British South American Airways merged with BOAC in 1949. This simply meant that the planes landed on solid ground at airports rather than water. No apparent fault in the aircraft was found,[N 19] and the British government decided against opening a further public inquiry into the accident. This was short lived as later that year Britannias took over that route. Empire of the Clouds - James Hamilton-Paterson P 39-40, Faber and Faber 2010, Report of the Court of Inquiry into the Accidents to Comet G-ALYP on 10th January 1954 and Comet G-ALYY on 8th April 1954-HM Stationery Office 1955-p 20 - para 78-79, The DeHavilland Comet Disaster - Aerospace Engineering - Paul Withey Professor of Casting at the University of Birmingham School of Metallurgy - Video presentation retrieved 30NOV22, The deHavilland Comet Disaster - Aerospace Engineering - Paul Withey Professor of Casting at the University of Birmingham School of Metallurgy - Video presentation retrieved 30NOV22 Time stamp 42:07, The DeHavilland Comet Disaster - Aerospace Engineering - Paul Withey Professor of Casting at the University of Birmingham School of Metallurgy - Video presentation retrieved 30NOV22 Time stamp 58:27. [166], The Comet 3, which flew for the first time on 19 July 1954, was a Comet 2 lengthened by 15ft 5in (4.70m) and powered by Avon M502 engines developing 10,000lbf (44kN). Crashed near Elba 10/1/54. The inquiry concluded that the aircraft had encountered extreme negative G forces during takeoff; severe turbulence generated by adverse weather was determined to have induced down-loading, leading to the loss of the wings. After analysing route structures for the Comet, BOAC reluctantly cast about for a successor, and in 1956 entered into an agreement with Boeing to purchase the 707. [48], Diverse geographic destinations and cabin pressurisation alike on the Comet demanded the use of a high proportion of alloys, plastics, and other materials new to civil aviation across the aircraft to meet certification requirements. [18] Tracing fuselage failure points proved difficult with this method,[18] and de Havilland ultimately switched to conducting structural tests with a water tank that could be safely configured to increase pressures gradually. [29][59] Two hydrogen peroxide-powered de Havilland Sprite booster rockets were originally intended to be installed to boost takeoff under hot and high altitude conditions from airports such as Khartoum and Nairobi. The trip took 33 hours. [138], The Comet 4 was ordered by two other airlines: Aerolneas Argentinas took delivery of six Comet 4s from 1959 to 1960, using them between Buenos Aires and Santiago, New York and Europe, and East African Airways received three new Comet 4s from 1960 to 1962 and operated them to the United Kingdom and to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. This is at your risk. Depending on weight and temperature, cruise fuel consumption was 6 to 10kg (13 to 22lb) per nautical mile (1.2 miles; 1.9 km), the higher figure being at the lower altitude needed at high weight. 1961: West express A new Qantas route from London to Perth has refuelling stops in Tehran, Karachi,. The next was at Karachi on 2 March 1953 when a Canadian Pacific Airlines Comet, on its delivery flight to Sydney, had a similar crash killing all on board, including some Australians. Four Ghost 50 Mk 1 engines were fitted (later replaced by more powerful Ghost DGT3 series engines). Sponsored. As a result, de Havilland re-profiled the wings' leading edge with a pronounced "droop",[88] and wing fences were added to control spanwise flow. Though these lessons could be implemented on the drawing board for future aircraft, corrections could only be retroactively applied to the Comet. [168] The variant added wing pinion tanks, and offered greater capacity and range. "Jet Jubilee (Part 1)". The sole surviving Comet fuselage with the original square-shaped windows, part of a Comet 1A registered F-BGNX, has undergone restoration and is on display at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum in Hertfordshire, England. The Comet was withdrawn from service and extensively tested. Two passengers sustained minor injuries, but the aircraft, G-ALYZ, was a write-off. [49] At its introduction, Comet airframes would be subjected to an intense, high-speed operating schedule which included simultaneous extreme heat from desert airfields and frosty cold from the kerosene-filled fuel tanks, still cold from cruising at high altitude. BOAC said, "the Comet 4 was largely responsible for the fact that between April 1 st and September 19 th traffic was up by 40% on the North Atlantic compared to the summer period of 1958. 