THE big day for aviation fans is almost here, as final preparations are in place for the landing of a Qantas 747-400 aircraft at Illawarra Regional Airport on Sunday.
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Weather permitting, the aircraft will leave Sydney airport at 7.30am for the 15-minute flight down the coast and across to Albion Park Rail, with the early morning arrival time scheduled to reduce the chance of high winds and heat.
"There are a range of controls that can be applied to each aircraft over standard size to reduce its impact on the runway including speed, tyre pressure and environmental conditions," group manager city services Rosemary Crowhurst said.
A pavement report by a specialist engineer has identified that the structure of the pavement will handle the load. A pavement concession has been issued for the arrival of the plane and precautionary measures implemented to reduce potential for damage to the runway seal, taxi way and apron.
"We have been in discussions with managers of other airports and have worked with HARS to implement some strategies, such as laying out a hard material under the wheels of the plane during the taxi," Ms Crowhurst said.
The flight from Sydney to Shellharbour will be performed by four Qantas pilots who have spent time in the Qantas simulator flying the route.
Captain Greg Matthews said he and the crew were looking forward to delivering VH-OJA to its new home.
Shellharbour mayor Marianne Saliba said the whole process had been a victory for co-operation between QANTAS, the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) and Shellharbour Council.
"It has been quite a long process, but in the end a great win for the Shellharbour community - to have this magnificent aircraft making its permanent home here is tremendous and a great tourist attraction," Cr Saliba said.
"There will be short-term road closures in place around the airport, however because of the size of the plane there will be plenty of other great viewing spots, including the Croome Road Sports Complex, where people can witness the landing.
"Parking close to the airport will not only cause traffic congestion, but also major delays afterwards, while HARS will also have an open day the following weekend, March 13-15, for people to be able to have a closer look."
