VH-BIX (2)     Avro 652A Nineteen Srs 2

                              

                                 The second VH-BIX was of two Avro C.19s operated by RAAF (ex VM375) from Mallala SA on
                                 passenger courier services to the Woomera Rocket Range from 1947 on.    It was retired and sold to
                                 Robert G. Carswell in March 1957 for his Carsair Air Services just established at Port Morseby, New
                                 Guinea.    The civilianized Avro received its CofA on 21 May 1957 as (somewhat appropriately)
                                 VH-BIX, with seating for up to 13 passengers:  7 European seats and seating for 6 natives.  Carsair
                                 flew charters and scheduled services with a mixed fleet of Ansons, a Lockheed 12A and a Beech 17.
                                 In October 1960 Bob Carswell flew VH-BIX to Perth WA where it was leased to Air Culture, a local
                                 agricultural company who had picked up a contract to fly crayfish from coastal airstrips at fishing settle-
                                 ments to Perth for Ross Fisheries.    The XIX was painted up with the slogan "Crayfish transporter  -
                                 we bring them back alive" and flew into barely adequate sandy airstrips until 22 March 1961. when
                                 an engine failure caused a forced landing in low scrub 7 miles north of Lancelin WA.  The pilot was
                                 Bill Boulden, Managing Director of Air Culture. He and two passengers were unhurt but the expensive
                                 load of live crayfish was lost and the aircraft was damaged and later trucked to Perth.   Bob Carswell
                                 flew his Lockheed 12A VH-ASG across from Brisbane to replace the Avro on the crayfish run, and the
                                 Avro wreck was purchased from the insurance company by Brain & Brown Airfreighters at Moorabbin,
                                 who removed the metal mainplane and tailplane which were trucked to Melbourne for their planned
                                  second Anson Mk.1 metal conversion which in the event was never started. (See VH-BAF).
                                  The images in this entry are all from the Geoff Goodall collection, viz:
                                              1.  (Above)  In the markings of Corsair at Cairns, Qld, circa 1957 :
                                              2.  At  Perth 1960 with Ross Fisheries titles
                                              3.  At the forced landing site near Lancelin, WA in 1961
                                              4.  Aerial view of forced landing near Lancelin 22 March 1961 on the WA coastline north of Perth.
                                                   Rear fuselage damaged.
                                              5.  As VM375 in RAAF service at RAAF Mallala SA in Sept 1955  (John M. Smith photo)
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