From Western Air Lines archives. Photo from: Civil Aviation Historical Society, Melbourne, Australia

Photo taken by the father of Joan Lynch. Photo from: Civil Aviation Historical Society, Melbourne, Australia

Operated by WA Airways. Became VH-UDZ shortly before the registration was cancelled in 1931. Photo from: National Library of Australia

Name Old Gold is a reference to a product of MacRoberston chocolates, which backed the airline. Coincidentally, VH-UTL (as it had become) was sold to Guinea Airways in Papua New Guinea for use on the gold fields. Certificate of Airworthiness lapsed in 1936. Photo from: National Library of Australia

Reregistered VH-UHX by August 1930. Registration lapsed in 1936 but was renewed in October 1937. -UHX was withdrawn from use in December 1948 before returning to the register in September the next year. The registration was cancelled for the final time in 1951. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

First flown on 12 March 1927, the F.VIII was a largish airliner designed for KLM's busiest European routes. Baggage could be loaded through the nose. Fokker built this one for Malert in Hungary and Manfréd Weiss in Budapest built them another three. Photo from: Amsterdam City Archives

This aircraft was the second of seven Air Expresses to be built. It carried four or five passengers and mails. Later to NC7955. Photo obtained from Lockheed.

Boeing designed the Model 40 in 1927 and the four-seat 40B-4 derivative was used on the 1,918 mile air mail route from San Francisco to Chicago. The rugged aircraft had a 525 h.p. P&W Hornet powerplant. Obtained from United Airlines 60 years ago.

The sole Boeing PB first flew in 1925 and was intended as a long range naval patrol bomber able to fly non-stop from California to Hawaii. It did not go into US Navy operational service. In 1928 it was modified as the XPB-2 and fitted with two P & W R-1860 of 800 hp in 'push-pull' configuration. From Boeing 60 years ago.