Without the "bird", but with a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) boom protruding from the tail (unfortunately cropped from this photograph!), G-AMYW taxies out for another sortie. Hunting Surveys Ltd was formed in late 1959 with the merging of Hunting Aerosurveys Ltd and Hunting Geophysics Ltd, the names of both of which are seen beneath the Hunting legend in this photograph, dating it as taken before the merger.

Built as a C-47B-30-DK at the Douglas factory at Oklahoma, G-AMYW initially entered RAF service as KN497 with No 525 Sqn at Montreal in April 1945. After serving with Nos 238 and 10 Sqns in the UK, it received its civil registration and joined Silver City Airways in early April 1953, but was acquired by the Hunting organisation that August. It is seen here at Croydon in November 1954.

DC-3 G-AMYW (c/n 33020) Joined the Hunting fleet in August 1953.

G-AMYW fitted with the full complement of electromagnetic equipment, including the “bird”, MAD boom and “Meccano set” attached to the fuselage. The author recalls the latter: “It had a distinct ‘whistling’ airflow, Some said it could be made to produce a tune by varying the aircraft’s speed. We often got comments from air traffic control when taxying - ‘did you make it yourself?’ etc”.

Used extensively for airborne mineral survey work, G-AMYW was fitted with various configurations of electromagnetic equipment, including “the bird” - a magnetometer on an 80ft (25m) cable stowed on the underside of the fuselage just aft of the trailing edge, as seen here.

The author in the left-hand seat of Hunting Surveys DC-3 G-AMYW at Daarin in Italian Somaliland in December 1959. Having earned his UK fixed-wing flying licence in 1951, Ed accrued more than 17,000 hours - all accident-free - in command of an aircraft over the course of his long career in commercial aviation, from DC-3 to Boeing 737.

Percival Prince F-BJAI (nearest the camera, formerly G-AMLW) and Survey Prince F-BJAJ (formerly G-ALRY) of Hunting’s French associate company Societe Anonyme de Prospection Aeroportee (SAPA), both of which were operating in West Africa in September 1960. Note the Survey Prince’s extended glazed nose section.