A
beautiful pre-delivery shot of Fokker F-27 Mk I Friendship 100 PH-FAY (c/n 10131).
Although the aircraft still carries its Dutch 'trade plate' registration, it is
already painted in the DCA house colours of white with light blue trim, and carries
the DCA logo on forward fuselage and
fin. This aircraft was registered as VH-CAV on 24 September 1959.
DCA ordered two brand new Friendships during 1959 so that the regulator had experience on the same airliner type that was being purchased in numbers at that time by Australian airlines such as TAA, East West Airlines, MacRobertson Miller Airlines, Ansett-ANA and its subsidiaries Airlines of NSW, Airlines of SA and Queensland Airlines.
VH-CAT & CAV were delivered from the Fokker factory in Netherlands to Australia in September 1959. Both Friendships were based at Melbourne/Essendon and used for a variety of roles, including radio navigation aid calibration work throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea.
After replacement by Fokker 28s in the airways survey role, VH-CAV was sold to the UK, becoming G-STAN. Its Australian registration was cancelled on 30 January 1979.
(Photo: CAHS collection)