de Havilland DH.88 Comet
Description
Role	Long-range racer
Crew	2
First flight	September 8, 1934
Entered service	October 20, 1934
Manufacturer	de Havilland
Dimensions
Length	29 ft	8.8 m
Wingspan	44 ft	13.4 m
Height	9 ft	2.7 m
Wing area	213 ft²	19.7 m²
Weights
Empty	3,000 lb	1,360 kg
Loaded	5,550 lb	2,520 kg
Maximum takeoff	lb	kg
Powerplant
Engine	2 × de Havilland Gipsy Six R
Power (each)	225 hp	170 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	235 mph	378 km/h
Range	2,580 miles	4,150 km
Ferry range	2,925 miles	4,710 km
Service ceiling	19,000 ft	5,790 m
Rate of climb	1,200 ft/min	370 m/min

The de Havilland DH.88 Comet was an aircraft designed for one very specific purpose - to win the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race for Britain. It set many aviation records during the race and afterwards as a pioneer mail-plane. de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer G-ACSS Grosvenor House. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1934: Events January Soviet pilots Fedossenko, Wassenko and Usyskin take the stratosphere-balloon Ossoaviachim I to 22,000 m (72,160 ft). ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... de Havilland UK In 1920 Geoffrey de Havilland changed the name of his company Airco, where he had previously been chief designer, to the De Havilland Aircraft Company. ... de Havilland UK In 1920 Geoffrey de Havilland changed the name of his company Airco, where he had previously been chief designer, to the De Havilland Aircraft Company. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1934: Events January Soviet pilots Fedossenko, Wassenko and Usyskin take the stratosphere-balloon Ossoaviachim I to 22,000 m (72,160 ft). ... The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race took place October, 1934 as part of the celebrations of the centenary of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia). ...

Development

Despite previous British air racing successes, culminating in 1931 in the outright win of the Schneider Trophy, there was no British plane capable of putting up a challenge over the MacPherson course with its long overland stages. The de Havilland company stepped into the breach by offering to produce a limited run of 200 mph (320 km/h) racers if three were ordered by February, 1934. The sale price of £5,000 each would by no means cover the development costs. In 1935, de Havilland suggested a high-speed bomber version of the DH.88 to the RAF, but the suggestion was rejected. (De Havilland later developed the de Havilland Mosquito along similar lines as the DH.88 for the high-speed bomber role.) This is a list of aviation-related events from 1931: Events Manufacturer Airspeed Ltd founded in York, England. ... The Schneider Trophy (or prize or cup) for seaplanes was announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911 with a prize of roughly £1,000. ... de Havilland UK In 1920 Geoffrey de Havilland changed the name of his company Airco, where he had previously been chief designer, to the De Havilland Aircraft Company. ... The de Havilland Mosquito (the wooden wonder) was a military aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during World War II. It was a twin engine aircraft with the pilot and navigator sitting side-by-side. ...

3 orders were indeed received, and de Havillands set to work. The airframe consisted of a wooden skeleton clad with spruce plywood, with a final fabric covering on the wings. A long streamlined nose held the main fuel tanks, with the low set central two-seat cockpit forming an unbroken line to the tail. The engines were essentially the standard Gipsy Six used on the Express and Dragon Rapide passenger planes, tuned for best performance with a higher compression ratio. The propellors were two-position variable pitch, manually set to fine before takeoff and changed automatically to coarse by a pressure sensor. The main undercarriage retracted upwards and backwards into the engine nacelles. The DH.88 could maintain altitude up to 4,000 ft (1,200 m) on one engine. Species About 35; see text. ... Plywood was the first type of engineered wood to be invented. ... In fluid dynamics, a streamline is a line which is everywhere tangent to the velocity of the flow. ... The de Havilland 86 was developed in 1933 for QANTAS, to inaugurate the Singapore-Brisbane section of the England to Australia air route. ... The de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide was a successful British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s. ... The compression ratio is a single number that can be used to predict the performance of any internal-combustion engine. ...

De Havillands managed to meet their challenging schedule and testing of the DH.88 began six weeks before the start date of the race. On the day of the race, the three distinctively coloured planes took their places among 17 other entrants ranging from a new Douglas DC-2 airliner to two converted Fairey Fox bombers. The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-propeller airliner produced by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. ... The Fairey Fox was a light bomber and fighter biplane of the 1920s and 1930s. ...

