Love the Aussie sense of humour "when you pull the Stick back the Houses get Smaller; when you push the Stick forward the Houses get bigger" 😅 Great Aviation Museum. Thanks for enlightening us.

I was born in 1947 in Hornsby north of Sydney and remember watching the Connies flying north over head to London. They truly are a work of art. Live not far from Hars Museum now and a great place to visit. 👍

I am glad they want to even maintain the 747 in a flyable condition. To me this is true preservation! Great job I can't wait to visit someday!

I flew on several Connies in the late 50s and early 60s. Usually out of NYC to the west coast on TWA. On one such flight, the stewardess asked my brother and I if we’d like to meet Mr. Disney. We were led to the TWA lounge, a unique feature of these aircraft and as 6-7 year old I actually sat on Walt’s lap. Of course, these days people frown about that, but back then it was pretty normal. Mr. Disney was a wonderful man and it was a great privilege to meet him. He asked me if I was going to Disneyland. “Yes sir!” was my immediate answer. Then he asked me a tougher question. “How much money are you going to spend there?” Being so young and wanting to impress him, I replied, “A hundred dollars!” Then he surprisingly said, “Well don’t spend all your money there!” We learned that Mr. Disney had connected in NY with a flight from Switzerland where he conceived the idea of building the Matterhorn at Disneyland.

What an amazing plane and what an amazing museum. I flew London to Sydney as a child in a Qantas 707. It stopped in Vienna, where we had to get off the plane and wait in the terminal, then Tehran (stayed on the plane). Then New Delhi (can't remember if I got off the plane or not), Bangkok and off the plane and finally Sydney. It took thirty something hours I believe, but as a 6 year old I loved it.

I used to live near Albion Park, the sound of Connie flying over was always goosebump inducing.

The creation of the Lockheed Constellation was a watershed moment in aviation, pressurized with the ability to fly above the weather. Howard Hughes deserves much more credit than he gets for the advancements in civil aviation.

Brilliant that they are looking after history and keeping the iconic planes flying ..

In the RAF, we used to make the Shackletons glow at night on groundruns. What we did was start the engines with propellors in fine pitch, warm them up ,then select 1500-1600 rpm. Then, we would slowly apply course pitch to the prop. This made the Griffon's work harder producing a night time glow and flames from the exhaust pipes..great fun!

In my personal opinion this aircraft takes the cake over ANY jet airliner. The engineering and the intracite details of the piston engines along with every part of the planes fuselage and that iconic 3 fin tail is just perfection in every way. You are SO SO lucky to have been able to fly in one it would be a dream come true for me.

Hello Sam! I hope you are having a lovely day today.

Many thx for these impressions. My mom (80) flew many times in the '1960ties with the connie from frankfurt to berlin and she said with a smile in her eyes:" Oh dear, it always was a very loud flight, After two hours came the ability back to hear something". And she confirm that the fire came out of the engine, too. Thx Sam for these memories for the silver generation.

I spent nearly 10 years as a Co-pilot on DC-6/7s as an aerial firefighter. I loved those aircraft. We managed to get fueled with 115/145 at Stead (Reno air races) we got that blue flame back behind the trailing edge on the DC-7. Loved that.

Huge respect for this museum and all the people who keep these planes looking good, and even flying. I am hugely impressed that Qantas donated that that 747. The 747 would be worth millions even as scrap and spares.

Great video Sam.. Should be mentioned that HARS is about 1hr South of Sydney, and fairly easily accessible for tourists using the train to Albion Park Railway Station

Thank you Sam for bringing such a beautiful history 🙏🏻

Hi Sam, thanks for taking the flight all the way down to Australia. From the passenger seat to the cockpit, and now the even the museum, you keep showing us the best in aviation. Keep on flying...

I love going to HARS. Not a long drive for me from Sydney.

HARS is always a great visit! A truely unique and important museum of aviation and Australia’s war past! Welcoming staff, a great setup. 1000% worth the visit!

Hello : this is NOT a " turbo prop " .. !!!

Thanks for creating this Sam. The staff and crew of HARS are amazing people. The crew of their Black Cat Catalina were really nice to me when I made a video about it a few years ago, at the Edinburgh Air Show. Just got my CPL License the other day. Definitely gotta fly there and do a kids video about their amazing planes. ❤👍🛩

I remember seeing the Connie flying at the Toowoomba air show several years back, hearing those 4 supercharged piston radial engines roaring over head was incredible, i got the chance last year at the Illawarra air show to go on board and look around, the vintage smell is real in that cabin, sadly she wasn’t flying that day as she had engine trouble but hopefully she’ll continue to fly into the future

Sam your love of airplanes and aviation is amazing! You make it possible for younger enthusiasts to see aircraft they may never get a chance to touch!

