Boeing 707 Donated to HARS

Film star John Travolta is donating his “beloved” Boeing 707-138B, N707JT (c/n 18740), to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) of Albion Park, Australia.  The jet was originally delivered to Qantas on September 10, 1964 as VH-EBM City of Launceston, and was converted for private use after its finished life with ‘The Flying Kangaroo’.

John Travolta remarked: “As many of you know, flying is a passion of mine and I am just so grateful to be fortunate enough to count many hours flying such a beautiful aircraft.  I was honoured to have the aircraft repainted in its original Qantas colours when I became an ambassador for the airline, and it is so fitting that many of the volunteers at HARS are retired Qantas employees.”

The 707 is not currrently airworthy, though Travolta is confident this can be rectified: “Having seen first hand the dedication and passion of people at HARS, I have no doubt this beautiful and historical aircraft will be flying again.”  The Hollywood star added:  “HARS have an impressive track record of restoring historical aircraft and I have personally flown in a [Lockheed] Super Constellation that they restored to flying condition from almost nothing.”

Travolta revealed he hopes to be part of the crew that will eventually fly the aircraft back to Australia, “supported by well qualified and experienced pilots and engineers.” He concluded: “I am truly excited by this project and just so pleased that this beautiful aircraft, for which I obviously have many fond memories, will continue to fly well into the future.”