Qantas (VH-OJA) Boeing 747-438 makes its final ever landing at Illawarra Regional Airport

HARS Super Connie, Wollongong New South Wales

The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, often referred to by its acronym, HARS, is an Australian based aircraft restoration group. The group has two museums, at Shellharbour Airport in New South Wales, Australia, and

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

, New South Wales, Australia. HARS was formed in 1979 by a group of aviation enthusiasts interested in the preservation of Australian Aviation History. Its mission is "To recover and where possible restore to flying condition, aircraft or types of aircraft that have played a significant part in Australian Aviation History both in the Civil and Military arenas". The group possesses a collection which includes several large and significant aircraft such as a

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...

and a

Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeti ...

. Many of its aircraft are kept at an airworthy standard, including a

Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC-6 airliner, first flying in 1950. The aircraft was also produc ...

which is the last remaining flying example in the world. Other examples are kept at a taxiable standard where restoration of airframes to an airworthy standard is not feasible. The group operates a Navy Heritage Flight, which operates a range of ex Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm aircraft in support of the Navy. The group's Boeing 707 was formerly owned by actor

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...

, who donated the aircraft to the group in 2017. As of May 2022, however, the aircraft is still in the United States, with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

impacting the process to relocate the aircraft to Australia significantly. The arrival of the 747 required significant preparation to allow the aircraft to land at the small regional Shellharbour Airport without damaging the runway.

Collection

Aircraft at the Shellharbour museum include: * Boeing 747-438 ''City of Canberra'' (VH-OJA) *

^A *

Consolidated PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wi ...

^A *

Dassault Mirage IIIO The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

(A3-42) *

Lockheed P-2 Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and ...

^A (273Lockheed Neptune P2V-7 A89-273 VH-IOY
/ref> & 566) *

Douglas C-47 Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military-owned transport aircraft used to su ...

(A65-94 & A65-95)^A *

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

^RA *

Convair 440 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...

^A *

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

(A79-637, now VH-FJW^RA and A79-665) *

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

Bell AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The ...

de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover The de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover is a small transport aircraft that was built by de Havilland Australia (DHA) in the 1940s and 1950s. The aircraft had some similarities with the two-engine British-built de Havilland Dove but used a t ...

^A *

Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II. Development The 310 first fl ...

(VH-REK)^A *

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraf ...

^A *

CAC Winjeel The CAC CA-25 Winjeel is an Australian-designed and manufactured three-seat training aircraft. Entering service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1955 as a basic to advanced trainer, it served in this role until 1975. Later, it was u ...

Cessna 180 The Cessna 180 Skywagon is a four- or six-seat, fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which was produced between 1953 and 1981. Though the design is no longer in production, many of these aircraft are still in use as personal aircr ...

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.

de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 ...

^A (A4-210 and A4-234) *

Let L-200 Morava The Let L-200 Morava is a two-engine touring and light passenger aircraft of the 1960s, designed and produced by Let Kunovice in the Czech Republic. Development The Let L-200 Morava light twin-engine transport was preceded in production a ...

^A *

Auster Autocar The Auster J/5 Autocar was a late 1940s British single-engined four-seat high-wing touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire. Design and production The company recognised a need for a four-seat touring air ...

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

General Dynamics F-111C The General Dynamics F-111C (nicknamed "Pig") is a variant of the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, F-111 Aardvark medium-range interdictor and fighter bomber, tactical strike aircraft, developed by General Dynamics to meet Australian requiremen ...

* Grumman S-2G Tracker (N12-152812) *

Lockheed AP-3C Orion The Lockheed AP-3C Orion is a variant of the P-3 Orion used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for tasks such as naval fleet support, maritime surveillance, search and survivor supply and anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. The 18 AP ...

^A (A9-753) *

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...

* Fokker F.VIIB/3m “Southern Cross” Replica^RA Aircraft at the Parkes museum include: *Lockheed AP-3C Orion A9-759 *Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune A89-302 *Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune A89-272 *De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou A4-275 *Convair 580 VH-PDW *Westland Wessex HAS.31B 813 (N7-203) *Bell AH-1 Huey Cobra *

de Havilland DH.114 Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, ...

VH–AHB ^A aircraft kept in airworthy condition. ^RA aircraft under restoration to airworthy condition.

References

{{Reflist Aircraft preservation Historic preservation organisations in Australia 1979 establishments in Australia