At Longreach we went to see the QANTAS founders Museum. QANTAS stands for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service. Qantas was started when two ex-army pilots were asked to find suitable airstrip locations between Darwin and Brisbane. Qantas started a revolution for the farmers especially if someone was sick and help was needed. 50 years later . . . and Qantas is Australia`s famous international airline.
When I arrived at the museum I went straight to the flight simulator and spent the rest of the afternoon there (more about that later). Dad said it was time to go so we set up in a little free camp just outside of town. The next morning we went back to the museum and I went straight to the Catalina flying boat.
It had 2 big bubble windows on each side. It would be pretty cool to fly in one because you could see in practically any direction if you were in the window section. After that I ducked into the original Qantas hangar to see replicas of the first planes flown by the company. Later we did the Jet Tour. You got to go in a Boeing 747 and a converted 707. First stop was the 747 engines. It was one of 2 places in the world where you can stand in the engine and get a photo! It wobbled a lot and I got a bit nervous (I was thinking “I know it won’t fall off but it feels like it could”).
Next we went inside the 747 and I have to admit it looked a bit shabby. Then we walked towards the nose of the plane. Next stop was the spiral staircase leading to the tiny upper deck. You got really great views out the window and even got to look in the cockpit! When we departed from the upper deck we were each given a fact sheet about the planes. After that we progressed onto the 707 where we learnt it had been converted into a private jet. It was very posh and half the rooms had mirrors in them to make them look twice their size. It even had a map of the world on one of the walls where the countries were meant to be outlined in gold, but bits had fallen off causing some problems like Tasmania was joining onto Victoria and Papa New Guinea was joined on to Cape York.
After the tour we went straight back to the Simulator and James was showing off by doing barrel rolls and back flips. The craziest thing he did was nose diving and pulling up at the last second.
The simulator was one my favourite parts along with the Catalina flying boat and the original Qantas hangar.
You are dismissed from your history lesson.
So now you know the story of Qantas and what it has become.
From Sam.
Sam, a great story, however you didn’t mention the first aircraft of Qantas. It took the first airmail from Australia to England with my Dad’s letter in it. Cheers, Pa
Thank you Mr Ellis for your history lesson!