HARS looks incredible Sam, Bob seems like a real gentleman too. When I was a kid I lived in Liverpool UK. A Connie used to come into the airport every Sunday night from Valencia. It used to take off over our house and I will never forget the sight of those flaming engines, The Aer Lingus Carvair's used to do the same but never as bright as the Connie.

Nicely done. My earliest memory was of my dad showing me the TCA super Connie he was working on prior to it being mothballed (he was an AME at TCA/Air Canada). That memory and other memories of being around other airplanes doomed me at an early age to becoming a pilot. Thanks for showcasing such an interactive museum.

It's a very good feeling to know that these fabulous aircraft are being preserved in operating condition.

The HARS Museum has a huge amount of interesting aircrafts. It is on my To Do list ^^

I've seen a lot of vintage aircraft, but the Constellation was *really* the pioneer of long-haul travel, and (for me) probably the main reason why the first-gen jets like the Comet, Caravelle, B707, DC-8, & CV-880 exists...

My first aircraft as a Naval Air Crewman was the EC-121M ... the Electronic Warfare version of the Connie. It was always my first love of Airplanes and Im glad your keeping it alive. My favorite time was night time and watching the blue flame going over the wing.

Lucky i had the chance to go on one

Most beautiful plane ever made to my eye. I had the pleasure of flying on a Constellation in 1959 while they were still in service with Eastern Airlines in the USA.

Such a unique aircraft ! As always Sam’s enthusiasm for aviation is so appreciated.

The one of most popluar sky ladies and with a Queen of the sky, they are very awesome, and they are one of the hitting parts of history in Aviation. LOVE!

From the one displayed at the TWA hotel to actually flying one this is awesome Sam!

HARS is an amazing place. If you’re in Australia you have to go. Great collection of unusual planes and very knowledgeable staff

Sam thank you for the tour of the Connie. Was amazing. Love the 747 as well. Will be looking for your other videos later.

Good video Sam. Always nice to see your enthusiasm. Thank you.

Hey Sam, love your enthusiasm and appreciation of the culture of passenger aircraft and the whole experience!

Always a pleasure to see the team at HARS taking Connie up. Bob De La Hunty, His son, Matt De La Hunty and the whole volunteer team are a great crew full of passion. The whole family here at IVAO Oceanic Region was priviledged to have exhibited at HARs as part of the Oz Flight Sim Expo 2 years in a row, and we maintan fond memories of the event. Cant wait for the next Wings Over Illawarra Airshow where we will be back and get to see “Southern Preservation” take to the skies again. Regards, Mke - XO - Drector, IVAO Oceanic Region MCD.

Constellation, the most beautiful aircraft ever built. Ever! Wish I had had a chance to fly in one. What a great video, thank you!

Sam you always put love on your Aviation videos and fans 😊we thank you Sam for the videos

Sam, I live in the Illawarra, only 10 minutes away from HARS. It feels really special that you are introducing it to the world. Thank you.

This restored "Super" Connie is an eye opener. She is a beautiful airplane, and it's great to see her flying again. Kudos to all who helped restore her,. You guys rock!!!!

Wonderful video. HARS is on now my bucket list! Thanks!

Great video. Fantastic to see HARS, local Council, QANTAS and airline staff all working together to preserve the 747. Awesome to see the Constellation in flight with its flaming exhausts! I now have the HARS museum on my list of places to visit!

For aircraft's this place is amazing loved being able to see Connie inside and out plus the 747-400 doing the wing walk totally worth it

Those flames coming out of the engines would freak me out!😱😱Great vid Sam!😊

What a wonderful idea to gift the 747-400 to HARS from Alan Joyce who didn't want to see the plane scrapped and by the sounds of things was as delighted as we all were that HARS were able to take it. I'm very impressed that Mr Joyce had made such a good and generous eleventh hour idea to save VH-OJA Long live the Queen.

Without any doubt, the most beautiful aircraft ever built! Well done Mr. Hughes.

Sam, great overview of a really cool and significant historical airplane ... also outstanding insights from the president of HARS . Thank you!

HARS doing a great job!

Great presentation. I'm a volunteer at HARS, thanks for showcasing our operations.

