Quiz #1 - Answer

Thank you all for leaving comments and contributing to this quiz. It wasn't easy, right? It got me confused too.

First, let's start with what this aircraft is not.

Not a Kyushu K11W "Shiragiku"

Not a Manko MT1 "Hayabusa"

Not a Clark GA-43

Not a Junkers 160

So...what is it?

Erik Faustus (Nickname Fugaku) and Richard (HantsBirder) correctly identified the aircraft as a Hansa Reconnaissance Seaplane. 

Both correctly mentioned that it's a civilian version and "Fugaku" specified that it probably belonged to the Ando School. He also sent over photos from his collection with Ando Hansas.

Thank you very much, guys!

The particular Hansa in the ebay photo has a number of similarities that confirm that it is indeed a Hansa seaplane but also a number of details not found on any Hansa seaplanes of the Ando School.

Below is an original photo from the Arawasi collection of an Ando Hansa seaplane, taken from about the same angle as the ebay photo.

The similarities with the ebay plane are in red, the differences in blue.

Furthermore, none of the Ando Hansas has the anti-glare paint of the ebay plane, and the canopy of the ebay plane seems to reach too far forward, covering the pilot's cockpit area.

In my opinion, the seaplane featured in the ebay photo, is Hansa J-BBCI.

Photo credit: "J-BIRD" (here)

According to "J-BIRD" the seaplane was built by Aichi, c/n 81. It belonged to "Nihon Koku Yuso Kenkyujo", Sakai City, Ohama, in Osaka, and it received the sliding canopy cover on June 12, 1936.

Here's another close-up photo of J-BBCI from the Arawasi collection.

In the photo above, the anti-glare paint is also visible. 

As can be seen in both photos, the sliding canopy covered both the pilot and the passenger, unlike the Ando Hansas. 

Thanks again everybody for leaving a comment. I hope you enjoyed this quiz. More coming up!