The first items to go on display at a highly-anticipated museum have been installed, including a replica of the first Qantas plane.
A skilled group of technicians have manoeuvred the plane and two other pioneering aircraft into place in Parramatta Powerhouse's largest exhibition space after construction wrapped in April.
The maiden exhibition Task Eternal, will explore humanity's quest to overcome gravity and take to the skies and will open to the public, along with the rest of the museum, later in the year.
The Qantas Avro 504K aircraft - weighing more than 760kg and measuring nine metres long with a wingspan of 11 metres - will feature alongside 3000 other objects.
Also installed were the bizarre-looking Autogiro VH-USR - a forerunner of the helicopter, owned by early aviator Andrew Thyne Reid - and the ultralight Wheeler 'Scout' Skycraft Mark 1 designed and made by Ron Wheeler.
Powerhouse chief executive Lisa Havilah said the installations were significant milestones.
The museum partnered with Qantas to host the exhibition, with the airline contributing thousands of objects from its own archives to be digitised and preserved.
Qantas A330 pilot David Thiess said seeing the Avro as the first plane to bear the airline's name was a reminder how far Australian aviation had come.
"From the early long-range flights linking remote communities such as Longreach, Winton and Cloncurry, to the lead-up to the inaugural A350 Project Sunrise services from Sydney to London," he said.
The Task Eternal exhibition will also highlight the airline's design legacy, from the evolution of the Flying Kangaroo and uniforms, interiors, tableware and advertising.
Deputy Premier Prue Car hopes the exhibition and those following will inspire the next generation of scientists, designers and engineers.
"The Powerhouse Museum is bringing our nation's history to Western Sydney," she said.
