VH-AAW   (2)    DHC-2 Beaver 1                              (c/n  462)

                              
                            
                                   This Beaver has a complicated history bouncing between New Zealand and Australia over the
                                   past fifty odd years.   It was originally imported into New Zealand by De Havilland (NZ) Ltd. in
                                   1953 as ZK-BDI.  It was re-built as ZK-BMO in 1958 after it was badly damaged by gale force
                                   winds at Taupo, and went to Aerial Farming (NZ) Ltd. of Palmerston North.  Two years later
                                   (on 2 Sept 1960 it crashed at Niho Niho and was written off the ZK- register.   Evidently it was
                                   not a total basket case since the wreck was exported to Australia (must've presented an interest-
                                   ing Customs declaration) and re-built as VH-AAW.  Darr Connell's sjot above was at Bankstown
                                   in March 1962. Geoff Goodall saw it below) at Parafield in September of that same year two months
                                   before Aerial Agriculture sold it to Robbys and it was re-registered VH-RAS.     Now that it was a
                                   going machine again, it was re-imported into New Zealand in 1966 by Fieldair at Gisborne and regis-
                                   tered ZK-CPZ.   In the mid-1980s, and in a really odd quirk, (since New Zealand does not normally
                                  "revert" to previous regos) it was re-registered ZK-BDI again, its first identity.        In 1990 it was re-
                                   exported once again to Australia, becoming VH-BOS and registered to Altair Aviation Pty Ltd. of
                                   Camperdown, Victoria, with whom it was still (as late as 2007) registered.