VH-UMC    de Havilland D.H.50                     (c/n  74)

                                  
                               
                                      The above shot, from the Frank Walters collection (via Geoff Goodall) shows this D.H.50 at
                                      Perth in 1929.    The image immediately below is from the Civil Aviation Historical Society
                                      archives and shows the aircraft as Alan Cobham's famous DH.50 G-EBFO over Cloncurry,
                                      Queensland probably in 1926 when it was being flown on his round trip from England to
                                      Australia whilst on a proving flight for Imperial Airways. Two years later Norman Brearley
                                      of West Australian Airways saw it languishing in bits and pieces in a hangar at Stag Lane and
                                      had it shipped to Perth where he completed its rebuild as VH-UMC complete with a 300 hp
                                      ADC Nimbus engine replacing the original Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar.   The third photo is from
                                      the Ted Fletcher collection, and shows it shortly after its rebuild in October 1929 on its nose at
                                      Forrest, WA. when being flown by WAA pilot Bert Heath in the East-West Centenary Air Race
                                      from Sydney to Perth. (WAA staff had jokingly made up the slogan "Verily Heath U Must Crash").
                                      At the foot of the page is an image culled from the Brisbane Courier of 1 October 1929 showing
                                      the D.H.50 just before the race.  Anyway, inbound to Forrest from Ceduna and Cook, while in
                                      a low altitude duel with a Moth, Heath's undercarriage struck a rock resulting in this arrival at
                                      Forrest.   The aircraft was repaired overnight at Forrest, using the undercarriage borrowed from
                                      the Civil Aviation Board's DH.50 which was accompanying the race, and Heath continued to
                                      Perth the following day to take line honors as first across the finishing line at Ascot Racecourse at
                                      3.02 pm.  VH-UMC was to crash again at Mia Mia Station between Carnarvon and Onslow, WA
                                      on 1 March 1934, and six months later its CofA expired and it was officially written off.