Arabic version: فريق أميركي يعيد تجميع طائرة بوينغ 707 السابقة لجون ترافولتا

According to ABC News, a team of US aviation experts has arrived in Shellharbour, New South Wales, to reassemble John Travolta’s former Qantas-liveried Boeing 707 at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society museum.

Travolta donated the luxury jet to HARS nearly 10 years ago, but mechanical issues prevented it from being flown to Australia. Earlier this year, Worldwide Aircraft Recovery dismantled the aircraft’s wings and tail in the United States so it could be shipped to Port Kembla. The plane arrived in May.

The five-person American team will work exclusively on the aircraft for six weeks. Its tasks include attaching the wings, tail and wheels, with engine installation also possible if time permits. Worldwide Aircraft Recovery vice president Bill Lemieux said each wing requires 2,700 bolts and that careful alignment is needed because of multiple overlaps in the structure.

HARS has already carried out interior work, corrosion treatment and painting. Project engineer Jim Marshall said the paint job is 90 per cent complete. Although the 707 will not become airworthy, HARS plans to restore it so it can move around the tarmac under its own power, carrying tourists on board.

The aircraft contains two bedrooms, a shower, a spacious lounge room and plush seating. It was also regularly hired by Frank Sinatra before Travolta owned it. Travolta has pledged to return to Shellharbour for the official unveiling, though a date has not been announced.