DH-106 Comet

The Comet’s first flight was on 27 July 1949, flown by John Cunningham, who had succeeded Geoffrey de Havilland Jnr. as Chief Test Pilot. A full test and development programme followed to prove the aircraft’s performance, endurance and economy, and to create operating procedures for this new kind of aircraft.

In 1949, very high speeds were recorded by Cunningham’s test team. In November, the first prototype flew from Edinburgh to Brighton at 40,000 ft, averaging 530 mph, then from Shetland to Hatfield, averaging 590 mph. Economical cruising was established as 465 mph @ 35,000 ft, and all-up weight was 110,000 lb.

In March 1950, a second prototype began route-proving flights to continental destinations. Records tumbled: between 16 March and 24 April, FAI Class C1 records were secured with full payloads between London-Rome, London-Copenhagen and London-Cairo. The combined average for all these flights was 435 mph from engine start to engine stop.

Economically, the Comet exceeded expectations. Although it was 50% more expensive to buy than piston engined airliners, and consumed twice as much fuel, it proved to be 20% cheaper overall. Fundamentally, jet engines required less maintenance. A lot of effort had gone into the

Ghost engine to maximise reliability and extend service intervals. This applied to the airframe and systems as well. Speed was crucial to the equation: BOAC proved that it only took 5 Comets to do the work of 8 conventional airliners.

The Comet had been designed to join ordinary traffic, and fly to existing airports on “Empire Routes”. With its main masses close to the aircraft’s centre of gravity, it was remarkably stable and responsive, even in rough conditions or with a failed engine. It had a low wing loading, lower even than some contemporary piston-engined airliners, which enabled it to join slow traffic at normal airports. Cunningham even succeeded in landing on a grass airfield.

Commercial operations began with BOAC in February 1952. For two years the Comet was a roaring success, gaining popularity with passengers and airlines all over the world. De Havilland immediately began development of a more powerful Series 2, and design of a larger Series 3. On 20 October 1952, Pan-Am became the first American operator to sign-up, placing an order for three Comet 3s, and an option on a further seven the following year. The future couldn’t have looked brighter.