Historical Aircraft Restoration Society

Historical Aircraft Restoration Society
AbbreviationHARS
Formation1979
TypeNonprofit
HeadquartersAlbion Park Rail, New South Wales, Australia
Membership800+
President
Bob De La Hunty
Publication
Phoenix Magazine
WebsiteOfficial website

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 and Parkes Airport in New South Wales, Australia.[1] 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".[2]

The group possesses a collection which includes several large and significant aircraft such as a Boeing 707 and a Boeing 747-400. Many of its aircraft are kept at an airworthy standard, including a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation which is the last remaining flying example in the world.[3] Other examples are kept at a taxiable standard where restoration of airframes to an airworthy standard is not feasible.[4] 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.[4]

The group's Boeing 707 was formerly owned by actor John Travolta, who donated the aircraft to the group in 2017.[5] As of May 2022, however, the aircraft is still in the United States, with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the process to relocate the aircraft to Australia significantly.[6]

In March 2026, due to the 707 being non-airworthy, it boarded the ship Ocean Giant in Georgia, USA to head towards Port Kembla, AUS. The 707 is expected to arrive in port in early May 2026 before heading to HARS by road to be rebuilt. [7]

The arrival of the 747 required significant preparation to allow the aircraft to land at the small regional Shellharbour Airport without damaging the runway.[8]

Collection

Aircraft at the Shellharbour museum include:[9][10][11]

Aircraft at the Parkes museum include:[10]

A aircraft kept in airworthy condition.

R aircraft under restoration.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Historical Aircraft Restoration Society.
  1. ^ "Home - Hars". hars.org.au. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  2. ^ "Home". Hars.
  3. ^ "Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Super Constellation." Archived 2012-01-31 at the Wayback Machine hars.org.au. Retrieved: January 30, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Navy Heritage Flight - Historical Aircraft Restoration Society".
  5. ^ Media, Australian Community Media – Fairfax (2017-05-27). "John Travolta donates his Boeing 707 to HARS in Albion Park". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
  6. ^ "A brief update on the Boeing 707 project". Facebook. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. ^ Facebook. 16 March 2026 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1RRX3jMpZk. Retrieved 19 March 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ "Relive the Qantas 747 landing at Albion Park three years ago". 8 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Flying Aircraft Archives". Hars. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  10. ^ a b "Static Aircraft Archives". Hars. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  11. ^ "Restorations Archives". Hars. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  12. ^ Jake Nelson (11 February 2026). "QantasLink donates Network Fokker 100 to aircraft museum". Australian Aviation. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
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