They're dubbed the "LandCruiser of the skies", making life possible in regional WA, but this little plane carries the added accolade of completing a daring flight from Australia to England more than 40 years ago.
Today Sierra Mike Papa or SMP — a single engine Cessna 210 — is flown by Shoal Air, a charter flight company servicing communities in Wyndham, Derby, Broome and Kununurra.
And amid the Kimberley's busiest dry season ever, with domestic tourists flocking to the north west, the plane is rarely without a passenger.
Managing director Steve Irvine said the plane's reputation was unrivalled.
"They're very efficient, well designed aircraft."
From Australia to England
About 40 years ago, the plane was owned by David Mann and Ian Richards — both businessman and pilots from Wodonga in regional Victoria.
In 1978 Mr Mann fulfilled a lifelong dream by flying the plane from Albury Airport to England with his wife Elaine, Mr Richards and his wife Roma — a feat unthinkable at the time for an aircraft of its class.
The plan was to visit Elaine's sister in England before returning home.
Mr Mann initially asked two friends — one a pilot — to join the ambitious journey but they declined, fearing the flight was too dangerous.
Eventually Roma and Ian Richards from Wodonga agreed to join the flight.
Mrs Richards, now 95, said while the idea excited her it had been "mind-boggling".
"I really was overwhelmed with the very thought of it," she said.
"You do have to pinch yourself at to think you would take that sort of thing on.
The four friends navigated the skies — including a memorable violent storm near Thailand — with no GPS, following 14 months of careful mapping before take-off on May 24, 1978.
From coast to coast
The plane landed in England about a month later before being flown home to Wodonga in September 1978.
It was sold on to pilots in Queensland, Victoria and WA for recreation and business use before being eventually snapped up by Shoal Air in August 2016.
Meanwhile, one of Mr Mann's nephews, commercial pilot Rob Slatter, decided he wanted to track the plane down.
Growing up in England, Mr Slatter said he remembered spending Christmas holidays in Australia in SMP.
"A lot of my childhood memories feature SMP in quite a big way," Mr Slatter said.
He said he started looking for the plane in 2010 when Mr Mann's health was deteriorating.
"I thought it would be a pretty special treat to show him some photos of SMP," Mr Slatter said.
Using the plane's registration number he tracked down the plane to Shoal Air.
Mr Mann died in June 2012, two weeks before the 34th anniversary of the plane's arrival in England.
Still in the air
In the Kimberley's 'wet season' — typically from November to April — planes like SMP service Indigenous communities such as Mt Barnert and Kalumburu, while running tourist flights over areas like the Bungle Bungle Range from around April to September.
Steve Irvine said SMP's log book reflected how important the plane still was for the Kimberley.
"The next couple of days it's being used to carry teachers in and out of remote schools," he said.
"Then another day it might be tasked for a scenic flight then the next day it might be taking any one health worker out to remote communities," Mr Irvine said.
Journey not the destination
Rob Slatter, who started flying in 2008, said a plane's story was important to remember.
"A lot of aeroplanes do thousands of thousands of hours but where that aeroplane has been is the most special thing," he said.
"It (SMP) is a special aeroplane that's for sure," he said.
