VH-ASH  de Havilland D.H.114 Heron 2D    (c/n   14111)

                              

                                     Unquestionably the nicest Heron I ever saw.  Owned by the Broken Hill Pty/Zinc Corporation
                                     as an executive transport, it is seen here at Essendon in 1957 when brand new.  Trim and rego
                                     were in bright red.   It was registered in the VH-AS- Associated Airways block (the "H" for
                                     Heron was a nice touch).  This private airline served the BH conglomerate for its personnel
                                     transportation needs throughout the Commonwealth.   Geoff Goodall's shot (below) was taken
                                     at Adelaide Airport in August 1963, by which time it sported a revised livery and the name
                                     "Silver Heron".   It was sold in the US in 1968 as N210FA   Not a suffix, I might add, that
                                     would have voluntarily been used in the British world!   In the mid to late 1960s, Herons were
                                     much in demand in the US, where the Riley Corporation converted at least 20 of them to be
                                     Lycoming-powered.