wain71 Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 I have just been reading an article about this place in Airliner World, must be a fantastic place to visit and the Connie still gets flown.....and all done by volunteers, really dedicated people...any of our Aussie friends been there? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie123 Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 They are very active at HARS. If you have a quick look at Facebook, you will see they have been very busy recently, including the last weekend with their Orion and Neptune. They are also intending to retrieve the ex-John Travolta 707. An interesting ongoing story. (2) Facebook Aussie 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanderlay Posted August 1, 2023 Share Posted August 1, 2023 Yep, I’ve been there a number of times, and was last there a few weeks ago for what they call their tarmac weekend. They run the engines on some of the aircraft and also have tours through the place. We sat in the F-111, had a tour through the Connie, a Dakota and also a very interesting one through the 747 by an ex Qantas captain who had flown that particular aircraft numerous times. A really interesting bloke who knew seemingly all there was to know about it. Like you say, the volunteers are extremely dedicated and a lot of them ex Aircraft Maintenance Engineers from the airlines and Defence Forces. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Harmes Posted August 1, 2023 Share Posted August 1, 2023 I never flew in it, but I got to see the Connie fly at Avalon Airshow a few years ago, and also had the opportunity to take a tour on board. From memory it was a $5 donation and you could climb the stairs to board and pretty much stay on as long as you wanted. It wasn't overly busy so after wandering around the plane for a bit I was sitting in a seat and chatting to a couple of the volunteers, I think one was the pilot. I suggested they should take it up for commercial joy flights, but they said it wasn't allowed, I guess due to the strict regulations around commercial flights of any type. The main thing I remember is how tall those landing gears are. It was a bit hairy just climbing the steps to get on board, as they were quite narrow and seemed twice as high as regular steps you'd climb to get on a 737 or A320. Such a beautiful plane! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanderlay Posted August 1, 2023 Share Posted August 1, 2023 1 hour ago, Scott Harmes said: I never flew in it, but I got to see the Connie fly at Avalon Airshow a few years ago, and also had the opportunity to take a tour on board. From memory it was a $5 donation and you could climb the stairs to board and pretty much stay on as long as you wanted. It wasn't overly busy so after wandering around the plane for a bit I was sitting in a seat and chatting to a couple of the volunteers, I think one was the pilot. I suggested they should take it up for commercial joy flights, but they said it wasn't allowed, I guess due to the strict regulations around commercial flights of any type. The main thing I remember is how tall those landing gears are. It was a bit hairy just climbing the steps to get on board, as they were quite narrow and seemed twice as high as regular steps you'd climb to get on a 737 or A320. Such a beautiful plane! I guess they were their “away from home steps”, the set at HARS were quite nice. Not sure how long they’ve had them but like everything else there they look like they’ve had some time put into them. The other thing they had there was the Southern Cross replica which looked like it was brand new. Extremely impressive! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Harmes Posted August 1, 2023 Share Posted August 1, 2023 2 hours ago, vanderlay said: I guess they were their “away from home steps”, the set at HARS were quite nice. Not sure how long they’ve had them but like everything else there they look like they’ve had some time put into them. The other thing they had there was the Southern Cross replica which looked like it was brand new. Extremely impressive! Yes, the ones at Avalon were definitely not that impressive. The seemed more like a ladder, and were very narrow, just wide enough for one person. You could feel them swaying as you went up the steps. Those displays look very impressive. I would love to visit one day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanderlay Posted August 1, 2023 Share Posted August 1, 2023 38 minutes ago, Scott Harmes said: Yes, the ones at Avalon were definitely not that impressive. The seemed more like a ladder, and were very narrow, just wide enough for one person. You could feel them swaying as you went up the steps. Those displays look very impressive. I would love to visit one day. It’s well worth it, but if I’d wait for one of their airshows for the best bang for your buck. Nothing like the size of Avalon of course but very good all the same. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted August 1, 2023 Author Share Posted August 1, 2023 17 hours ago, Aussie123 said: They are very active at HARS. If you have a quick look at Facebook, you will see they have been very busy recently, including the last weekend with their Orion and Neptune. They are also intending to retrieve the ex-John Travolta 707. An interesting ongoing story. (2) Facebook Aussie yeah they mentioned the JT one in the article...later this year they hoped... 10 hours ago, vanderlay said: We sat in the F-111, had a tour through the Connie, a Dakota and also a very interesting one through the 747 by an ex Qantas captain who had flown that particular aircraft numerous times. A really interesting bloke who knew seemingly all there was to know about it. sounds like a great day, must be great to get in those oldies... those steps and the Southern Cross replica look great.. I was really impressed by what I read, wish I was able to visit looks a worthwhile place to wonder around..... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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