VH-EDC Douglas
DC-3CS1C3G
(c/n 12874)
This was the former DCA aircraft VH-CAR.
It was acquired by Qantas in May 1961 and registered
to the airline on 12 July 1961.
Greg Banfield's shot (above) was taken at Mascot in June1963. In April
1965 it was leased to Fiji Airways and
Greg's shot (below), also taken at Mascot, shows it with Fiji titling
in May of that year. In
November 1971 it was sold to Queensland Pacific Trading Company and then
passed by them on to Bush Pilots
Airways, then to Air Queensland, Air Rambler (Australia) and finally
South Pacific
Airmotive. Whilst with this last company the aging DC-3 ditched
into Botany Bay on 24
April 1994 following an
engine failure on take-off. Although not badly damaged
structurally, the salt water
of the bay caused even more corrosion than the old bird already
had and it never flew again, although it
was not officially stricken from
the register until 2006. Greg reports that he understands that
the carcass
was blown up on a strip near
the You Yang ranges (south-west of Melbourne) in the filming of the the
Steven Speilberg movie "The
Pacific". The photo at the
foot of the page shows -EDC in full Air
Queensland livery and was taken at
Rockhampton in August 1987 by Danny Tanner.