Did You Know An Ex-Qantas Boeing 707 Once Flew From London Southend To Queensland For Preservation?

VH-XBA is now displayed at the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach, Queensland.


Photo: Simple Flying

After hours of intense restoration, a Qantas Boeing 707-100 with serial number 17696 departed from London’s Southend Airport (SEN) on December 8th, 2006. It was destined for its final long-haul journey as it made its way to the Qantas Founders Outback Museum in Longreach, Queensland, inland 732 miles (1,179 kilometers) northwest of Brisbane.

The aircraft, which, for its final journey, held registration VH-XBA, spent many years on the apron and became quite a talking point for those visiting the Southend-on-Sea airport in Essex. It became a love project for the Qantas Foundation Memorial, the Australian Government, and the country's flag carrier, Qantas.

This historic aircraft, originally registered on July 16th, 1959, as VH-EBA, won the title of the first jet aircraft on the Australian civil register, making it a key focal point of Australian aviation history.

A shortened version for Qantas

For Qantas, the Boeing 707-138 was a special variant with a shortened fuselage explicitly designed for the airline. The Boeing 707-138, a subset of the Boeing 707-120 family, was 128 feet long rather than the standard 138 feet, a shortened version of their 707 that provided increased range. These Boeing 707s destined for QEA were known as 707-138 models, as Qantas' customer number was '38'.

Qantas would become the fifth 707 customer (after Pan American Airways, TWA, Air France, Sabena, and Lufthansa). In 1959, QEA was the first airline outside the United States to fly the Boeing 707. After that initial delivery, four more were delivered in 1961 and two in 1964. Between 1965 and 1969, the 707-138s were gradually retired to make way for the larger 707-338Cs. The most famous is likely John Travolta's 707-138, recently donated to the HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) Aviation Museum in Shellharbour Airport, New South Wales.

Long journey home

On that fateful day in December 2006, the aircraft departed the Essex airport with several dedicated volunteers, including retired Qantas engineers. Being wheels up at 09:30, it was destined for Australia in a westerly direction, touching down in Dublin, Tenerife (Canary Islands), Bermuda, Orlando, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Fiji, experiencing multiple overnight stays en route for crew rest.

Initially, the flight had hoped to land at Boeing in Seattle; however, due to challenging weather conditions at the time, that plan was shelved. Upon arrival in Australia, the aircraft touched down at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD), where it rested for several weeks and was involved in several special events before visiting the nation’s capital and several state capitals, including being present at the Melbourne Avalon Air Show, before returning home to the birthplace of Qantas, being Longreach.

Nine different registrations

It has flown across Australia, North America, and the Middle East for airlines and governments throughout the aircraft's history. According to Jetphotos, it held the following registrations:

Operator

Registration

Date of registration

Qantas	VH-EBA	July 16, 1959
Pacific Western Airlines	CF-PWV	November 3, 1969
Tigerair	N138TA	October 19, 1978
Airmark Corporation	N220AM	October 16, 1983
Private (Community Trust)	N138MJ	December, 1985
Saudi Arabia (Government)	HZ-123	September, 1987
Qantas Foundation Memorial	VH-XBA	July 7, 2006

During its lifetime, it also operated for Pacific Western Airlines (Canada), bearing registration C-FPWV. However, its dates are not specified.

Number of 707's operated by Qantas

According to Aussie Airlines, QF historically operated the below fleet of 707's:

Variant

Number in service

707-338C	21
707-138	Seven
707-138B	Six

The desire for the aircraft peaked in 1967 with 118 orders globally, surpassing the 83 orders the year prior. However, demand for the variant subsided rapidly in 1969, dropping to 59 orders, then 19, 10, and four in subsequent years. 1,010 examples of the 707 were produced before deliveries stopped in 1994.

Another famous Boeing 707

American actor John Travolta is perhaps best known by the general public for his roles in films such as Grease and Pulp Fiction. However, in the aviation world, he has another legacy. As a keen private pilot, Travolta's most famous aircraft is an ex-Qantas Boeing 707-138B.

Registered initially as VH-EBM, it entered service with the Australian flag carrier in 1964. However, at more than 55 years old, it now bears the registration N707JT. Overall, the aircraft was the 13th Boeing plane delivered to Qantas, but it spent just four years at the airline. Qantas withdrew the aircraft in 1968, by which time it had amassed nearly 12,000 flying hours. It went on to have a variety of post-Qantas owners, including Braniff and TAG Aviation.

Travolta eventually purchased it in May 1998 under Jet Clipper Johnny LLC. In December of that year, it was re-designated as N707JT, a custom registration for the American actor. The famous actor first announced the aircraft's donation to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society in 2017; however, due to its airworthiness and delays during the pandemic, it has yet to be delivered.