This Aero 145 was built at Kunovice, Czechoslovakia in 1961 and imported into Australia in 1962, being assembled at Bankstown and then being used for fish spotting (especially tuna) by Commodore Aviation out of Port Lincoln, SA. From 1963 a 10-year contract for lighthouse supply began, taking advantage of the aircraft's excellent endurance and short-field characteristics. A Cessna 337 took over the fish spotting in 1968 but the Aero continued with charter and island work till 1979. Wfu by 1985, it was allocated VH-ZCL for a long-term restoration project from 2001 and placed on display at SAAM

VH-WWC was operated by World Wide Air Services in Papua New Guinea on behalf of Australasian Petroleum for oil exploration. In 1961 it was sold to Trans Australia Airlines for use on airline services . It struck a submerged object and sank at Daru on April 26, 1962. The seaplane base at Port Moresby operated from 1939 to 1966. In 1967 it became a patrol boat base, for the Australian Navy and today the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. Photo from Trans Australia Airlines.

Visiting from Port Lincoln to drop off a passenger for an airline flight. VH-WWC was withdrawn from use in 1976. It returned to the register in 2001 as a long-term restoration project with the registration VH-ZCL.

This fairly early production Skymaster was registered, new, in Australia on 17 September 1965. Despite this early date, it was preceded by a Catalina, then an Aero 145, of the same rego.