G-ALZL  de Havilland D.H.114 Heron 1                  (c/n  10903)

                                 

                                        This is the prototype Heron and has a long history.  Although in full BEA livery, this aircraft was
                                        never operated by the airline who, in fact, only ever used three of them.  Viewer Sandy Edmiston
                                        indicates that these were G-ANXA, G-ANXB and G-AOFY, and they were replacements for
                                        D.H.89A Dragon Rapides on the Hebrides run and also operated on air ambulance duties.  BEA's
                                        Herons were fixed undercarriage 1Bs and landed on the on the beach at Barra - which services had
                                        to be scheduled to coincide with the tides.   G-ALZL was later leased to Braathens SAFE in 1954
                                        as LN-BDH.   It went to West Australia in 1973 becoming VH-CJS and has remained in the Perth
                                        area ever since.    It eventually became derelict at Perth's GA airport, Jandakot, during a prolonged
                                        legal ownership dispute, in which no side would allow the Heron to be sold to several aviation museums
                                        in Australia (the RAAFA being one of them) or, indeed, to the UK who were anxious to see the proto-
                                        type Heron preserved.