HARS marks Qantas centenary with dinner and BBQ

HARS - Black tie dinner Hangar 2 — The magnificently restored and currently the world’s only flying Lockheed Super Constellation forms
a brilliant background for the Qantas 100 th birthday black tie dinner at HARS Aviation Museum on
Monday 16 November. (Michael Hough)

HARS Aviation Museum in NSW will celebrate Qantas’ centenary with a BBQ “under the wing” of its 747-400 and black-tie dinner on the 16 November birthday.

The museum says proceeds from the tickets will go towards helping to deliver a 707-138 donated by John Travolta from Georgia in the US to Sydney next year.

On Sunday before the centenary, the attraction will host a tour in the afternoon followed by a barbeque and live music from 3pm to 7pm with guests encouraged to wear retro Qantas attire.

On the evening of 16 November, HARS will host a black-tie dinner in Hangar 1 surround by historic aircraft.

Pre-dinner drinks and canapes from 5pm under the jet’s wings will be followed by dinner with entertainment by the Dashing Eights band.

Surrounding the tables for eight will be historic museum aircraft including the world’s only flying Lockheed Super Constellation, a Convair, the Douglas DC-3 that made the first passenger flight for TAA back in 1946, and a DC-4 resplendent in Qantas 1950s livery.

COVID protocols apply tickets will cost $85 for the Sunday BBQ and $165 for the black-tie dinner, which are available online to book here.

Last year, Australian Aviation reported how engineering inspections and paperwork forced the HARS to delay the ferry flight of an ex-Qantas Boeing 707 owned by John Travolta, which is now thought to arrive in 2021.

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The museum said then more time was needed to comply with the regulatory requirements from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as to complete the necessary inspections.

The 707-138B, registered N707JT, has been in Georgia in the US being prepared for the flight to HARS’s facility located at Albion Park south of Sydney.

Travolta said in May 2017 he wanted to donate the aircraft to HARS.

The Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach will also hold special activities to mark the airline’s 100-year birthday despite cancelling a series of events earlier this year.

On 16 November, the attraction will hold morning tea with a birthday cake, guided tours of the National Heritage-listed Qantas Hangar and a “Curator Talk”.

The attraction itself only reopened on 1 July after shutting earlier in the year due to coronavirus restrictions.

Chief executive Tony Martin said, “Qantas Founders Museum is committed to telling the history of Qantas and there is no bigger milestone to mark than the centenary of Qantas.

“In 2020 we had planned a series of events throughout the year to celebrate the Qantas Centenary, many of which were postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we are delighted that this event can go ahead.

“The history of Qantas is one of the great Australian stories and we encourage people to travel to Longreach and outback Queensland, to learn about where it all began for the airline.”