Welcome to Classic Jets Fighter Museum
Where we are. We’re at Parafield Airport, just north of Adelaide. Easy to find, with parking nearby.
Being on an active airfield means you’ll often hear aircraft while exploring the galleries and workshop.
Enter through the Hangar 107 Door on Anderson Drive. Experience Pacific conflict warbirds being rebuilt and view work bays where aircraft restoration is in progress.
Our guide and the team members are happy to explain their work in simple, friendly terms.
Who we are. A volunteer run museum keeping classic aircraft alive for education and remembrance.
You’ll meet skilled fabricators, engineers, and students working side-by-side, happy to explain what they’re doing and why it matters.
Education visits. Teachers and group leaders can book age-appropriate sessions that explain how a wing’s “bones” (ribs and spars) carry load using real parts you can see up close.
Volunteer with us. No experience needed. Help with measuring, cleaning, photographing, labeling, or assisting at events. If you’re curious, there’s a place for you.
Short tours. See how wings, engines, and cockpits are built, with tips on what to look for: rivet patterns, hinge lines, and fairing shapes.
Plan ahead. Check the website for opening hours and group bookings. Visitors often stay longer than planned as there’s a lot to see and talk about!
Our Restoration Story
Every airframe arrives with history etched in its skin.
Every aircraft arrives with wear and missing pieces. We gently remove outer skins to see the “skeleton” inside,
check for corrosion, and plan repairs. If we can save an original part, we do. If not, we build a faithful match.
Straight, strong, and built to endure.
The goal is a straight, strong airframe that looks right and lasts for decades on display. Clecos hold pieces while we check fits; rivets make it permanent.
Rivet lines remember the factory’s rhythm.
We preserve original rivet lines and fastener spacing wherever possible. These small details connect the display to its factory origins.
Slow shaping restores the curve and the character.
When a panel is beyond saving, we shape a new one with rollers and an English wheel with slow, careful work that restores clean lines of the aircraft.
Alignment first, because straight lines tell the story.
Keeping everything straight matters. A strong jig holds the fuselage while we splice frames and check alignment, so doors and panels later sit flush.
Even the unseen deserves museum-grade care.
Wheel wells and bays are cleaned and rebuilt. Even areas hidden from view get attention, pipes tidy, clamps secure, and paint neat for teaching purposes.
Measured, drilled, deburred, and primed old school with a finish that still shines.
We lay out rivet lines to drawings, then drill, deburr, and prime holes before final assembly, an old-school process that still works beautifully.
When structure fails, precision splices bring back strength.
When frames are too far gone, we splice in new sections to the correct profile. Done right, the joint is strong and almost invisible once skinned.
Why volunteers? Retired tradespeople, engineers, students, and veterans share skills at the bench, de-riveting today, templating and riveting tomorrow.
Inside the Workshop
Where workshop meets classroom.
The hangar is part workshop, part classroom. You’ll see neat pipework, tidy wiring, and labeled parts that help visitors understand how systems worked.
Tiny wires, big reliability.
Moving parts are rebuilt, then secured with safety wire so they won’t loosen. It’s a small detail with a big lesson about reliability.
Flush fits, open lessons.
Panels are checked and re-checked for a flush fit. Visitors often catch a glimpse of this process, an exhibit and a class rolled into one.
Stop corrosion, save decades.
Before painting, we treat metal to stop corrosion. Done properly, the airframe will look good and last for many years on display.
Recovery of Aircraft through Engineering
Catch a glimpse back in time.
Take a moment to remember the heroes of yesterday while skilled hands revive these sky machines from rust to glory, one piece at a time, preserving history for generations to come.
True profiles, honest lines.
Cowling and intake pieces are trued to the correct profile, with fastener lines checked against drawings so everything sits as it should.
Engineering with a detective’s eye.
Preparing the engine mount is part engineering, part detective work, matching brackets, spacers, and fittings to period references.
