VH-EFD Cessna 172H /A1
Skyhawk
(c/n 17256502)
Formerly N8302L, VH-EFD was registered to the Catholic Mission, Order
of Friars Minor, at
Aitape in Papua New Guinea in May 1968. It was designated a
172H/A1, signifying it had been
modified in Australia. The nature of the modification
is not known. However, a clue may be in
David Carter’s 1970 photograph above of the aircraft at
Bankstown. The baggage door appears
to
open inwards, rather than outwards, and may have been used for
airdropping. –EFD was still
current in July 2016, owned by Peter White, of White Fisheries at Port
Lincoln, South Australia
with his
son Marcus, of North East Victoria, shown as the operator. They
acquired the plane in
2012.