HARS talk to examine enduring aviation mystery of lost plane

The HARS Keynote Speaker Series for August will cover the enduring search for missing Cessna VH-MDX.

Aerospace engineer and bush search expert Glenn Horrocks will cover key aspects of this mystery which remains unresolved after 45 years.

Carrying five people, including NSW Water Police chief Inspector Ken Price, the Cessna 210 vanished from radar after encountering severe weather above Barrington Tops, north of Singleton on the night of 9 August 1981.

A massive air and ground search in extremely difficult conditions went for 10 days, with many units continuing ground searches over the years in the rugged terrain which is very steep in the upper areas and hampered by thick jungle in the lower sections.

Dr Horrocks will share his perspective of this remarkable search for the aircraft which has never been found. Glenn is an NSW Bush Search and Rescue Unit Deputy Commander, a Mechanical Engineer and holds a PhD in Fluid Mechanics.

The presentation will take place upstairs at HARS in the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame area on Saturday, August 15 at 11am.

All visitors to HARS Aviation Museum are welcome upstairs with the lecture included in the price of museum admission.

Long Tan remembrance

The August Tarmac days, from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th, will feature support activities to remember the Battle of Long Tan during the Vietnam War. HARS features Huey helicopters from the era along with two of the world’s only flying Caribou transport aircraft.

A HARS Iroquois helicopter and a former RAAF Dakota will fly on missions from HARS Aviation Museum during Saturday.

Check out assembly work on the Travolta Boeing 707

Extensive work on the John Travolta Boeing 707 is proceeding and August Tarmac Days are a great opportunity to see how it is starting to come together.

The engineering team at HARS, including many who worked on 707s back in their Qantas days, will be boosted with the confirmed arrival of the US team on the 7 October to put it all back together.

HARS President Bob De La Hunty highlighted work since the remainder of this historic former Qantas jet arrived two months ago.

“Make no mistake, this is a monumental engineering challenge, and one that will stand as an Australian aviation achievement even greater than had we been able to fly to Australia as originally anticipated,” Mr De La Hunty said.

Qantas Fokker 100 jet to land

Talking about another challenge at HARS Aviation Museum will be the arrival of the Qantas gifted Fokker F100 Jet VH-NPU.

Visitors and members are welcome to be part of the excitement of this latest arrival on Monday, 17 August at 2 pm, subject to operational conditions during its flight from Perth to HARS at Shellharbour Airport.

Visitor information

The largely undercover HARS Aviation Museum is open from 9.30am to 3.30pm daily, except Christmas Day. All visitors will be accompanied by a HARS tour guide. The last tour starts at 2pm. It is located at Shellharbour Airport, just off the old Princes Highway at Albion Park Rail and a short walk from the railway station.

The museum’s acclaimed Café Connie is open for barista coffee plus hot and cold food at very reasonable prices … so when visiting HARS Aviation Museum you can make a meal of it.

Visitor details at www.hars.org.au