02/28/2008. This four-seat all-metal aircraft was designed by
Luigi Pellarini in 1952 to the specification of Fawcett Aviation, a
fixed-base operator at Bankstown, for a trainer suitable for use by
the Illawarra Flying School, a Fawcett subsidiary. The construction at
Fawcett Aviation began in February, 1953 and the prototype flew for
the first time on November 11, 1954.
In 1957 the aircraft was tested at the RAAF Aircraft Research and
Development Unit and the Australian Army evaluated it for the AOP (Air
Observation Post) role, eventually buying the Cessna 180A.
The aircraft was stored for many years till 1979 when its original 130
hp de Havilland Gipsy Major 1 Series 1 four-cylinder in-line engine
was replaced by a Lycoming O-360
four-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine.
It has been donated to the Museum by the late Douglas "Doug"
Richard Fawcett, and it is kept in airworthy condition.
