Right in the centre of Queensland, located on the
Tropic of Capricorn 688 km west of
Rockhampton and 1178 km north-west of
Brisbane,
Longreach and situated near the Landsborough Highway there is a very important Boeing 707.
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This particular Boeing 707 - originally VH-XBA - was the first jet aircraft operated by Qantas and the very first civilian jet aircraft registered in Australia. The 707 replaced the propeller driven Super Constellations and practically halved the flying time on Qantas overseas routes. The new Boeing 707s were so fast they also introduced Australians to "jet lag" for the first time.
The American built Boeing 707 first flew in December 1957 and proved very successful with airlines world-wide. They cost four times as much as the latest propeller driven airliners but offered a much smoother and quieter ride while reducing flight times.
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After serving with Qantas, VH-XBA was operated by several other airlines and private operators. After several years lying derelict at Southend Airport in the
United Kingdom and about to be scrapped, it was purchased for the Qantas Founders Museum and restored by a dedicated group of volunteers, mostly retired Qantas engineers. After what was probably the most complex aircraft restoration conducted by volunteers world-wide it was flown to
Longreach in June 2007.
With the exception of external paint fading, the hot dry weather and low humidity of
Longreach provide excellent conditions for long-term aircraft preservation. Retired Qantas engineers continue to maintain VH-XBA in flying condition and it is possible the aircraft will be seen again at air shows. Plans are in hand to build a very large sunshade over all the Qantas Founders
Between July and September 1959, ahead of every other airline outside the US, Qantas took delivery of seven Boeing 707-138 jet aircraft. Boeing 707
services to the
United States began in July. Two months later the service was extended to London via New
York.
Sydney-London
services via India began in October.
So great were its advantages that Qantas modified its existing 707-138 fleet with the turbo-fans. With the arrival of its first 138B series aircraft, Qantas called its Boeings V-Jets, from the Latin 'vannus', meaning fan. Two more were ordered in 1963.
Four of the new 'B' version of the 707, fitted with revolutionary turbo-fan engines developed by Pratt and Whitney, were purchased in 1961. They offered lower fuel consumption, shorter take offs, larger payloads over longer distances and a faster cruising speed of 960km/h. Range, as always, was of critical importance to Qantas because of Australia's geographical isolation.
The tail fins of all the 707 airliners were painted red with the V-Jet logo boldly displayed in white.
The Boeing 707 fleet was expanding rapidly. By 1964, 13 of the Boeing 707 jetliners were operating on most Qantas routes and the airline had begun selling its propeller driven aircraft. By March 1966 Qantas' Boeing fleet had reached 19 jets, six of which were the larger 707-338C series. Five more were on order.
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In June 1966 Sir Hudson Fysh retired as Chairman of Qantas and was soon followed by the man most responsible for the post-war Qantas expansion, Chief Executive and General Manager Sir Cedric Turner. Captain R J Ritchie, who had taken a leading role in the building up of the fleet and network after the war, became General Manager. Sir
Roland Wilson, a Qantas Board member, was the new Chairman.
When sold it saw service with the Saudis, and ironically, was found at Southend Airport in England
For the delivery flight to Australia, Murray Warfield (pilot) and Harry Hermans (flight engineer) who are ex-33 Squadron members employed by Qantas formed part of the delivery crew
Thirteen Boeing 707 Model 138s were operated by Qantas. VH-EBA was the first to be registered (on 7 June 1959) although VH-EBB was actually the first in revenue service, since -EBA was used for flight crew training and systems checking in Seattle, where the aircraft was first flown as N31239.
It was originally delivered in 1950s style Qantas livery (with BOAC style bars across the fin and rudder) as 'City of
Melbourne' by March 1964 it had long since had its V-Jet tail treatment. The image below shows it wearing the 40-Year Anniversary emblem on the tail. VH-EBA was withdrawn from Qantas service in 1967 and sold to Pacific West Airlines as CF-PWV. It then had many owners including a stint in Saudi Arabia before being acquired by the Qantas Founders' Outback Museum where it is now on display (as VH-XBA) at
Longreach, Queensland
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First
test flight after 6 years in open store and 6 months of restoration work by a team of Australian engineers. This was the oldest flying 707 in the world. First flew March 1959.
The Arrival of Boeing 707 VH-XBA at
Longreach Airport, It’s final landing.
.