A historic aircraft touched down in the Illawarra at the weekend, following an epic two-week journey from South Africa. The restored Convair 440, painted in a 1950s colour scheme, is the newest addition to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) fleet.  HARS vice president, and Convair project co-leader, Maureen Massey was on board the airliner when it hit the tarmac at the Illawarra Regional Airport on Sunday. “The Convair went like a well-oiled machine, it was remarkable,” Ms Massey said. The aircraft stopped at an airfield in Mozambique, the Seychelles, Colombo, Johor and Bali, ahead of its arrival in Australia on Friday.  It left Darwin on Saturday, stopping at Mount Isa, Dubbo and Parkes en route to Albion Park.   The aircraft, painted in Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) colours, will be permanently based at HARS. “It’s very significant for Australian aviation because TAA used to operate them here for many years,” she said.  The Convair joins TAA’s original DC3 airliner, which was recently given to HARS.

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