At HARS, we have people from all walks of life. What sets us apart are the many retired and active Licenced Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, Professional Pilots and Cabin Crew who either have or still work for Qantas. We are dedicated to Australian aviation history, and our collection of flying, under restoration and static display aircraft is testament to that. "Not bad for a bunch of old people".

Describe what people can expect.

The best description is "TARDIS". I have lost count of the people I have shown around who are literally amazed at what they see. I guess our advertising needs to be more spectacular.

Is HARS a standard museum?

Absolutely NOT!!! When you visit, a tour guide will escort you and show you all that is here. At HARS, you will be walking through operational hangars, able to get up close and personal with our aeroplanes and even explore some of them.

Parkes Aviation Museum - Historical Aircraft Restoration Society

The Parkes Aviation Museum is located at the end of Muzycuk Drive at Parkes Airport. It is currently housed in a former RAAF hangar from the airport’s time as a World War Two air force base.Parkes has a long history in aviation, the first aircraft to land at Parkes was a Sopwith Camel piloted by aviation pioneer Sydney Pickles in 1919.

During WW2, Parkes airport became RAAF Base Parkes, accommodating No.1 Air Navigation School, No.2 Wireless Air Gunners School, No.8 Operational Training Unit and after the war No.87 SQN operated from Parkes. Did you know – former PM Gough Whitlam graduated from Parkes as a Flying Officer navigator?

Parkes Aero Club, formed in 1948, still operates from its historic ex-RAAF COMMCEN building.

Parkes has been used as a storage facility for the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) since 1975 and is currently being transformed into an aviation museum in its own right by a range of local and HARS volunteers.

Exhibits on display or being assembled include a Bell AH-1 Huey Cobra, De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou (A4-275), De Havilland DH.114 Heron (VH – AHB) and Convair 580 (VH-PDW).

Students from Parkes High School are working with HARS volunteers to restore a GAF Jindivik (A92-22) and Lockheed 12 Electra Junior for display and HARS members are currently working to relocate a Lockheed P2V Neptune to Parkes.