The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Aviation Museum paid tribute to the Anzac spirit on April 25 by staging its biggest ever flypast over the NSW coast.
Seven planes flew in a loose trail formation above Kiama, Shellharbour, Wollongong, Figtree, Kangaroo Valley, Bundeena, Cronulla, Coogee and the City of Sydney.
HARS Media Officer Ian Badham said staging the flyover in commemoration of Australia’s service personnel – past and present – was an honour for the 800 or so volunteers at the Aviation Museum.
“Many of the engineers and pilots and support staff volunteers at HARS have come from a defence background; others have had near-lifetimes of experience of airlines; and they see being able to fly former warbirds or aircraft across Anzac Day services as their tribute to others who serve and to the memory of those who have served and continue to serve,” Ian said.
“They see it as their way of bringing another dimension to ANZAC services this year.
“It's great for the team at HARS to bring that different dimension of recognition, of salute to those who have and continue to serve.”
The wartime aircraft included an Orion AP-3C, Spitfire Mk IX, Grumman Tracker S-2G, Dakota C-47, two Caribou DHC-4s and an Iroquois Huey UH-1B. The seven planes disembarked from Shellharbour Airport on Anzac Day morning for the aerial procession and returned later in the afternoon.
“The volunteers down there said that Anzac Day was extremely busy, that literally hundreds of visitors came through to look at the aircraft and to see up close the ones that had taken part in the flypast across the coast,” Ian said.
“It’s heartening that people are coming in to see the aircraft, to speak to those who make it possible to fly and maintain [them] and to experience Australia's aviation legacy.
“It's a chance for people to literally walk through history and see what flying was like, and to experience what flying was like in the 1950s. It was a different world of aviation and a different world of flying back then.”
As an event of this scale takes an immense volunteer effort to plan, Ian said it was encouraging to have received praise after the flyover.
“It's a year-long process to make it happen… literally, as workers started now on scheduling maintenance to have the right aircraft available for Anzac Day 2024,” he said.
“On our very popular HARS Facebook site, there's been a lot of feedback and a lot of well wishes from people coming into the museum.
“It’s heartening to get that feedback… from people who appreciate the effort that teams have put in to make it possible.”
HARS Aviation Museum is open every day (except Christmas Day) for guided tours from 9:30am to 3:30pm, with opportunities to interact with distinctive aircraft on HARS Tarmac Days, which are held on the second weekend of each month.
“The engineers and pilots aim to have aircraft working, taxiing or flying on those particular days,” Ian said.
“It’s a chance to focus and to present a living and flying museum as well as an aviation heritage museum.
“So that once a month, the Tarmac Days at HARS are special.”
To find out more about display aircraft at HARS Aviation Museum and HARS Tarmac Days, visit the website or The Illawarra Flame’s event page.
