Reassembling John Travolta's jet down to nuts and 5,400 bolts stage

It was taken apart piece by piece and shipped across the Pacific Ocean, but John Travolta's jet with Qantas livery is now at the final nuts-and-bolts stage of its journey at an Australian museum.The American team of aviation experts who dismantled the old luxury aircraft has arrived to put it back together.The movie star donated the famous Boeing 707 to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) in Shellharbour nearly 10 years ago, but mechanical issues prevented it from being flown to Australia.Earlier this year a team from Worldwide Aircraft Recovery in the United States dismantled the wings and tail, allowing it to be sent to Port Kembla by ship.Bill Lemieux is part of the American team that has flown to Australia to work on the plane. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)"Both wings are 2,700 bolts per wing so it's a lot of labour," Worldwide Aircraft Recovery vice president Bill Lemieux said."You need a couple of cranes and lot of willpower and certain aeroplanes are better than others, but this one's a little tougher."There's about four different overlaps on the whole wing so it's got to line up pretty darn close before you get it, and once you start it works like a zipper and it zips itself right up."Reassembling is the easy partThe five-man team will work exclusively on the plane for six weeks.They will also attach the plane's wheels and, if time permits, help with attaching the engines.The organisation is the only one of its kind in the US that dismantles, reassembles and transports aircraft.Thousands of screws that came out of the plane to dismantle it have to be put back in. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)Mr Lemieux said taking the plane apart was more difficult than putting it back together, and the work done at HARS since the plane arrived in May has made his job easier."That way our time is minimised to just do the big parts, and they did a great job getting everything ready because it's hard to coordinate from the States," he said."It's been fun and it's nice to be around people who are appreciative of the job."Everyone here cares about it, which is nice."Jim Marshall first worked on this exact plane early in his aviation career. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)What's next for the plane?Despite the repairs and refurbishments, the plane will still not be airworthy.Instead, HARS staff will bring the aircraft back to a point where it can be driven around the tarmac under its own power."We've spent a lot of time on the interior because it had a bad smell from being closed up on the ship," HARS 707 project engineer Jim Marshall said."We've tidied it up and done a lot of corrosion work and the paint job is 90 per cent finished."Two cranes were used to hoist the wings of the plane into place before landing gear could be attached. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)Jet to become major attractionSince 2015, HARS has housed a retired Qantas 747, but the jet that once belonged to the star of Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction is expected to become an equally significant tourist drawcard.It provides a rare insight into the life of the rich and famous and has been fitted out with two bedrooms, a shower, a spacious lounge room and ample plush seating.John Travolta has pledged to return to Shellharbour for the official unveiling of his old aircraft. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)Before it was owned by the movie star, it was regularly hired by Frank Sinatra.For Mr Marshall, acquiring the plane was a full-circle moment.He worked on the aircraft from 1964 to 1968 as a maintenance engineer in the Qantas hangar where it was kept in Australia."It brings back a lot of old memories and all those seats in there, you wonder who's been sitting in them during its life — from Frank Sinatra to John Travolta, who's been on board we don't know, but they would be well-known people," he said."It means a lot to me because it will probably be the last big job I do."I look after the Connie [Super Constellation] and the Convair, but this one's going to eclipse them I think. It's a big job but we'll get there."A date for the official unveiling is yet to be announced.