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de Havilland Comet

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de Havilland Comet

It was pure beauty, masterpiece of technology. It was ahead of its time. It was the first. It payed unknown issues. It was the “de Havilland Comet”.

01/04/2026

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

From the 1st of April 1960, the designed on purpose for short range operation Comet 4B, began Tel Aviv to London-Heathrow services.

Without extra tanks mounted and with a featured greater capacity through a 2m longer fuselage, and a shorter wingspan (differently from 4 and 4C) it flew the first time on 27 of June 1959.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photos: airteamsimages.com]

09/01/2026

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

Sometimes history connects the dots itself.
Regarding Comet's history "today" records 2 facts:

- on 9/1/1951 the earliest Comet1 production aircraft, registered G-ALYP ("Yoke Peter"), first flew on 9 January 1951 and was subsequently lent to BOAC for development flying by its Comet Unit

- on 9/1/2000 Sir Arnold Alexander Hall died in Dorney, Berkshire (England)

Sir Hall led the investigation occurred after first Comets suspicious hull losses, of which the most tragic and well published was the infamous Elba-crash where G-ALYP was lost (flight 781).

The first day in history for a huge technical accomplishment.
The last day on earth for who investigated and explained what was dangerously unknown, back then, behind that achievement.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photos: wikipedia]

09/11/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

We are in 1980 "today" 9th of November, and within the last leg of Comet's history its last commercial user was aviation company named Dan-Air, operating DH106's final passenger-carrying flights.

The British carrier Dan-Air, flew close to 50 examples of the Comet: acquired on a second-hand basis between the '60s and the '70s, flying three Comet variants.

Comets 4 were the most numerous, 18 examples. Comets 4B and 4C: 14 examples apiece.

45 years ago, Dan-Air flew the last passenger-carrying flight of the latter of these designs (G-BDIW).

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photo: Air Britain Photographic Images Collection | Tony McGhee]

01/11/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

The month of November 1951 brings one historic note about the Comet 1.

After trials and final tests, from prototypes phase, De Havilland moved to production, and airlines were keen to have Comets in their fleets:

- Air France ordered 3 Comet 1A
- Royal Canadian Air Force ordered 2 Comet 1A, an increased all-up weight + greater fuel capacity

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photo: 1 super-hobby.it of scale kit made by F-RSN/ 2 c-and-e-museum.org 3 Jim Rittinger]

31/10/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

The end of October brings 2 interesting facts about the Comet.

Two "first time" to be precise:

- on 25/10/1949 the prototype of the Comet 1 did its first overseas flight, from London 🇬🇧 to Castel Benito (now Tripoli, Libya 🇱🇾)

- on 31/10/1959 the Comet 4C had it first flight; this last variant, the Comet 4C, then entered service with Mexicana in 1960

The Comet 4C in particular had the Comet 4B's longer fuselage and the longer wings and extra fuel tanks of the original Comet 4, which gave it a longer range than the 4B.
Ordered by Kuwait Airways, Middle East Airlines, Misrair (later United Arab Airlines), and Sudan Airways, it was the most popular Comet variant.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photo: 1 bbc.com Getty Images / 2 unknown]

05/10/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

"Yesterday" 4th of October 1958, the Comet 4 enabled BOAC to inaugurate the first regular jet-powered transatlantic services.

Between London and New York, albeit still requiring a fuel stop at Gander International Airport (Newfoundland) on westward North Atlantic crossings.

BOAC's service began just weeks before Pan American's Boeing 707 service.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photo: Mary Evans Picture Library]

30/09/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

The closing month of September has still 4 notes for the De Havilland Comet DH106:

- in 1949 the prototype of the Comet 1 was registered G-ALVG just before it was publicly displayed at the 1949 Farnborough Airshow prior to the start of flight trials

- in 1952 the final Comet 1 from BOAC's initial order, registered G-ALYZ, began flying and carried cargo along South American routes while simulating passenger schedules

- in 1958 the Comet 4 first flew on 27 April 1958 and received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 24 September 1958, the first was delivered to BOAC the next day

- in 1958 deliveries to BOAC (of the C4) began on 30 September 1958 with two 48-seat aircraft, which were used to initiate the first scheduled transatlantic services

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photo: 1 Air Britain Photographic Images Collection - R.A. Scholefield Collection | 2 Zoggavia | 3 Unknown]

29/08/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

Me late on this precise date: the first production aircraft (G-AMXA) flew on 27 August 1953.

A total of 12 of the 44-seat Comet 2s were ordered by BOAC for the South Atlantic route.

Although these aircraft performed well on test flights on the South Atlantic, their range was still not suitable for the North Atlantic.

All but four Comet 2s were allocated to the RAF with deliveries beginning in 1955.

Modifications to the interiors allowed the Comet 2s to be used in a number of different roles.

For VIP transport, the seating and accommodations were altered while provisions for carrying medical equipment including iron lungs were incorporated.

Specialised signals intelligence and electronic surveillance capability was later added to some airframes.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: wikipedia | photo: R. A. Scholefield @ AirHistory.net]

02/08/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

In August 1953 BOAC scheduled nine-stop London to Tokyo flights by Comet for 36 hours, compared to 86 hours and 35 minutes on their Argonaut piston airliner.
(Pan Am's DC-6B was scheduled for 46 hours 45 minutes.)

The five-stop flight from London to Johannesburg was scheduled for 21 hr 20 min.

In summer 1953 eight BOAC Comets left London each week: three to Johannesburg, two to Tokyo, two to Singapore and one to Colombo.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: en.wikipedia.org & https://www.indianairmails.com/boac-comet-1-jetliner-service-london-to-tokyo-april-1953.html]

27/07/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

On the 27th of July...
..1882 Sir Geoffrey de Havilland was born (Founder)..1917 John Cunningham was born (Chief Test Pilot)..1949 Comet's first prototype flew (G-5-1)..1950 Comet's second prototype flew (G-5-2)

What a day in aviation history.
All linked together indeed.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: en.wikipedia.org | photo: unknown]

21/07/2025

Good morning | Bonjour | Guten morgen | Buen día | おはよう| Buongiorno👋👋👋

John 'Cat's Eyes' Cunningham CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, AE (27 July 1917 – 21 July 2002) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter ace during the Second World War and a test pilot.

During the war, he was nicknamed 'Cat's Eyes' by the British press to explain his success and to avoid communicating the existence of airborne radar to the Germans.

Once WWII ended he was a key figure in aviation industry, working within De Havilland (then Hawker Siddeley and finally British Aerospace) as Chief Test Pilot.

Best wishes and cheers from Italy.
Marco Lazzari 🙏

[source: en.wikipedia.org | photo: www.npg.org.uk]

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