A splendid cast aluminium model of a de Havilland DH.88 Comet; circa 1935. Mounted on a newly made stand, all polished to a mirror finish. De Havilland only built five DH.88 Comets in total.
About the de Havilland DH.88 Comet
The DH.88 is a British two-seat, twin-engined aircraft built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the first British aircraft to incorporate, in one airframe, all the elements of the era's modern high speed aircraft. Stressed-skin construction, cantilever monoplane flying surfaces, retractable undercarriage, landing flaps, variable-pitch propellers and an enclosed cockpit.
It was developed specifically to participate in the 1934 MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) and was designed to meet the specific requirements of the race. During the 1930s, both in races and on special record-breaking flights, the Comets established many aviation records. Some flights set multiple point-to-point records. Others set record times for long-distance flights.
Dimensions: 16.5cm/6½ inches (length) x22.25cm/8¾ inches (wing span) x 16.25cm/6⅜ inches (maximum height on base).
About the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race
To celebrate the city of Melbourne's 100 year anniversary, a spectacular flying race was held from the UK to Melbourne, Australia. The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, devised the race and the prize money of £15,000 (approximately £8M today) was provided by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer. Robertson stipulated the race be named after his MacRobertson confectionery company and organised to be as safe as possible.
Organised by the Royal Aero Club, the race was divided into two divisions for speed and handicap, with no limits to aircraft size, power or crew. It ran from RAF Mildenhall in East Anglia to Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, a route stretching approximately 11,300 miles (18,200 km) and crossing nineteen countries. Pilots decided their own route but there were compulsory stops in Baghdad, Allahabad, Singapore, Darwin and Charleville.
From an initial twenty competitors, only eleven aircraft finished the gruelling trip. A DH.88 Comet named Grosvenor House, flown by Flight Lt. C. W. A. Scott and Captain Tom Campbell Black, was the first to reach Melbourne with a total air time of just over 71 hours. This was despite flying the last stage with one engine throttled back, due to an oil-pressure indicator giving a faulty low reading.
They would have won the handicap prize as well, but the race rules stipulated that no aircraft could win more than one prize.
Significantly, both outright second and third places in the race were taken by airliners (not designed for speed, but for economy and payload); the KLM Douglas DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver ("Stork") flown by K. D. Parmentier and J. J. Moll and Roscoe Turner's Boeing 247-D. Both finished less than a day behind than the winner, with KLM's DC-2 even flying a regular route with passengers for most of the race!
The MacRobertson Centenary Air Race signified the beginning of a new era in aviation. It proved that the new stressed-metal aeroplanes performed better over long distances than wooden-bodied machines. It also proved that air travel was a viable alternative to sea for international travel, paving the way for aviation in international passenger and cargo transport.
Product Reference: 13466