The MacRobertson Race

Black Magic

First to take off at 6.30 am on October 20 were Jim and Amy Mollison in their own G-ACSP Black Magic. They made a faultless journey to Baghdad, and reached Karachi at around 10 am on the second race day, setting a new England-India record. Problems began for the Mollisons when their landing gear failed to retract, and after returning Karachi for repairs they were again delayed by an inability to navigate at night. October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... James Allan (Jim) Mollison (1905-1959) was a famous Scottish pioneer airplane pilot. ... Amy Johnson (July 1, 1903 – January 5, 1941) was a famous English aviatrix who was born in Kingston upon Hull. ... Wikinews has news related to this article: Several hundred killed after stampede in Baghdad A street map of Baghdad Average temperature (red) and precipitations (blue) in Baghdad For other meanings see Baghdad (disambiguation) Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and the Baghdad Province. ... Aerial view of Karachi Downtown Karachi (کراچي) is the largest city in Pakistan and the capital of the province of Sindh. ...

Further problems followed when they made an unscheduled refuelling stop at Jobbolpore but found no aviation fuel. Running instead on fuel used by the local bus company, an engine piston seized and an oil line ruptured. They flew on to Allahabad and retired. Image File history File links Map of MacRobertson Race (1934). ... Map of India. ...

Grosvenor House

The scarlet G-ACSS was the property of Mr.A.O.Edwards and was named Grosvenor House after the hotel which he managed. The crew were Charles W.Scott and Tom Campbell Black. When the Mollisons ran into problems at Karachi, Scott & Campbell Black took over the lead and were first into Allahabad. Despite a severe storm over the Bay of Bengal they reached Singapore safely, 8 hours ahead of the DC-2. The de Havilland DH.88 Comet was an aircraft designed for one very specific purpose - to win the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race for Britain. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Bay of Bengal is a bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. ...

They took off for Darwin, but over the Timor Sea lost power in the port engine when the oil pressure dropped to zero. Repairs at Darwin got them going again, although continuing oil warnings caused them to fly the last two legs with one engine throttled back. Their lead was unassailable despite this, and after the final mandatory stop and more engine work at Charleville they flew on to cross the finish line at Flemington Racecourse at 3.33 pm (local time) on October 23. Their official time was 71 hours 18 seconds. Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, and is a city of 109,419 people (2001 Australian Census), on Australias far north-western coastline. ... The Timor Sea is the stretch of the Pacific Ocean situated between the island of Timor, now split between the states of Indonesia and East Timor, and the Northern Territory of Australia. ... The town of Charleville is located in South Western Queensland, Australia, 758 kilometres by road west of the state capital, Brisbane. ... Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 69 days remaining. ...

G-ACSR

The third plane G-ACSR had been paid for by racing driver Bernard Rubins and was flown by Owen Cathcart Jones and Ken Waller. They caught up with the Mollisons at Karachi but found they had a serious oil leak and were forced to delay for repairs. They were the fourth plane to reach Melbourne, in a time of 108 h 13 min 45 s. The City of Melbournes coat of arms Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of 3,600,650 in the Melbourne metropolitan area (June 2004) and 61,670 in the City of...

Cathcart Jones and Waller promptly collected film of the Australian stages of the race at set off to carry it back to Britain. Their return time of 13½ days set a new record.

After the race

G-ACSR, renamed Reine Astrid flew the Christmas mail from Brussels to Leopoldville in the Belgian Congo in 1934. It was then sold to the French government as F-ANPY and set a Croydon-Le Bourget record of 52 minutes on July 5, 1935. It subsequently made Paris–Casablanca and Paris–Algiers high-speed proving flights. Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the headquarters of the European Union, as two of its four main institutions have their headquarters in the... Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... On November 15, 1908, King Leopold II of Belgium formally relinquished personal control of the Congo Free State and the renamed Belgian Congo came under the administration of the Belgian parliament, a system which lasted until independence was granted in 1960. ... For other Croydons see Croydon (disambiguation) Croydon is a large suburban town and commercial centre to the south of London and forms part of the Greater London conurbation. ... Le Bourget airport (Aéroport du Bourget) is an airport, located in Le Bourget, close to Paris, France, nowadays only used for general aviation (business jets) as well as air shows. ... July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Hassan II Mosque A view on the boulevard de Paris in central Casablanca Parc de la Ligue Arabe Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, transliterated ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ) is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. ... Algiers Algiers (French Alger, Arabic الجزائر El-Jezair, i. ...