Capt. De La Hunty, thank you! Some of us were listening - and appreciated the sextant.❤❤❤

I remember watching that Connie in action at the Avalon Airsshow and seeing the flames spitting out of the engines was awesome! Thanks for the video Sam.

Really good episode. I’m a big fan of mid century mod design, and the Connie is arguably the most iconic symbol of that era.

I've never had the opportunity to fly in a 747 but I did fly in a Constellation back in the 50's, my first commercial flight. It was exciting to watch the engines and I still have the seat occupied card. That was the good old days when kids got invited to visit the cockpit! My dad had his own little Cessna in the 50's so I was already hooked on aviation at the age of 5!

I remember flames from engines as a kid. TY for sharing this.

Thank you so much for creating this video. This brings me back to my first transatlantic fight on a Connie. I was a kid and scared to death when I saw those flames coming out of the engines at night. That flight took 18 hours in the late fifties.

This is a unsung hero of flight. It's been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. It's hard to find any videos on it. Thank you very much.

Excellent vlog, Sam. Really amazing of HARS aviation on preserving a part of history!

This is some really unique content. Great work as always. Keep it up.

I visited HARS back in 2016, it was an absolutely amazing experience, and I would definitely love to go back one day

To see the DouglasDC-4 brings tears of joy to my eyes! Beautiful bird.

Fascinating! Thanks for the upload.

I spent all day there a couple of years back, well worth a visit. As Bob said, you can sit in the seats and see everything. Fascinating place, if I lived nearer to it I'd volunteer to be part of it all.

Excellent video. New bucket list destination. Love the museum. I'm lucky enough to have the Chino Air Museum close enough to visit. The HARS museum is just great. One day. Thanks, Sam. You are an absolute treasure.

Thanks for sharing a really interesting video Sam... I have to say that the Constellation is as beautiful as the 747 is iconic... really amazing museum. 👍🙂❤

Great to see you visiting HARS Sam. My favourite view was standing under the 747’s main wheel well. It’s massive!!

Fantastic Museum and Fantastic passionate Peoples. Many Thanks for this memorable tour 👍👍👍

The yearly "Wings over Illawara" airshow at Albion Park is where you can see this beauty flies, alongside great displays from vintage warbirds, aerobatics and the F35 now that the F18 has been retired - it's a great show!

Wow, those flames are spectacular! 😮

What an fantastic museum that still kepth the plane collection flying. Keep up the good work

What a beautiful airplane and museum Sam. Thank you so much!!

A superb museum.Great Job Aussies! Qantas and Australia aviation history is in good hands

Totally recommend a visit. I went about four years ago. Had a fantastic time. The tour guide for the 747 was great. A truly great day out, with plenty to see and so many planes to go in and take a good look at. I live in NZ so I can’t get involved as a “helper” but would jump at the chance if a were a local.

My Dad flew this plane (C-121C 54-157, 55-96 (U.S. Air Force ID)) beginning in June 1962 while pilot with the 183rd Aeromedical Airlift Squadron, Mississippi Air National Guard, Hawkins Field, Jackson, Mississippi. The 183rd was the first ANG squadron to operate the C-121C. He flew alot of planes over 25+ years and the Constellation was my Dad's all time favorite.

I’m pleased that the cool folks @ Hars are keeping those flying gems 💎 operational.

Thank you sir for preserving in pristine condition all those planes even in flight conditions. Greetings from Spain.

I am going to Sydney for the first time ever next week, you've just given me a daytrip Sam! Cheers!

HARS is a must-see museum for aviation enthusiasts in Oz. Several historic aircraft in really great condition highlighted by the Connie.

Love that the 747 gets to stay there instead of being chopped up. Such a cool museum!

Amazing - Brilliant! Well done. Such an ICON aeroplane!

I was born 40 years to late to be able to see the connies in service,.....I am to far away from AUS to visit this stunning aircraft. Very very nice video Sam...thankyou for posting and making.

I had the chance years ago to fly on Breitling Super Constellation in Geneva Switzerland. Sucker had a BEAUTIFUL roar for take off and flew so smoothly ❤️

Fantastic video showing great dedication to the history of aviation. Thank you.

