"So that was Melbourne you wanted to go to? Jolly good, give the old prop a spin, then jump in the back and we'll be on our way, there's a good chap. Couldn't point me in the right direction could you, only the compass is a bit stuck is all..."

This is a replica of an Avro 504K, which was one of the first two aircraft to have been obtained by the then-newly formed Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service Ltd (Qantas to you) in January 1921. It was manufactured by the Australian Aircraft and Engineering Co under licence from the English designers A V Roe. Unlike most 504's it was fitted with a Sunbeam Dyak engine (6 cylinders, 100 hp); in fact, the engine components are all original though not from the same aircraft. The original aircraft was used until it was sold in November of 1926.

It supposedly had a passenger capacity of 2 though since there's only one seat I imagine that some lap sitting was involved. Also since the empty aircraft weighed 599kg yet the maximum weight was 816kg, (remember that the pilot's weight has to go in too, oh, and a bit of fuel always came in handy), you wouldn't want to be a "plus size" passenger. The aircraft was 8.94m long, 3.4 metres high, with a wingspan of 11 metres and a top speed of 105km/h (65 mph for my US visitors).

This replica, which is on display in the domestic departures terminal at Sydney (Mascot) Kingsford Smith Airport was built by current and former Qantas staff in 1987/1988.