Black Magic was sold to Portugal for a projected flight from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. Reregistered CS-AAJ Salazar it made various flights from London to Lisbon, setting a time of 5 h 17 min in July 1937. District Lisbon Mayor   - Party Pedro Santana Lopes PSD Area 84. ... Ipanema beach Cristo Redentor A NASA satellite image of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro (meaning River of January in Portuguese) is the name of both a state and a city in southeastern Brazil. ... District Lisbon Mayor   - Party Pedro Santana Lopes PSD Area 84. ...

Grosvenor House in flight

Grosvenor House was later fitted with Gypsy Six series II engines and made several race and record attempts under various names. It claimed fourth place in the 1937 Marseilles-Damascus-Paris race, and later the same year lowered the out-and-home record to the Cape to 15 days 17 hours. In March 1938 it made a return trip to New Zealand covering 26,450 mi (42,567 km) in 10 days 21 hours 22 minutes. de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer G-ACSS Grosvenor House. ... de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer G-ACSS Grosvenor House. ... Marseilles redirects here. ... Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloquially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria and is the oldest inhabited city in the world. ...

Two more Comets

A fourth Comet, F-ANPZ, was built for the French government, with a mail compartment in the nose.

The fifth and last Comet named G-ADEF Boomerang was built for Cyril Nicholson, and piloted by Tom Campbell Black (of Grosvenor House fame) and J.C.McArthur in an attempt on the London-Cape Town record. It reached Cairo in a record 11hr 18 min but the Cape Town attempt was abandoned due to oil trouble. The arms of Cape Town. ... Although technically in Giza, The Great Pyramids have become a symbol of Cairo internationally Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة; romanized: al-Qāhirah) is the capital city of Egypt (and previously the United Arab Republic) and has a metropolitan area population of approximately 15. ...

Last resting places

Grosvenor House has been restored to flying condition as it was in the MacRobertson race, and is housed at the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden in England. Old Warden is a village in Bedfordshire, England just west of the town of Biggleswade, widely known as the home of the Shuttleworth Trust, an early organisation committed to the preservation of transport artifacts, primarily cycles, cars, and aeroplanes, produced in the early part of the 20th century. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ...

Black Magic was found in a ruinous condition in Portugal in 1979. It is currently undergoing restoration in Derby, England. This page refers to the year 1979. ... Derby (pronounced dar-bee ) is a city in the East Midlands of England. ...

G-ADEF crashed in Sudan September 22, 1935. The crew escaped by parachute. September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years). ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

G-ACSR and F-ANPZ were destroyed in a hangar fire at Istres in France in June, 1940. Istres, fourth largest town of Bouches-du-Rhône (40,000 inhabitants) Istres is a town and commune in France, located north of Marseille. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Conclusion

The DH.88 might have been the swan-song for high performance wooden aircraft but for one factor - shortage of metal for aircraft construction during World War II. As it turned out, experience with the DH.88 would be put to use in designing one of the war's finest aircraft - the de Havilland Mosquito. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was by far the bloodiest, most expensive, and most significant war in... The de Havilland Mosquito (the wooden wonder) was a military aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during World War II. It was a twin engine aircraft with the pilot and navigator sitting side-by-side. ...

The clean lines of the DH.88, especially in the striking colours of Grosvenor House, make it a true design classic.

Specifications (variant described)

General characteristics

• Crew:
• Capacity:
• Length: m ( ft)
• Wingspan: m ( ft)
• Height: m ( ft)
• Wing area: m² ( ft²)
• Empty: kg ( lb)
• Loaded: kg ( lb)
• Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
• Powerplant: Engine type(s), kN (lbf) thrust or
• Powerplant: Engine type(s), kW ( hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: km/h ( mph)
• Range: km ( miles)
• Service ceiling: m ( ft)
• Rate of climb: m/min ( ft/min)
• Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: or
• Power/mass:

External links

• The MacRobertson Air Race, 1934
• Comet DH88 - fastest from England to Australia
• Black Magic Restoration