If you missed seeing a Jumbo landing at Shellharbour Airport in 2015 there is now a chance to watch the final Boeing 747-400 in the Qantas fleet fly low over the Albion Park runway on Wednesday, July 22.
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HARS President Bob De La Hunty said the final 747-400 flight will depart Sydney around 2pm as flight QF7474 and should fly over Shellharbour Airport around 2.30pm.
"We are not sure but we expect it will come down to about 1500 feet which is pretty low for a 747," he said. "It will fill the sky. The pushback is scheduled in Sydney for 2pm. It will probably take 15 or 20 minutes before it gets to the end of the runway.
"When it is airborne it will take around 11 minutes from there to here. So we can probably expect the fly over maybe about 2.30.
"So anyone who wants to come will need to be here a lot earlier than that to make sure we don't have too many people given our COVID-19 restrictions.
Mr De La Hunty said the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society will be open for tours that day and will have other aircraft on display. But HARS will need to abide by social distancing rules.
"That will dictate how many people we can have in the place," he said.
"People can come through and do tours and then we will have them all out at the front of the hanger to see the fly over as well".
The Albion Park event is part of Qantas celebrating the last remaining Boeing 747 on its retirement from the national carrier's fleet.
The airline is also conducting three one-hour "farewell jumbo joy flights" departing from Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, following requests from employees and customers for one final chance to fly on the aircraft.
The flights will go on sale at midday on Wednesday on Qantas.com and will take place on Monday from Sydney, next Wednesday from Brisbane and July 17 from Canberra.
Economy fares cost $400 and a small number of Business Class tickets will be available for $747 with additional extras included. Seats will be limited.
The flights will be operated on a cost-recovery basis and profits will be donated to the HARS Aviation Museum at Albion Park and the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach to support their efforts to preserve and promote the 747 legacy for future generations.
Both museums have a Qantas 747 on public display and Mr De La Hunty said it was very generous of Qantas to arrange that.
Qantas 747 Fleet Captain Owen Weaver said Boeing 747's have been part of the Qantas fleet since 1971 and served almost five decades for Australia's national carrier.
"These three flights will offer the final opportunity to fly on the Qantas 747 before it leaves, with some of our frequent flyers and aviation enthusiasts as fond of the aircraft as we are, having spent thousands of hours onboard over the years.
"There is an enormous amount of nostalgia and affection associated with our 747 and for those who miss out on a seat on the flight, they will at least be able to catch a glimpse of the aircraft as it takes to Australian skies for the last time."
Mr De La Hunty said the fly over was one of many activities at HARS this month.
"This Friday, Saturday and Sunday at our normal Tarmac Days we are going to showcase quite a range of aircraft," he said.
"It will be the time since we have had our MIG 21 assembled and we are going to showcase that with our Mirage Fighter".
Mr De La Hunty said the KidzWish cinema is also going to be something a little different on July 24 and 25.
"We are going to line up some of our aircraft to support that as well," he said.
Read more:
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- New exclusive tour experience on QANTAS Jumbo at Illawarra Regional Airport
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