De Havilland DH.88 Comet

what is it?

The de Havilland DH.88 Comet is a British two-seat, twin-engined aircraft built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was developed specifically to participate in the 1934 England-Australia MacRobertson Air Race from the United Kingdom to Australia. Development of the Comet was seen as both a prestige project and an entry into the use of modern techniques.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 13.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 381 km/htop speed
• range 4,707 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 2passengers
• size 2,517 kgmax take-off weight
• built 5made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 92 years ago, in 1934.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 13.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 4,707 km: 26× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1934

introduced

1934

retired

1937

status

retired

number built

5

role

racing aircraft

makers

de Havilland Aircraft Company

engines

2× de Havilland Gipsy Six R / Gipsy Six R

passengers

2

length

8.8 m

wingspan

13.4 m

height

3.1 m

max take-off weight

2,517 kg

top speed

381 km/h

cruise speed

354 km/h

range

4,707 km

ceiling

5,791 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.