VH-CKA de Havilland D.H.82A Tiger Moth
(c/n 83120)
In 1961 DCA Head
Office allocated the random registration block VK-CKA-CKZ to WA Region
in Perth. The
first use of the block was to Tiger Moth VH-CKA registered on 5
October 1961 to
"No.4 Light
Aircraft Purchase Group" at Perth's old Maylands aerodrome. The
Group had acquired
the cropduster
VH-WFO and requested a new registration for it. It was then
converted back to two-
seater
configuration. It is seen above at Jandakot in January 1964 in
this Merv Prime photo (courtesy
of
the Geoff Goodall collection). After 5 years flying it was
retired
and abandoned and left out in
the
weather at
Jandakot Airport. It was then moved to a garage in
the Perth suburb of Belmont in
August
1971, where Geoff himself
took the photo below. The
rebuild project
must have stalled
since it never
reappeared on the
register. This UK-built Tiger had many prior
identities. After serving
with the RAAF
under its RAF
serial
R5261 it was civilianized in 1948 as
VH-BDI. It was sold to the
Royal Newcastle
Aero Club in June
1956
becoming VH-RNR. It was not with the club long and a
couple of years later
it was sold off as
VH-WFO to become an agricultural aircraft.