VH-DAU Piper PA-25 Pawnee 150
(c/n 25-341)
Stan Doggett began his aviation career as an
apprentice aircraft mechanic with newly formed
Airlines (WA) Ltd. in 1937. He later set up
maintenance and charter businesses at Perth's
Maylands
aerodrome before forming Doggett Aviation & Engineering Co. in
1954, specializing
in
agricultural aviation from 1957 onwards with Tiger Moths.
During the boom aerial agriculture
seasons
of the 1960s, Doggett Aviation moved to a large new hangar at the new
Jandakot Air-
port and flew a large fleet of Piper Pawnees as well as CA-28 Ceres and
three Percival EP-9s.
The
slump of the early 1970s drove Doggett Aviation out of the aerial
agriculture business, and
he reformed as
manufacturers of metal dinghies. VH-DAU was an early Pawnee 150
and is seen
above at
Jandakot in April 1969 It was first registered in
Australia as VH-MCI in November,
1960. Shortly after Geoff Goodall took the above shot
Doggett sold the Pawnee in South Australia.
Geoff saw it again at
Northam, WA in May 1970 (below), stripped of its Doggett titles, and
just
before it
moved east. VH-DAU is still registered to an agricultural
company, Leafair, in Deniliquin,
NSW, but
whether they still use this ancient sprayer actively is not known.