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- 25,765 Faces
- 16,044 Vertices
- 13 Materials
- 35 Objects
- 3DS format
- MAX format
- LWO Format
- C4D Format
De Haviland 88 Comet
Geoffrey De Haviland was determined that Britain was to win the prestigious England - Australia air race of 1934. In great haste De Haviland's produced three of the five Comet racers built in time for the race. The subject of this model, the scarlet and white "Grosvenor House" was the eventual winner flown by C.W.A. Scott and T. Campbell Black who covered the 11,700 miles in 70 hours, 54 minutes.
In 1935 "SS" was doped silver and evaluated by the RAF at Martelsham Heath where it was pretty badly knocked about. The aeroplane was rescued by F.E. Tasker and rebuilt to compete in the 1937 Marseille - Damascus -Paris race as "The Orphan" and was doped blue for the occasion, finishing fourth. Later that year, renamed "The Burberry" A.E. Clouston and Mrs K. Green broke the England - Cape return record in 15 days 17 hours. Finally as "Australian Anniversary" the Comet flew Gravesend- Sydney- Blenheim - Croydon in 10 days 25 hours, a record which still remains unbeaten.
After Languishing at Gravesend for several years it was superficially restored for the festival of Britain in 1951, and was subsequently acquired by the Shuttleworth trust. After many years of work by the Shuttleworth trust and British Aerospace at Hatfield, (where she was originally built) "SS" was restored to flying condition in 1987 in its original colour scheme. When Hatfield closed as an aerodrome "SS" was grounded again as Shuttleworth's Old Warden grass airstrip was not long enough for her to operate from. The airstrip at Old Warden has now been lengthened and "Grosvenor House" should be flying again during the 2002 display season. I am very much looking forward to seeing her fly once again.
Performance
Max
Speed: 237 mph
Weight: 2,930 lb's
Powerplant: Two De Haviland Gypsey six II's
