A petition has been launched to the Australian Parliament in a desperate plea to find a home for a retired military jet.
The president of the Caloundra-based Queensland Air Museum, Garry Hills, on Thursday announced that the museum had initiated a petition to Canberra, to urge the Minister for Defence Richard Marles to allocate an F/A-18 Classic Hornet to the museum for preservation and display.
Mr Hills said some Hornets would be kept at locations around the country, but the majority were set for the scrapheap.
“We are dismayed and disappointed on behalf of the people of Queensland,” he said.
“Having duly submitted an expression of interest to Defence in 2019, QAM only recently became aware that eight Hornets have been delivered to seven other heritage organisations. The remaining 41 Hornets are destined for destruction.”
He said the appeal to parliament came after previous calls fell upon deaf ears.
“Despite repeated requests, and the strong support of local, state and federal elected representatives of all parties, it is outrageous that QAM, Australia’s largest aviation museum, has been denied the opportunity to preserve and display one of these aircraft,” he said.
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“On behalf of the people of Queensland and … on behalf of Australia’s service personnel who have served their country operating the Classic Hornets, we are urging the parliament to act.”
“QAM is not asking Defence to buy us a Hornet or build us one. We are asking them not to destroy one.”
The F/A-18 Classic Hornet was in operation from 1984 to 2021. They were fitted with various air-to-air weapons. They were utilised several times around the world, including in conflicts in the Middle East.
The Queensland Air Museum is already home to a diverse collection of more than 80 historic military and civilian aircraft – including an F-111 and a P3 Orion – a large collection of aero engines, rare Australian aviation artefacts, books and reference materials, and an impressive collection of audio-recorded stories of people involved in Australia’s aviation history.
It is sustained by a workforce of 150 volunteers who participate in a wide range of activities from museum management and administration to complex aircraft restoration and maintenance.
Museum officials issued a media release stating that they remained committed to seeking the allocation of a Classic Hornet to fill a significant gap in the museum collection. They appealed to members and supporters to sign the petition, which had about 1500 signatures up to yesterday.
A government spokesperson said it was not possible to allocate a Classic Hornet to the museum.
“The Classic Hornet disposal program has been completed, with eight aircraft having been allocated for heritage display purposes,” they said.
“Five of these have been allocated for display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, or at various Air Force locations, while the remaining three aircraft are on loan to civilian aviation museums.
“It is no longer possible to allocate any additional aircraft for heritage display purposes.”
Defence has gifted a number of significant former Defence aircraft to the Queensland Air Museum during the past six years and the department acknowledged the important role the museum plays in maintaining Australia’s rich aviation history.
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