VH-AYU  Percival P.28B Proctor I                       (c/n  K303)

                                 

                                   This rare shot of VH-AYU over the Hume Weir (near Albury, NSW), circa 1947, comes from the
                                   files of Ross Gorman of Myrtleford, Victoria.  The aircraft was built for the RAF as Proctor I P6269
                                   by F. Hills & Son.  It was civilianized in 1946 as G-AHMG. 
                                   Geoff Goodall has done an historical study of every Proctor registered in Australia, and provides the
                                   following fascinating details on this bird:
                                      VH-AYU was owned by a British chap named Denys N. Dalton, ex RAF, who had spent 3
                                      years in Australia during the war. He decided to emigrate here and departed England on 15
                                      August 1946 in Proctor G-AHMG named "Dominion Lass" flying to Australia with two lady
                                      passengers.  He planned to start a charter company at Essendon with a partner Fred Odgers
                                      who flew his Proctor G-AHFX out here in company with Dalton.  That latter aircraft became
                                      VH-AYV.   Both machines were entered onto the Australian register in October of 1946.
                                      The following year Dalton set up his one man company as Air Taxi Pty Ltd at Albury.  In the
                                      shot above, the legend "Air Taxi" appears below the name "Dominion Lass".  In Sept 1948
                                      Dalton sold -AYU to Mrs Hazel Roberts of "Ennis Downs" Station, Richmond Qld.  The aircraft
                                      was later sold to Mitchell Aerial Services at Cairns in Jan 1956 but later failed a CofA renewal and
                                      was struck-off the register on 1 May 1959.  Academic really, since all wood bonded aircraft were
                                      soon to be pulled from the register anyway, as described in several other Proctor entries.                             
                                      Meanwhile Denys Dalton went on to become a successful businessman and made around the
                                      world record flights in his Beech Travelair VH-TKD and later in his Beech Duke VH-TKE.
                                   The photo immediately below is from Geoff's collection and shows Proctor when owned by
                                   Mitchell Aerial Services taking off from visiting the annual Oak Park Station picnic horse races
                                   in north Queensland in 1956.                                
                                   Finally, from Kym Burton comes the shot below of the Proctor at Parafield in 1946 en route to
                                   Essendon..   The photo was taken by her grandfather who was a mechanic at the field during and
                                   after WW II.

                                 

                                                              
                              .