There is nothing much to like about the Dromader.
I might be wrong but I was led to believe the outer wing section is little more than a reverse engineered Ayers Thrush wing and the attach points are much the same.
If that were the case it would be a big ask to see them in service on an aircraft with significantly higher TOW.
Their original saving grace was that with the 1000hp radial they were under powered (IMO) so had to be flown with a degree of care. They were also extremely heavy on the controls, especially the A models, abrupt or full control deflection was difficult. Basically they flew like a pig.
When the turbine retro fit came along servos were placed on the control surfaces so you could fly the damn things. That then made them fairly light on the controls.
More than one industry wise person has commented over the years that the turbine Dromader is an airframe at the very limits and requires very judicious operation, fire bombing stretches that somewhat.
I don't know what the answer to the Dromader issue is but i would personally like to see them phased out sooner than later.
Surprised the NDT done 120 hours earlier didn't pick an underlying issue on David's machine.
Another very sad loss to the industry, and I feel for his widow who has been close the industry all her life and witnessed this loss and sadness with others many times, now she has to struggle through it.
Nothing much to like about the Dromader.