The Airtourer was the winning design, submitted by Henry Millicer, the chief aerodynamicist of Australia's Government Aircraft Factories, in a competition organised by Britain's Royal Aero Club in 1953. A wooden prototype was constructed by a small group of enthusiasts (the Air Tourer Group of the Australian Ultra Light Aircraft Association) in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown during the late 1950s. This prototype, registered "VH-FMM" (nicknamed "Foxtrot Mickey Mouse") was first flown on 31 March 1959 by Flt. Lt.Randell Green at Moorabbin airport.