VH-FAW  Piper PA-25-235/A1 Pawnee B                       (c/n  25-3148)

                                 

                                    VH-FAW was registered to Field Air of Ballarat in June 1965. In October 1972 it was converted
                                    to a two-seater with a wider fuselage and an altered profile to the rear decking as a PA25-235/A1.
                                    Field Air operated extensively in the NSW Riverina and David Carter’s photograph shows  -FAW
                                    at Griffith in early 1980.      The Pawnee had several short absences from the register during 1970s
                                    and 1980s, likely during seasonal lulls in aerial work.    On October 18, 1983, it was damaged in an
                                    accident and it was off the register for almost two years.   On 27 October 1988 it crashed when it
                                    got tangled in powerlines while spraying near Inverleigh, Victoria.     The pilot was seriously injured
                                    and –FAW extensively damaged.         However it was restored to the register in December 1990.
                                    In more recent times –FAW has been used a glider tug, like so many Pawnees.  It was owned by the
                                    Caboolture Gliding Club until its engineless airframe was disposed of in 2009    . In August 2016 the
                                    owner was Joe Luciani, president of the Ballarat Aero Club and the proprietor of Aeroswift Comp-
                                    osites, a business specialising in inspecting and  repairing composite aircraft.   He bought the Pawnee
                                    in April 2013