'Amelia Earhart seated inside her Avro Avian'. This is not the Avian III she acquired from Irish aviatrix Lady Heath in 1928, G-EBUG, which became NC7083. NC541E was not registered to Earhart. Place and date not known but she visited Springfield, Illinois in NC541E in May 1929. Photo from: Purdue University Libraries

Became ZK-AAF when New Zealand adopted its own national prefix. Photo from: Museum of Transport and Technology

The SAAF had 20 Avian trainers. Serial numbers ran from 504 to 523 and 515, 517 and 519 are seen. Photo taken by a member of a 1931-32 Hans Schomburgk expedition. Photo from: SLUB / Deutsche Fotothek

Destroyed in hangar fire at Wanganui on February 23, 1974. Photo from: Civil Aviation Historical Society, Melbourne, Australia

Flown from the UK to Australia by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Later flown to New Zealand by Guy Menzies. Returned to Australia and crashed at Sydney airport on April 21, 1931. Briefly fitted with floats. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

VH-UOE was owned by Charles Ulm, copilot to Charles Kingsford Smith for the trans-Pacific flight. The photo is taken at a NSW country racecourse but which one is not known. The Genet-engined Avian was sold in Papua New Guinea in 1934 and fitted with a Gipsy engine. It was being overhauled when destroyed by enemy action in January 1942. Photo from: State Library of Victoria

The plane the centre of a 1920s scandal. Flown by Capt Lancaster from the UK to Australia, the adventurous pilot was accompanied by Mrs Miller, a married woman. The Avian was added to the Australian register as G-AUTU and later VH-UTU. Lancaster and Miller moved to the US where he was charged with the murder of another Mrs Miller's lovers. Acquitted, Lancaster returned to the UK and record flight attempts, dying of thirst in 1933 when he force-landed in the Sahara. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Registered in 1928 to Arthur Butler who went on start Butler Airways at Cootamunda. Became VH-UHY in 1932. Reported in 1940 as dismantled and stored at Toowoomba, Queensland. UHY changed hands a few times after that but under wartime restrictions is unlikely to have been flown. Struck off the register in 1946. The location is either New South Wales, where the aircraft was based in 1929, or Victoria. The scenery is typical of rural parts of both states. Photo from: State Library of Victoria

VH-UHZ at Archerfield after a rebuild. Its propeller had snapped on September 18, 1928, tearing the engine out of the aircraft, which then crashed. Registered G-AUHZ, its CoA expired. Returned to the register in 1933. Caught fire in flight on February 2, 1941 and force landed near Byrock, NSW. Burnt out. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Built in 1928 at Woodford.

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

Bought by famed aviator Charles Kingsford Smith, G-ABCF was used for record-breaking solo UK-Australia flight in October 1930. Smith sold it to Guy Menzies, who made first solo Australia-New Zealand flight in January 1931. Flight ended with G-ABCF on its back. Until then G-ABCF was a single seater with a fuel tank in front cockpit. Rebuilt as two seater. Crashed at Mascot airport (Sydney International) April 12, 1931, killing pilot and passenger. At time G-ABCF was a landplane. This Milton Kent photo showing it on floats remains unexplained but it might have been in connection with a planned flight to Japan that did not go ahead. Avian never took up allocated marks VH-UPT.

One of two identical Avro Avian's currently stored in the Adelaide Soaring Club hangar. The other one is visible in the background. Rare birds indeed - only two of this type on the Australian register

Two identical Avro Avian's in the Adelaide Soaring Club hangar, VH-UVX is on the right. There are only two aircraft of this type on the Australian register

VH-UQE is now VH-UVX, which was its original registration. The original VH-UQE (c/n R3/CN/531) has since resumed that registration.

This VH-UQE was damaged on October 4, 1982 at Gunning, NSW. It was restored three years later as VH-UVX which had been its original registration. Just to confuse things, there was an earlier Avian registered VH-UQE that had crashed in 1947. It returned to the register in 1993 as VH-UQE (c/n R3/CN/531 refers).

Built at Woodford in 12.27 as an Avian II G-AUFZ and supplied to Wings Ltd at Broken Hill NSW. Converted to Avian IV standard as VH-UFZ. Retired 12.47 and stored. Overhauled at Woodford in 1998 for Greg Herrick's collection, becoming the second NC7083 and displayed at the Golden Wings Flying Museum in Blaine, Minnesota as 'G-EBUG'.