2 December: The inaugural flight of a BOAC Comet 4 aircraft on the London to Johannesburg route took place. IN VENDITA! [51], When several of the fuselage alloys were discovered to be vulnerable to weakening via metal fatigue, a detailed routine inspection process was introduced. Principal investigator Hall accepted the RAE's conclusion of design and construction flaws as the likely explanation for G-ALYU's structural failure after 3,060 pressurisation cycles. ", "De Havilland Comet 4C G-BDIX Interior View Scottish Museum of Flight. [189] Though painted in BOAC colours, it never flew for the airline, having been first delivered to Air France and then to the Ministry of Supply after conversion to 1XB standard;[189] this aircraft also served with the RAF as XM823. [82], Other operators used the Comet either through leasing arrangements or through second-hand acquisitions. BOADICEA COMPUTER SYS at the best online prices at eBay! [66] On 22 January 1952, the fifth production aircraft, registered G-ALYS, received the first Certificate of Airworthiness awarded to a Comet, six months ahead of schedule. [98] Prime Minister Winston Churchill tasked the Royal Navy with helping to locate and retrieve the wreckage so that the cause of the accident could be determined. They are rectangular not square, have rounded corners and are within 5% of the radius of the Boeing 737 windows and virtually identical to modern airliners. [49], The Comet's thin metal skin was composed of advanced new alloys[N 13] and was both riveted and chemically bonded, which saved weight and reduced the risk of fatigue cracks spreading from the rivets. 14.". ", Withuhn, Bill. OK condition, with wear. [102] Comet flights resumed on 23 March 1954. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BOAC REVIEW AIRLINE STAFF MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1965 B.O.A.C. Following its first flight, the special order Comet 4C was described as "the world's first executive jet. ", This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 18:58. "Report of the court investigation on the accident to COMET G-ALYV", "B.O.A.C. [149], According to de Havilland's chief test pilot John Cunningham, who had flown the prototype's first flight, representatives from American manufacturers such as Boeing and Douglas privately disclosed that if de Havilland had not experienced the Comet's pressurisation problems first, it would have happened to them. A countersunk bolt hole and manufacturing damage that had been repaired at the time of construction using methods that were common, but were likely insufficient allowing for the stresses involved, were both located along the failure crack. Dan-Air played a significant role in the fleet's later history and, at one time, owned all 49 remaining airworthy civil Comets. Photo: Getty Images The Comet 1 was powered by four 2,018 kg thrust de Havilland Ghost turbojets buried in the wing roots. [140] Deliveries to BOAC began on 30 September 1958 with two 48-seat aircraft, which were used to initiate the first scheduled transatlantic services. [73] Flights on the Comet were about 50 percent faster compared to advanced piston-engined aircraft such as the Douglas DC-6 (490mph (790km/h)) The most extensive modification resulted in a specialised maritime patrol derivative, the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, which remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 2011, over 60 years after the Comet's first flight. Dr P. B. Walker, Head of the Structures Department at the RAE, said he was not surprised by this, noting that the difference was about three to one, and previous experience with metal fatigue suggested a total range of nine to one between experiment and outcome in the field could result in failure. The first Comet 4B flew on 27 June 1959 and BEA began Tel Aviv to London-Heathrow services on 1 April 1960. [131], Development flying and route proving with the Comet 3 allowed accelerated certification of what was destined to be the most successful variant of the type, the Comet 4. [N 2] As a result, committee member Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, head of the de Havilland company, used his personal influence and his company's expertise to champion the development of a jet-propelled aircraft; proposing a specification for a pure turbojet-powered design. Chief designer Bishop chose the Comet's embedded-engine configuration because it avoided the drag of podded engines and allowed for a smaller fin and rudder since the hazards of asymmetric thrust were reduced. ", Prime Minister Winston Churchill, 1954. The aircraft featured an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wing roots, a pressurized cabin, and large square windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and was commercially promising at its debut in 1952. BCPA had actually ordered three Comet 2s from de Havilland, although the agreement had never been fully finalised. [85], On 26 October 1952, the Comet suffered its first hull loss when a BOAC flight departing Rome's Ciampino airport failed to become airborne and ran into rough ground at the end of the runway. [146] On 14 March 1997 a Comet 4C serial XS235 and named Canopus,[147] which had been acquired by the British Ministry of Technology and used for radio, radar and avionics trials, made the last documented production Comet flight. 1963 De Havilland DH106 Comet 4C 'Canopus', serial number 6473, G-CDPA, formerly XS235, was the last Comet to remain flying and is now the only surviving Com. [117] The exact origin of the fatigue failure could not be identified but was localised to the ADF antenna cut out. A de Havilland DH-106 Comet 1 passenger plane, operated by BOAC, was destroyed in an accident near Calcutta, India. [162] Design changes had been made to make the aircraft more suitable for transatlantic operations. 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