PETER RYE COLLECTION
No. 5338. de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover Mk.3 (VH-FDS c/n DHA5007)
Photographed at Perth International Airport, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, ca. 1969, by Peter Rye

de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover Mk.3

05/31/2008. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Built in 1951 as a Mk.1, registered VH-DRC, delivered to Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) and, named as "Gordon Alberry", operated for the Royal Flying Docter Service (RFDS). In 1959 the aircraft was bought by the RFDS but still operated by TAA. By 1961 the aircraft had been converted from a Mk.1 via Mk.1F, Mk.2 to Mk.3. In 1963 it was reregistered VH-FDS, re-named "Norman Bourke" and was operated by the Queensland Section till 1968.

From 1969 the aircraft changed ownership several times and was damaged beyond repair in an accident on July 30, 1973. In 1989 it was donated to the Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra, Tasmania."


Created May 15, 2006