The Constellation is the most beautiful Aircraft ever built, I believe. I was fortunate as a kid to fly to Port Moresby once on DC4 and the to and from Sydney a number of times on the Constellation. The Flight was a fabulous experience, and flying with Qantas was so much fun. We even got to use the first class circular lounge in the aft once. The food was always excellent, and the landings as the “buildings got bigger” were a delight. My next favorite plane after that was the DC10. But all time favorite plane which I have only ever flown in a simulator is the Waterman Aerobile, which I feel was a masterpiece albeit for a very different purpose.

Such a cool plan! The 🔥 out of the engines really make for a unique experience. I'd love to see this.

Another reason to visit Australia. Fascinating!

Sam, I enjoy all your videos, but this one put the biggest smile on my face! I got to visit HARS back in October. Full guided tour of the museum, with lots of information on every aircraft. But the cherry on top was something I spent extra for - an hour in the 747 cockpit with a retired QANTAS 747 captain, with all avionics *live*. We went through all the procedures, from cold and dark to shutdown at the arrival gate. If you're a licensed pilot or a simulator pilot, and if you have interest in the big iron, it's a one-of-a-kind experience. Sam, I hope you took the opportunity to try it out!

Really enjoyed that video. Couldn't agree more about your comment about how life-changing flying a B747 can be. Four-engine planes are essentially rare these days in an age of fuel efficiency, so I feel lucky to at have flown the A340 as well as the Queen of the Skies.

I remember back in 1963/4 going on a trip to Manchester airport and seeing Constellations parked up, we were able to walk around them. It wouldn’t happen anymore but that was the start of my love for aviation. The next school trip was to Royal Air Force Topcliffe and that is where I decided to join up, I joined three years later.

Sam, we enjoy your breath taking footages. Best regards from us all the way from Curaçao in the Caribean.

I got to fly Tokyo to Sydney in a Qantas 747, just before the pandemic shut everything down about a week later. Yes, I picked an upper deck seat. When we landed, I asked to go up to the cockpit, had a chat with the crew, took some photos. Not long after Qantas retired its 747's early. A memorable trip that will stay with me.

I am 67 now, and my earliest life memory has always been gazing out the window of an airplane flying across the Pacific Ocean at night, flames coming out of the exhaust. I was only two years old; we were flying from Tokyo, where I had been born ( my father was in the fledgling CIA ), going back to Washington DC. I've always presumed it had been a Lockheed Constellation, since it was such a long flight. Now this video pretty much confirms it. So glad to see this plane is still flying!

Such a unique design, and all those old steam gauges! Great to see it fly, i've only seen it in pictures. Also amazing that the museum tries to keep them in flying condition. Thanks for sharing.

Have been to HARS Aviation Museum not so long ago. Amazing to do a guided tour and look at these amazing machines. Walking through the Connie was amazing to see. Would highly recommend everyone to stop in and have a good look around. Don't be in a rush as you'll need about 4 hours to take it all in. Amazing....

I was fortunate to fly into Albion Park on Connie back in around 2001 for the media announcement that HARS was relocating there from their temporary location at Bankstown Airport. We flew in convoy from Bankstown along with a DC-3, L-39 Albatros, plus others, on a flight that only took 16 minutes. I worked at the time for a manufacturer of industrial batteries, and we had donated some to HARS for their aircraft. My boss was invited on the PR trip but admitted to being scared of flying so sent me instead! I was among a group of supposed VIPs that were mingling in the background while TV cameras rolled and ABC radio live broadcast the announcement, with speeches from the mayors of two of the local municipalities who contributed resources towards the new permanent home. As Sam mentioned in the video, the smoke and flames from the engines on start-up were a real reminder that this was going to be a different kind of flight. The most memorable part was when the pilot turned on the air conditioning mid-flight, and we were all showered in dust, straw and cigarette butts - all remnants of Connie’s long time sitting in the desert, where I’m told she was home to some 100,000 pigeons. Apparently this was the first the a/c had been switched on since her refurbishment and we all copped the remains of their nests! I opted for the DC-3 for the return trip to Bankstown Airport and was back in the office by lunchtime. The whole thing was a surreal experience. It remains to this day the most enjoyable half-day I’ve ever spent ‘at work’.

Seeing the exhaust from this thing in the twilight at our local airshows is something to see thats for sure!

I have almost 2500 hours flying USAF EC-121's, the military version of the Constellation, with the 552nd (McClellan AFB) and the 79th (Homestead AFB). She was the finest three-engine aircraft ever built (if you flew them, you'd understand). And just like a Harley... if she flies, she leaks oil.

Excellent video! Coming from a family of pilots this hits home. My first flight was on a TWA Connie when I was 2 years old (1958) :)