VH-BIC (5)  Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six                       (c/n  32-83)

                                

                                     The fifth VH-BIC came on to the register on 8 October 1965 . In May 2016, more than 50 years
                                     later, it was still flying.  It survived a fire in the luggage compartment in 1970 when a foam mattress
                                     unravelled and pressed against a light bulb that had lost its cover.        At the time it was owned by
                                     Genoa Oil, which used the Cherokee Six for oil exploration in the outback.     In April 1977, when
                                     David Carter photographed it at Dalby on the Darling Downs, it was owned by Les Keys Aviation,
                                     a cropdusting firm that traded as Keyland Aviation.    The most recent owner lives in the Newcastle
                                     area.