ANEC III

The ANEC III was a 1920s British six-seat passenger and mail carrier aircraft built by Air Navigation and Engineering Company Limited at Addlestone, Surrey.

The pilot sat in the open above the mail compartment, with space for six passengers or cargo inside the fuselage.

First registered on 21 May 1927, Satin Bird was used by the wealthy sheepowner William Oliver and his party to tour central Australia that same year, stopping at Oodnadatta, Alice Springs, Farina, Maree, Charlotte Waters, and Simpsons Gap.

Satin Bird crashed at Hay on 27 December 1927 and remained inactive until 1929, when it was officially struck from the aircraft registry.

Both aircraft were rebuilt as 11-seaters (two pilots plus nine passengers, or the equivalent weight of fuel and cargo) with a lengthened fuselage and a more powerful 485 hp (362 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar 14-cylinder engine.

ANEC III 3-view drawing from Les Ailes 29 April 1926