VH-UHV American Eagle A-1
(c/n 238)
The photo above and that at the foot of the
page are from the John
Hopton collection. The
latter shows the
biplane after its accident at Manly on 14
April
1935. The blurry shot below
is
part of
the E.W.
Searle photographic collection (via the National Library of Australia)
and
illustrates the
A-1 flying over the opening celebrations of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
on 19
March
1932. This aircraft had been
delivered new to a Mr. Joe
Palmer of Sydney on
1 August
1928 as
G-AUHV. In 1930 Palmer swapped out the original Curtiss
OX-5
engine
for a
100 hp Kinner K.5
power plant which is clearly visible in the shot above. VH-UHV was
stricken off the register
on 31 July 1935 as a result of
the above mentioned crash. Interestingly,
this aircraft appears on a photo of the D.H.9 VH-UMT
in which it is seen with 'Aerial Flights
Company' titling, although that concern was
never given as an owner of this aircraft, and was
probably
an aka used by Palmer.
