Open Thursday & Sunday, 9:30am - 3:30pm. Visit the museums Facebook page for other special opening times (Eg School Holidays).

Entry prices - Adults $15 and Family $30.

The HARS Parkes Aviation Museum is located at the end of Muzycuk Drive at Parkes Airport. It is currently housed in a former RAAF hangar from the airport’s time as a World War Two Air Force base.

Parkes has a long history in aviation, the first aircraft to land at Parkes was a Sopwith Camel piloted by aviation pioneer Sydney Pickles in 1919.

During WW2, Parkes airport became RAAF Base Parkes, accommodating No.1 Air Navigation School, No.2 Wireless Air Gunners School, No.8 Operational Training Unit and after the war No.87 SQN operated from Parkes. Did you know – former PM Gough Whitlam graduated from Parkes as a Flying Officer navigator?

Parkes Aero Club, formed in 1948, still operates from its historic ex-RAAF COMMCEN building.

The old RAAF hanger has been used as a storage facility for the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) since 1975 and in recent years has been converted into an aviation museum in its own right, by a range of dedicated local and HARS volunteers.

Exhibits on display include a Bell AH-1 Huey Cobra, De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou (A4-275), De Havilland DH.114 Heron (VH – AHB) and  Convair 580 (VH-PDW).

There are several news airframes on display. Including Ex-RAAF Lockheed AP-3C Orion A9-759, Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune A89-272 aircraft and Ex-Navy Westland Wessex 813 Helicopter.

Currently being restored is the Ex-RAAF Lockheed Neptune A89-302, possibly the only complete P2V-5 Neptune in the world!