It has been six years since John Travolta gifted one of the last B707 aircraft operated by Qantas to the HARS Aviation Museum in Albion Park. Now, the much-anticipated HARS vision of returning the aircraft to Albion Park in a fully operational, certified and restored capacity has been given the final green light.
A HARS delegation, including president Bob De La Hunty, recently travelled to Brunswick, Georgia in the US to finalise the plans to bring the aircraft to Australia.
As it needs extensive repair work, the American aircraft experts said it was best to dissect the craft and ship it over to Australia and keep it for exhibition purposes only. This idea, however, is not in line with the HARS mission, as the not-for-profit entity prides itself on its unique stand of restoring aircraft to fully functional capacity despite engineering and financial challenges.
De La Hunty was eventually successful in getting the Americans to understand his unwavering goal to have the 707 certified operational and flown home to Australia with Travolta himself as pilot.
Bringing the craft to the required Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification is a mammoth task that is expected to take a couple of years. For starters, the engine will be sent to Ireland to be restored while repairs will be made on the wings and the airframe in the US.
It will cost a lot of money – approximately $1 million has been spent so far to have the historical Qantas plane made airworthy, but it's a task that HARS believes is worth doing to have such a historical aircraft properly restored.
The Boeing 707 is affectionately known as ‘The Last of the Hotrods’ because of the craft’s high thrust and modest weight. This model is highly valued as it was Qantas’s first jet aircraft – this particular vintage plane being the last of 13 built especially for Qantas, hence the strong desire to have it homed in the Illawarra.
Once this dream comes to fruition and the craft has landed at Albion Park, it is hoped to be the highlight of the iconic Illawarra airshow – Airshows Down Under Shellharbour, formerly known as Wings Over Illawarra – in the not-too-far-off future.
For further details on the Qantas 707 project or to donate head to the HARS Aviation Museum website at www.hars.org.au or phone (02) 42574333.