VH-AQJ  de Havilland D.H.82A Tiger Moth            (c/n   23/T262)
                                
                                 

                                     Almost indistinguishable from its Tasmanian Aero Club stable mate VH-AQI, this aircraft was
                                     built slightly earlier than the previous one (in 1940, vs 1941 for -AQI).  It is seen above Launceston
                                     Airport in 1952.  Imagine my surprise, therefore, on a hot day in January 1958 when I was "trolling"
                                     for photos at Moorabbin when I came across my old friend from those Tassie Aero Club days
                                     masquerading as a crop duster!  (Photo # 2 below).    In the mid-1950s many ex aero club Tigers
                                     were purchased by the aerial agriculture industry and converted into single-seat dusters. A decade
                                     later DCA decided to ground all D.H.82As from agricultural work by 31 December 1965 due to
                                     the high accident rate and serious injuries to the pilots in comparison to more modern aircraft types.
                                     A 3-year fleet reduction plan was implemented which required each company to reduce a third of its
                                     DH.82s each year. In many cases this was achieved by cross-leasing.  Shot # 3, taken by Bob Neate
                                     at Bathurst, NSW in September 1963, shows -AQJ which was registered to Air Mist Pty Ltd of
                                     Parafield with its Air Mist titles removed and those of another company on the fuselage.  Photo # 4
                                     by Geoff Goodall illustrates -AQJ whilst the aircraft was still deployed at Parafield, S.A. in 1962.
                                     VH-AQJ was formerly with  the RAAF as A17-26.   AQJ returned to Parafield where it was retired
                                     in October 1965, and abandoned dismanted in truck compound.   Most of the airframe was collected
                                     and restored by a Melbourne owner in 1973 and flown as a private two seater. It was destroyed in a
                                     fatal crash near Sale, Victoia on  29 December 1979.
                                     A "new" -AQJ appeared on the register in October 1984, an early example from Ray Windred's remark-
                                     able Tiger Moth factory at Luskintyre NSW.      Ray had also acquired some parts of AQJ salvaged
                                     from Parafield in the 1960s, and used these as identity for his new ground-up rebuild which was painted
                                     with the original -AQJ's RAAF serial A17-26.  Barry Maclean took the photo of it at the bottom of the
                                     page (# 5) at Richmond in 1991 when it was displaying the rather odd combination of its RAAF serial
                                     number on the rudder and the somewhat crude rego on the fuselage  For completeness sake I will
                                     leave this hybrid machine as part of this original VH-AQJ entry.

                       2.
                                 
                      3.
                                 
                       4.
                                 
                        5.