Finding the flaw: engineers inspect a grounded Comet 1 jet airliner after a fatal crash near the Italian island of Elba on January 10, 1954
IF ever there was a flawed masterpiece, it was the 36-seat Comet airliner, a pioneer in civilian jet aviation destined to go down in flames. Although the Second World War had seen advances in jet-powered aircraft technology led by Germany's Heinkel He 178 and Messerschmitt Me 262 and Britain's Gloster Meteor-civil aviation had inevitably lagged behind.
Early passenger planes were noisy, low-flying and rather uncomfortable, with America's propeller and piston-driven Douglas DC-3s carrying the majority of the world's airline passengers before the outbreak of war. In 1943, a committee set up by the British government considered the opportunities likely to be presented by the development of smoother-running, jet-powered commercial aircraft after the return of peace.
Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, who had been involved with flying and designing aircraft for 25 years, sat on this committee. His Hatfield-based company had developed its jet-engine expertise during hostilities, so it was tasked with creating a commercial jet airliner, with a team led by the company's chief designer, Ronald Bishop.
Bright beginning: on the runway at London Airport before the first passenger flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1952
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 04, 2022 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 04, 2022 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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