Sold to Kirk Kerkorian / Tracy Investments Corp / Tracinda. (The latter company name was derived from Kerkorian's daughters Tracy and Linda).

It is widely reported that the aircraft was once owned by Frank Sinatra. However, on 30JUN04, Nancy Sinatra posted on an internet forum that her father "never owned a 707". Given that Frank Sinatra was a known associate of Kirk Kerkorian, it is likely that he did travel on the aircraft while it was in Kerkorian's ownership. Source:
https://sinatrafamily.com/forum/showthread.php/14668-Frank-Sinatra-s-old-plane-now-on-Holiday-Airport

HARS Announcement on Facebook:

"Greetings from our 707 in Georgia.
Story and Photos: Maureen Massey, HARS Vice President.

"After almost 3 years, the time had finally arrived for the HARS 707 team to depart Mascot on another pilgrimage to Georgia. Covid has taken its toll and no longer are we threatened with non-entry into the USA, providing you can show evidence of the vaccinations required. We were greeted and made most welcome at Stambaugh on arrival and the first meeting took place shortly after that.

"Stambaugh were under the impression that HARS might “favour” the idea of shipping the 707 back to Oz as cargo on a ship! WRONG! And another useful tip was to gut the interior, and ship that back in a container! WRONG! It was quite apparent after more discussion that HARS had no intention, or ever had any intention, of doing this and to their amazement, I hammered home the fact that N707JT would be FLYING out of Stambaugh! After an embarrassing moment of silence, time to focus again on the way forward and the progression of the project to make the aircraft airworthy.

"The first task for the Team was to give the 707 a good wash as the weather in Georgia had been unkind over the past 2 years, and being parked out in the open did not help. It took 3 days to complete this task, and with the assistance of the right equipment and tools, it wasn’t long before the aircraft was smiling again.

"Next step was the interior, which was in very poor shape, due to the condensation coming through the ceiling. Lots of mould and mildew had started to make the galleys and the leather chairs, their home. Another couple of days saw the interior transform into an executive layout again, the carpet was responsible for the life and death of the borrowed vacuum cleaner and several brooms laid down their hair for the sake of cleanliness!

"Next move was to the cockpit and then we noticed that two instruments had been “borrowed”, without letting the owners know. Not impressed! One was the pilots ADF and the other an Oil Pressure gauge off the FE Panel. A note was quickly made (later added to several other missing items) to be presented to our sub-contractors.

"A general clean out and inspection of the forward cargo hold revealed a lot of spares, some brand new, others overhauled, but all with the correct paperwork and associated tags for airworthiness. A comprehensive list was made and entered into our journal.

"Thorough inspections for corrosion continued with an engineer on each wing taking apart panels and inspecting all cables, wiring and other moving parts. Luckily, most resulted in surface corrosion only.

"The tail plane was next, and corrosion was found on the right horizontal stabilizer, a little more than acceptable, so this will have to be treated and repaired in the workshop. The left side stab had already been treated and repaired previously while still flying with John Travolta. Stambaugh gave us the use of a ground power unit every day, which made it possible to test the extension of the flaps, the ailerons and spoilers and all moving surfaces. They all performed well. One unfortunate discovery was a gouge in the right-wing underside, covered over by silver tape. We were told that an a/c stand had been blown away in the terrible storm Georgia had one night and ended up in the side of our 707. When the tape was removed, it strangely enough resembled damage by a forklift, but, only the invisible man would be able to confirm that, so this repair will be carried out free of charge, of course.

"On inspection of the rear cargo hold, 2 nose wheel assemblies and 2 main wheels were missing, along with a big black box full of 707 Manuals. After a visit to the Omega storage hangar (opposite the Stambaugh facility) they were located, as were the 4 engines and spare. This Omega hangar has been used by Stambaugh for some time to store excess parts and aircraft bits for safe keeping. It is a huge hangar, probably equivalent to our Hangar 3 in size. It houses many engines, all inhibited and ready for use, lots of aircraft seats, components, wings, machinery and many, many crates of manuals and drawings from assorted projects. The office attached to this building was occupied by Omega in the past before they pulled up stumps and returned to Ireland. Also in storage was a boat and several bicycles, not sure which aircraft they belonged to!

"As you all know, the pylons have been completed now, and as the pictures show, they look brand new and when the plumbing is complete on them, they will be refitted to the aircraft. I was hoping this would be done while the team was there, but a crack was found in the area where # 1 pylon attaches to the wing and has to be repaired/replaced before that pylon can be refitted. There is no reason why the other 3 cannot go back on.

"The weather in Georgia this time of year, winter, is quite good, and provided a comfortable working environment, considering the aircraft is parked outside. N707JT was towed to its new resting place, on the hard stand in front of the main hangar and will remain there until it flies home. This was a perfect position, with easy access to the hangar, sheltered (a bit) from the elements, and convenient to power supplies, tooling and facilities. Only a couple of rainy days, but work transferred to the inside of the aircraft, so no time was lost there. The days were long, arriving at the airport at 8.30am and usually departing around 4.00pm, then it was home to shower and change and off to the pub! Toucans Ale House was conveniently located 3 minutes’ walk from our hotel and proved to be a life saver. The meals were fabulous and drinks were cold, and after 13 days (visits) we had tried everything on their menu and would recommend the lot, with a little leaning towards the blackened shrimp and homemade apple pie!!

"It was soon time to pack up and leave for Jacksonville, commencing the long journey home. Apart from the unexpected adventures of travel, the trip to Georgia was a success, and the team achieved all we set out to do. Our engineering team were a credit to HARS and again, they raised a lot of eyebrows amongst the younger generation at Stambaugh. I am so proud of each of them for the dedication and expertise they show towards this project.

"The next step in the 707 process has begun and that is preparing a work package to submit to the FAA for approval before a Special Flight Permit can be approved, I expect to send this off in the coming weeks. This package will include the carrying out of “A”, “B” and parts of “C” checks for their approval, and once that has been obtained, we can give a correct estimate for N707JT’s arrival in Australia. The determination behind this project is real, and like the Connie, don’t tell an Aussie it can’t be done!

"PS Footnote: The 707 has been fitted with new locks since the last visit, which, hopefully, will make the act of borrowing things a lot harder!"