A Not-So-Top-Gun Day at Shellharbour’s Aviation Museum

What do you do on a cold, rainy long weekend? Stay in? Watch Netflix? Or if you’re like me, you surprise your partner with a day trip to the HARS Aviation Museum at Shellharbour Airport.

To be clear, this wasn’t my dream day out. My partner, on the other hand, had one mission: to see the famous Top Gun plane. You know the F-14 Tomcat. So off we went with our hearts full and expectations sky high.

We joined a guided tour led by the lovely Paul, who knows more about aviation than Maverick himself. And of course, I had to ask the burning question:
“Do you have a Top Gun plane here?”
To which Paul replied, “They flew F-14 Tomcats in the original, and F/A-18s in the sequel… No, we don’t have any of those.”

The disappointment in my partner’s eyes was real. But as a non-aviation geek along for the ride, I was just warming up and turns out, the day had some royal surprises in store.

We found ourselves inside a majestic old passenger plane, and Paul casually mentioned, “We think this might be the seat the Queen Mother sat in.”
Of course I made a beeline for it. Call it instinct, call it royal radar, but there I was, sitting in what was probably Her Majesty’s seat complete with vintage call buttons and backwards-facing luxury. Apparently, that’s the safest way to fly. Who knew?

But back to Top Gun, because Paul, bless him, did his best to deliver.
He pointed out a sleek aircraft and said, “That’s probably the closest you’ll get to the Tomcat today.”
My partner gave it a solid “50%” on the satisfaction scale. Not quite a flyby, but not a crash landing either.

The real highlight, though? Paul’s passion.
“This is a great place to come if you’ve ever had anything to do with planes,” he said. “We’ve got nearly 60 aircraft here, from all different eras.”
And he wasn’t kidding, from commercial classics to warbirds and helicopters, there’s a surprising amount to explore.

The verdict?
While we didn’t get the Top Gun moment we hoped for, we did get something better, a quirky, educational day filled with hidden gems and a seat fit for a queen… on the King’s birthday no less.

The HARS Aviation Museum is open seven days a week (excluding Christmas and air show days). So whether you’ve got kids, a curious partner, or just a love for the unexpected, take the trip. You’ll probably learn something.

HARS Aviation Museum

Shellharbour Airport, 54 Airport Rd, Albion Park Rail NSW