1. Home
  2. View Cart
  3. Checkout

DH88 deHavilland's Racing Comets

DH88 deHavilland's Racing Comets

Ref: 5097

In stock

Price: £10.00

sadly, flyingbooks is now closed.

{detailed description}The de Havilland DH 88 Comet of 1934 - which must not be confused with the post-war DH 106 Comet airliner - is an aeroplane with a background and a claim to fame second to none. A sleek low-wing monoplane (at a time when most aircraft were biplanes) designed, built and flown within a total period of only nine months and yet incorporating such novel features as a retracting undercarriage, variable-pitch propellers, flaps and a stressed-skin wing structure, the DH 88 was produced solely to ensure the chance of a British success in the MacRobertson Air Race from Mildenhall in England to Melbourne in Australia.
Three Comets were built for the race. One was the outright winner and another took fourth place. This book describes the special reason for that race, the efforts of the de Havilland enterprise to produce the aeroplane in the short time available and the trials and tribulations of the pilots who flew it to success. However, the type's tale does not end there, for the achievement against so many odds placed the DH 88 in demand for other roles and records. Where possible, the author has assembled first-hand information so that pilots' experiences, handling details and even accident reports are described in the words of those who were involved. But the Comet story continues even now, fifty years after the MacRobertson race, for the winning machine has survived to undergo complete restoration to flying condition. Housed with the famous Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire, G-ACSS will continue to make its mark on all who see it where it belongs - in the air.
For the first time within one cover, this book records the Comet's very special place in British aviation history.
Front cover: The restored DH 88 'Grosvenor House' flying over Old Warden Aerodrome at a display in May 1987.
{Author / Publisher / Date}by David Ogilvy
published by Airlife 1988 edn. of 1984 1st 174pp profusely illustrated, index, appendices, bibliography 18x24 paperback
{condition}light foxing to edges, otherwise very good.
{delivery info}
The following tables show the shipping costs for this book only.
Multiple purchases will have their costs calculated at the checkout, where the delivery method may also be selected.
Please refer to terms and conditions for further information regarding weight limits, delivery times etc.
U.K.tracked
first class (1-2 days)£4.75
second class (2-3 days)£4.25


Recently Viewed