by Steve Mackenzie

Background

19 RAAF disposals aircraft plus seven pre-war civil Moth Minors flew locally post 1945. I intend to go through them in registration order giving details of them (I could not locate images of some to do profiles). So here we go :

VH-ADL - this was a UK built airframe originally registered as VH-ADA to Royal Aero Club of WA, Perth in 1939. Stored Maylands 1940 due wartime restrictions on private flying and fuel rationing. On 30.3.44 purchased by Langley G. Hancock (think I have heard of him somewhere...). Jan 1948 Sliding canopy installed covering the rear cockpit by Aero Service, Maylands. Appears to have used CA-6 Wackett Trainer canopy sections. Hancock later modified the sliding canopy to cover both cockpits. It was a one-off design quite different to the prewar Moth Minor Coupe models delivered new in Britain by De Havillands, which had a raised rear fuselage decking. Photo attached (no drawing as it is from the wrong angle to see all the details needed).

C/n 94095 (A21-30) built at Bankstown became VH-AFQ when it went to the civil register in Mar 1945. It went thru several owners over the years and had a number of variations in it's colour scheme (of which I have drawn two). In 1968 it left the local register when sold to Bob Diemert in Canada.

VH-AFQ in the simple scheme of Silver overall with probably Red stripe on fuselage and rego on fuselage but none on fin or wings (Photo Dave Welch).

A modified version of the previous scheme with the stripe ending in a version of a bird's head on the cowling. Image John Hopton.

Profile of VH-AFQ in the simple scheme of Silver overall with Red stripe on fuselage and cowling with rego on fuselage but none on fin.

In 1966 not long before being exported, VH-AFQ looked like this. Overall Silver with Red Stripe etc and tail flash. The area above the nose cowling and around the cockpits looks different in the image. Not sure what colour is used there, my profile is a guess but there are other possibilities.

VH-AFQ Cootamundra NSW in February 1966, all silver with red fuselage flash. Photo by Geoff Goodall

Profile of VH-AFQ in the colours called out above. Images show two other scheme variations used on AFQ over the years.

Click on the 'Next' button to go to Page 2 of the article