Avro 643 Mk II Cadet A6-34
Developed as an improved version of the earlier Avro 631, the 643 Mk II Cadet was powered by the 150 horsepower Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major 1A engine, and was intended for use as a military and civilian ab initio training aircraft. The prototype first flew in 1935, and a total of 61 examples of the type were constructed at the A.V. Roe and Co. works at Manchester in the United Kingdom.
A total of 34 Mk II Cadets were ordered for use by the RAAF, and these aircraft were delivered in three batches from November 1935 through to February 1939. Differing from their British civilian counterparts, the RAAF's Cadets were fitted with tailwheels and inverted fuel systems which permitted aerobatic flight. Serving with No 1 Flying Training School (FTS), Point Cook, and also with Nos 21 (City of Melbourne) and 22 (City of Sydney) Squadrons, the Cadet was retired from the RAAF in 1945. A number of Cadets were subsequently flown in civilian hands, and some were modified for use as agricultural aircraft.
The aircraft on display, A6-34, was the last Cadet to enter service with the RAAF on 13 April 1939, and operated at Point Cook with No 1 FTS from February 1940, until transfer to the Central Flying School in July 1940. Over the next four years, both the aircraft and the unit moved to a variety of bases within New South Wales, before the aircraft was allotted to No 8 Elementary Flying Training School for storage in January 1945. Disposed of in March 1945, the aircraft passed through a number of owners and was acquired by the RAAF Museum in 2004.