Rare pieces tracked, history intact.
Rare fittings are labeled and tracked so nothing is lost and every decision is traceable for future researchers and students.
Power on display, purpose explained.
The engine is cleaned and dressed for display for an eye-catcher that helps explain power, cooling, and maintenance.
Conserve first; fabricate faithfully.
We conserve original structure whenever possible. When metal can’t be saved, we fabricate in-kind parts and document the change for transparency.
Alignment defines the character of the plane.
Alignment is everything: edges, bolt holes, and fastener spacing must agree with drawings to keep distinctive lines true.
At the wing root, physics gets real.
Close-up views at the wing root help visitors see how loads enter the fuselage and how systems are routed.
Visit and Tour CJFM
Discover how these birds fly. See the hardware, supports, fittings and braces used to keep these planes flying high in the air.
Close to the action, closer to the story.
Guided tours bring you close to the action. You’ll see tools, jigs, and parts in various stages of repair and hear the stories behind them.
Small tweaks, big alignment.
Watch volunteers make fine adjustments to linkages and controls with small touches that make a big difference to how panels and surfaces line up.
Learning takes flight together.
The museum partners with schools and community groups. Educators and volunteers collaborate to turn restoration into easy-to-grasp lessons.
Authenticity painted line by line.
Final paint and markings follow references so the finished aircraft tells an authentic story, right down to stencils and serials.
Read the metal, understand the machine.
In the galleries, interpretive panels explain parts you’re looking at, helping first-time visitors and families understand function and form.
Wings are bridges in disguise.
Students discover that wings are built more like bridges than birds with strong spines (spars) and shaped ribs under a thin metal skin.
Built to teach for generations.
Finished displays stand proud for future generations, with stories about the people who built, maintained, and flew these aircraft.
Check website for visiting times
Rebuilding Pacific Conflict Warbirds
Safety first, teamwork always.
Safety and teamwork are front and centre. Briefings keep everyone on the same page, whether you’re a veteran fabricator or a new helper.
Recovered parts, an authentic story of dedication.
Our early plane project brings together recovered components and donor parts while volunteers catalogue, assess, and plan each step toward a faithful static display.
Rivet lines, factory-fresh truth.
Rivet lines match original drawings for a tidy, authentic surface. It’s slow work, but the result looks “factory fresh.”
Where wings meet strength.
At the wing root you can see how loads enter the fuselage. Reinforcement and sealing here protect the airframe and keep lines crisp.
Straight joins, sharper finishes.
Before paint, panel joins are checked and trued. A straight join today means a sharper finish tomorrow.
Markings matter; history speaks.
Markings and stencils are reapplied to specification so the display tells the right story for the airframe’s period and unit.
Inside the bays, clues abound.
Details inside bays and wells of pipes, clamps, and labels make aircraft easier to interpret for visitors and students.
Flush fits make everything right.
Final fits ensure panels sit flush and hinges move freely. Little adjustments here make the whole airframe look right.
From hangar workbench to gallery light.
When the work is done, the aircraft moves into the gallery and paired with photos, labels, and stories that connect metal to people.
Many hands, one mission.
None of this happens without volunteers. From drilling and riveting to research and labeling, taking many skills, to achieve one shared goal.
Before and after, proof in metal.
“Before and after” comparisons show how careful conservation and fabrication bring tired metal back to life.
Labels turn machines into memories.
Labels, maps, and learning panels help visitors connect dates, places, and people, so aircraft becomes a story you can follow.
All set up with hoses and fluid lines as a final polish, with fine details ing a living lesson.
After a final polish, the aircraft stands ready to teach its past, preserved by many careful hands with care and attention to detail.
Tip for visitors: The tiny dots along seams are rivets. Each one was placed by a volunteer to fasten skins to the ribs and spars inside.
Locate Classic Jets Fighter Museum
Parafield Airport: Hangar 107 Door on Anderson Drive, Parafield SA 5106
