US Team Reassembles John Travolta's Former Boeing 707 at Historical Aircraft Restoration Society in Shellharbour
Why It MattersThe project shows how heritage airliners that cannot be flown are being kept as static and taxi-capable museum attractions, supported by a niche market for dismantling, shipping and reassembling large aircraft.
A five-man team from Worldwide Aircraft Recovery in the United States has arrived in Shellharbour, New South Wales, to reassemble John Travolta's former Qantas-liveried Boeing 707 at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS). Travolta donated the aircraft to HARS nearly 10 years ago, but mechanical issues prevented it from being flown to Australia. Earlier this year the US team dismantled the wings and tail so the aircraft could be shipped to Port Kembla, where it arrived in May.
The team will work exclusively on the aircraft for six weeks, attaching the wings and wheels and, if time permits, helping with the engines. Worldwide Aircraft Recovery vice president Bill Lemieux said each wing has 2,700 bolts and that two cranes are needed to lift them into place. He described the company as the only one in the US that dismantles, reassembles and transports aircraft, and said preparatory work by HARS since May had made the job easier.
The aircraft will not be airworthy; HARS staff will restore it to the point where it can taxi under its own power. HARS 707 project engineer Jim Marshall said significant interior work was needed to remove a smell from being closed up on the ship, along with corrosion work, and that the paint job is 90 per cent finished. Marshall worked on this aircraft as a maintenance engineer at the Qantas hangar in Australia from 1964 to 1968.
The jet is fitted with two bedrooms, a shower, a spacious lounge and plush seating, and was regularly hired by Frank Sinatra before Travolta owned it. HARS has housed a retired Qantas 747 since 2015, and the 707 is expected to become a similarly significant tourist attraction. Travolta has pledged to return to Shellharbour for the official unveiling; a date has not been announced.
