Visit to Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Aviation Museum

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Visit to Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Aviation Museum

The latest event on the Military History Society of NSW excursion program was a group visit on Sunday 17 November 2019 to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Aviation Museum at Shellharbour Airport in Albion Park south of Sydney. Most of the group made the trip by private bus driven by our President while others drove down.

 On arrival we were fortunate to be taken on a tour of the Museum by HARS member and guide Dennis Weatherall, who also happens to be our Society's Secretary/Treasurer. Dennis's encyclopedic knowledge of each aircraft and its history made the visit a very rewarding experience.

 The Museum displays a fascinating range of both civil and military aircraft stretching back to the earliest days of aviation with a replica of Charles Kingsford-Smith's 'Southern Cross' to a series of propeller and jet passenger airliners including a Super Constellation and the recently retired Qantas 747 Jumbo 'City of Canberra'. There are even the same airport stairs the Beatles stepped down on in 1964 when they arrived in Australia. On the military side there is a well restored series of trackers, helicopters, fighters and bombers from the Second World War to Cold War eras, like a Catalina, F-111, Mirage, Caribou, Orion, Vampire, and Sabre.

One of the group summed up the general feeling in this email to our President:

 I’d like to thank you for arranging the excursion to HARS today and for doing the driving. I’m sure no one was going to fight you for the wheel.

The grandsons enjoyed it greatly and there has been a lot of debate as to which part of the tour was the best. It appears to be divided between the 747, the Connie [Constellation] and, to my surprise, the Convair 440.

It was a great day and was enjoyed by all. Thanks once again!

 Presented below is a sample of photographs taken on the day:








































































Why not join our Society? Visit our website's membership page to find out how, here: http://militaryhistorynsw.com.au/home/membership/  

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