VH-AAW   DHC-2 Beaver 1                              (c/n  462)

                              

                                   This Beaver has a complicated history bouncing between New Zealand and Australia over the
                                   past fifty odd years.   It was originally imported into New Zealand by De Havilland (NZ) Ltd. in
                                   1953 as ZK-BDI.  It was re-built as ZK-BMO in 1958 after it was badly damaged by gale force
                                   winds at Taupo, and went to Aerial Farming (NZ) Ltd. of Palmerston North.  Two years later
                                   (on 2 Sept 1960 it crashed at Niho Niho and was written off the ZK- register.   Evidently it was
                                   not a total basket case since the wreck was exported to Australia (must've presented an interest-
                                   ing Customs declaration) and re-built as VH-AAW.  Geoff Goodall saw it (above) at Parafield in
                                   September 1962 two months before Aerial Agriculture sold it to Robbys and it was re-registered
                                   VH-RAS.  Now that it was a going machine again, it was re-imported into New Zealand in 1966
                                   by Fieldair at Gisborne and registered ZK-CPZ.   In the mid-1980s, and in a really odd quirk,
                                  (since New Zealand does not normally "revert" to previous regos) it was re-registered ZK-BDI
                                  again, its first identity.    In 1990 it was re-exported once again to Australia, becoming VH-BOS
                                  and registered to Altair Aviation Pty Ltd. of Camperdown, Victoria, with whom it is still (2007)
                                  currently registered.