos explained: "We are looking for one big sponsor in the U.S. We would fly to wherever they want for publicity purposes. Meanwhile, we will have been here about a month while we work on airline projects." He added: "I want to thank my cousin, Steve Gitsis, owner of Sam's Diner in Holley, for helping to sponsor the tour and offsetting some of the costs of parking the plane at the Batavia airport."

About the plane's performance, Nikos said, "I've flown the Do-24ATT and it is very stable; the plane is smooth and noisy (because of the turboprop engines). It can fly up to 10,000 ft., and higher if we're breathing oxygen. Landing on water is the best part of flying this airplane and it needs only 1,000 feet for takeoff."

It's expected the plane will leave the Batavia airport by the end of this month. It will probably then be flown to the Hudson River near New York City, then to Washington, D.C. and then Florida or California. The Do-24ATT may return to its home base by April or May 2005, where it will provide first-class treatment for up to 10 passengers or coach accommodations for 19 passengers and the luxury of beachside landings.

The fleet it joins includes eighteen airplanes, eleven of which move most of the 25,000 people who travel on their airline every month.

The Do-24ATT is the only amphibian in the fleet and the only remaining Dornier amphibian in commercial operation in the world. SEAIR is the smallest of five airlines that service the Philippines. It received an award for the "Best Airline of the Year" in 2002 and 2003 from the largest Philippine consumer group, an award that adds a bit more to the accomplishments of Ogden native Nikos Gitsis. "I like living in the Philippines but I really enjoy coming back to the Ogden area."

For information: www.do-24.com