VH-AFK  de -Havilland D.H.84 Dragon               (c/n  2024)

                                       

                                           The above photograph is from the Roger McDonald collection.    It was one of several Dragon
                                           images gleaned by Roger from an old woolbuyer colleague who used to travel to wool sales in
                                           them in the 1940s.  This one was taken at Casino, NSW circa early 1947 whilst the machine
                                           was with New England Airways.   The shot below, of unknown provenance, is from the Fred
                                           Niven collection.       Australian built, it was ex RAAF A34-35, and civilianized in March 1946 .
                                           It was later sold to Taylors Air Transport of Lae, and departed Sydney on the long ferry flight
                                           to New Guinea on 8 June 1947.  It was flown by Joe Taylor and was  accompanied by another
                                           Dragon VH-AHY which he had also purchased to set up his new charter service at Lae 
                                          .VH-AFK was completely wrecked when engine failure caused a forced landing in high kunai
                                           grass at Bena Bena, New Guinea on 6 September 1948.