VH-UGO de
Havilland D.H.60GX Moth
(c/n 424)

This shot comes
courtesy of Geoff Goodall. VH-UGO was originally a WA Airways Ltd
machine and was imported into
Perth in 1927. In 1930 it was acquired by the Civil Aviation
Branch (CAB - later to
become DCA) and loaned to the Australian Aero Club (WA Section)
based at Maylands. This shot was taken at Wagin, WA in
1934, shortly before the air-
craft crashed.
Also
from the Geoff Goodall collection is the historic shot below, taken at
Maylands, Perth in
1931 showing VH-UGO in the
foreground with a plethora of other Moths and assorted 1930s
light aircraft
behind.
Finally at the foot of the page
are two newspaper images:
Upper, from the West
Australian of 17 August 1928 showing the
Moth as G-AUGO and being
flown by 'Squadron Leader
Kingsford Smith on a solo flight to
Carnavon' re-enacting Smith's
earlier association with WA
Airways. F/Lt Ulm was to have
accompanied him on the flight
but was unable to do so.
Lower, from the same newspaper for 30 November 1933 showing the remains
following a
crash at Picton Junction, WA on the prior day. The article
indicated that the aircraft was
been flown by WA Aero Club member
R. Catlett and was ostensibly going for a short flight
over the Darling Ranges. In
the event it flew down to Bunbury (where his passenger, Colin
Teede, a resident of Bunbury, lived) and, over Picton Junction on the
way back to Perth
stalled on turning and spun
in. Much was made in the report that the flight to
Bunbury had
not been authorized by the club,
plus the fact that a strong north east wind was blowing and
fuel capacity and flight duration could
also have been a problem. VH-UGO was written off.


