Capt William Lancaster and Mrs Keith "Chubbie" Miller prior to departure on their England - Australia flight. They crashed on take-off Muntok, Batavia 10 Jan 1928; repaired at Singapore and flight restarted 13 Mar 1928; arrived Darwin 19 Mar 1928. UK Registration G-EBTU belatedly cancelled 2.12.30. Re-registered in Australia as G-AUTU 30 May 1928, re-registered VH-UTU 20 Sept 1930. Written off (damaged beyond repair) when destroyed by fire after crash-landing at Singleton, NSW 6 June 1936.

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