VH-AXT  de Havilland D.H.82A Tiger Moth    (c/n  DHA404)
              
                         

                             I have lost the provenance of this photograph, so I cannot reveal the venue, date or just who the
                             two blokes were. It is thought to be Essendon, circa 1949.   This wasn't even the first VH-AXT
                             either.  The first was a DC-3 that went to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia who re-registered
                             it VH-CBA.  This VH-AXT was ex A17-369 and had orignally been allocated the registration
                             VH-AXO.   For some inexplicable reason that was not taken up.  Also, equally inexplicably, all
                             the original VH-AX series (mostly Tiger Moths) were re-registered  VH-BX-  between 1949 and
                             1951.  Consequently the above machine wound up as VH-BXT in April of 1951.   The official
                             reason given by DCA for not keeping the VH-AX- series was that they could have been confused
                             with Q codes and International emergency codes.  (Seems to be a bit overly cautious, but there you are).
                             Seen below is a shot from the Aaron Betts collection of an accident sustained by -AXT probably
                             in the late 1940s.  Clearly it was repaired, since the machine later went on to serve with the Royal
                             Victorian Aero Club as VH-RVH and later as VH-BKA.