1980s AERIAL AGRICULTURE - Part 2

Continuing a selection of my photographs of Australian aerial agricultural aircraft

                       DHC-2 Beaver VH-BSC at Launceston Tas in April 1984 with Tasmanian operator Benders Spreading Service


             Benders Spreading Service Beaver VH-BSL at Parafield SA in May 1983

             Super Spread Aviation Beaver VH-IDC at Deniliquin NSW in September 1984

             Beaver VH-IMJ at Millicent SA in June 1983 operated by Robbys Aerial from Adelaide

           Aerial Agriculture Pty Lyd's Beaver VH-IDH was also dusting at Millicent SA in June 1983

        Western Aerial Services Beaver VH-IDR was at the company home base Derinallum Vic in December 1989

Beaver VH-IMD was based at Albury NSW in September 1984

          Conair fire-bomber Fokker F.27 Friendship C-GSFS at West Sale Vic in February 1988. It was leased during the Canadian winter
    by the National Safety Council of Australia Victorian Division during John Friedrich's expansion of NSCA aviation services

       Goulburn Air Service NZ-built Fletcher Fu24-950M VH-EOP at Goulburn NSW in September 1984

               This late model Fletcher Fu24A VH-ENX at Jandakot WA in September 1988 had been imported from NZ earlier that year

                                           Grumman G164 Ag Cat VH-PUV at Brisbane-Archerfield Qld in June 1987

            Retired agricultural Ag Cats became popular for tourist joyflights. Former Cropcair Ag Cat VH-CCK seen at Coolangatta Qld
            in June 1987 with the hopper installation replaced by a 2-seat open front cockpit.  Pilot was aviation historian Ben Dannecker

           The WA Forestry Department employed a fleet of PA-18 Super Cubs for aerial fire patrols over vasts tracts of forests in the
                      south of the State.  VH-FPK was on a standard route near Serpentine Dam, east of Perth in December 1982

                             Another of the Forestry Patrol Super Cubs VH-FPJ was at Albany WA in September 1986

 Piper PA-25 Pawnees were still in widespread agricultural use in the 1980s.
This colourful Pawnee 235 sprayer VH-PFF was on the owner's farm at Toodyay WA in January 1983 


The original lower-powered Pawnee 150 had been almost entirely replaced by the highly successful Pawnee 235 model.
This 1961-built Pawnee 150 sprayer VH-BTY was retired at Northam WA in May 1986

Giles Aviation's Pawnee 235 VH-BMF at home base Wagin WA in September 1986

John Forrest taxies his Pawnee 235 VH-IJF at Carnamah WA for another spraying run, September 1985

This pair of Pawne 235s operated by Ted Blanch at Ingham Qld flew a spraying demo at a Cairns airshow in March 1984

              Pawnee 235 VH-SUG sprayer at Swan Hill Vic in August 1989

                   Western Aerial's Pawnee 235 VH-HLN sprayer with curved wingtip mod at Derinallum Vic in December 1989


Pawnee 235 VH-HLM sprayer was also at Derrinallum Vic in December 1989

Pawnee 235 VH-TOJ sprayer at Bendigo Vic in September 1984 still has Piper factory paintwork on the forward fuselage

Pawnee 235 VH-WBN sprayer operated by Ian Blaxwell at home base Wubin WA in September 1985


Field Air's Pawnee 235 VH-FAU at Benalla Vic in April 1986 has the raised decking of the two-seater modification

Another Field Air Pawnee 235 two-seater VH-FOO at Ballarat Vic in November 1989, fitted with an unusual applicator

Retired agricultural Pawnees were in demand to become glider tugs. Pawnee 235 VH-PPP had been a tug for the Narromine
Soaring Centre until sold to Field Air at Ballarat, where it was seen in May 1981, waiting to have the hopper re-installed

Appropriately-registered Narrogin Gliding Club Pawnee 235 VH-TUG was hard at work at Narrogin WA in August 1980

Far North Queendsland Soaring Centre's Pawnee 150 VH-PAG tug at Mareeba Qld in March 1984.
This was among the first Pawnees imported to Australia back in 1960


Flashback: here's VH-PAG in original Piper paint scheme at Mareeba in the Sixties while with H.P.Squires Aerial Spraying.
Photo by Roger McDonald

Piper's development of the PA-25 Pawnee range was the bigger PA-36 Brave.
Central Western Air Spray's Brave 285 VH-FUU departs for a spraying job at Forbes NSW in September 1984

This view of VH-FUU at Forbes shows the very different lines of the Brave design

Tapps Aviation Brave 300 VH-LEG early morning at Murwillimbah NSW in May 1987

Brave 300 VH-SVO at Ballarat Vic in January 1984 with resident operator Field Air


Field Air's VH-FET at Ballarat in Janaury 1984 in the Piper factory scheme for their latest model Brave 200

A trio of Field Air Braves at Ballarat Vic in December 1989

VH-ABU was an example of Transavia's latest model in the Airtruk range, the PL-12 Skyfarmer T-300A.
It was owned by Ian Chambers' Agspray Pty Ltd at Northam WA, where it was photographed in August 1986 


A new type introduced in 1989 was the Weatherly 620A. VH-WEA at Moorabbin in December 1989 had just been assembled
by Super Spread Aviation.  Australian new-type certification took another five months

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