Current Comet Status

I was fortunate enough to see CSS fly a few times and would love to see her in the air again.
The runway at Old Warden was lengthened to allow CSS to operate from there after Hatfield closed but my understanding is that she is a bit of a handful during landing and maybe it would be better to operate from somewhere with a wider and perhaps longer runway where there is more of a safety margin if something goes a little wrong during approach.
The downside of this is that she wouldn’t be on display at OW between flights but I am not sure that many of the ordinary public (as opposed to diehard enthusiasts) who visit Old Warden on non flying days entirely appreciate the significance of CSS anyway.

I was fortunate enough to see CSS fly a few times and would love to see her in the air again.
The runway at Old Warden was lengthened to allow CSS to operate from there after Hatfield closed but my understanding is that she is a bit of a handful during landing and maybe it would be better to operate from somewhere with a wider and perhaps longer runway where there is more of a safety margin if something goes a little wrong during approach.
The downside of this is that she wouldn’t be on display at OW between flights but I am not sure that many of the ordinary public (as opposed to diehard enthusiasts) who visit Old Warden on non flying days entirely appreciate the significance of CSS anyway.

I was lucky enough to see the unique historical event when the Dh 88 Comet flew with the Dh 106 Comet from Boscombe Down. Unfortunatley, partly because they didn’t announce the event to the establishment beforehand and partly because I’m a ‘good’ inmate at Boscombe and don’t bring my camera to work, I don’t have photos to proove it.:( However I don’t think I could have done any better than the official photos.;)

I was lucky enough to see the unique historical event when the Dh 88 Comet flew with the Dh 106 Comet from Boscombe Down. Unfortunatley, partly because they didn’t announce the event to the establishment beforehand and partly because I’m a ‘good’ inmate at Boscombe and don’t bring my camera to work, I don’t have photos to proove it.:( However I don’t think I could have done any better than the official photos.;)

Very well put Snoop. After what acss nearly did to the collection financially they should be duty bound to fly her. Anybody know where she might operate from?

Very well put Snoop. After what acss nearly did to the collection financially they should be duty bound to fly her. Anybody know where she might operate from?

An Old Chestnut.

There are some very well rehearsed arguments on the question of whether or not to fly old aircraft. Certainly, if a machine is very original and unique, there must be a strong argument to keep it original and on the deck. On the other side of the coin, a MkIX Spit ‘dataplate special’ will give a lot of people huge amounts of pleasure and help to keep the legend alive, so it’s a no-brainer.
A/c like the Comet present a more complex case. Black Magic will be an excellent replica, as only, as far as I’m aware, the pilots seat (..and the Reg’.) is original. That is not, for any smart-alecs, in ANY way to denigrate it, but obviously, it’s whole raison-detre of that machine is 100% for flight. Likewise, whilst in no way denigrating ‘SS, it’s was in such poor repair and stripped-out when O.W. acquired it, rebuilding it to airworthy status meant a very large part of the a/c was new or replacement material or parts.
.
I know that there are some very switched-on folk in these forums who are fully aware of the ongoing effect of restoring and maintaining a/c in an airworthy status. Some enthusiast might not be aware of this however. Thus, the ‘to fly or not to fly’ issue primarily applies early on, because sure as hell, as time goes by an inevitable transmutation will occur. I’d suggest ‘SS is well past that point. It’s worth recalling, she’d been crashed, rebuilt, re-engined and re-propped before the war, had sat-out rotting under tarps for the duration, and was basically just a shell when tarted-up for the FoB after the war. (I hope the experts on ‘SS will forgive me if I’ve only quoted a couple of details from distant memory.) The restoration to flight was a herculean task with a clear purpose; Flight.
.
Is there a risk? Sure, but TSC have a wonderful record and reputation for operating such a/c with great professional rigour and safety. In the case of ‘SS, flying her makes sense. Where she operates from is really just an operational detail.
.When I saw her fly after her restoration, I was very moved, as it was a sight that I never though realistically possible. Now that Hatfield has succumbed to the bulldozers, the remaining a/c are the most visible memorials to the magic of D.H. ‘SS must’ surely take pride of place as a reminder of those heady days.

An Old Chestnut.

There are some very well rehearsed arguments on the question of whether or not to fly old aircraft. Certainly, if a machine is very original and unique, there must be a strong argument to keep it original and on the deck. On the other side of the coin, a MkIX Spit ‘dataplate special’ will give a lot of people huge amounts of pleasure and help to keep the legend alive, so it’s a no-brainer.
A/c like the Comet present a more complex case. Black Magic will be an excellent replica, as only, as far as I’m aware, the pilots seat (..and the Reg’.) is original. That is not, for any smart-alecs, in ANY way to denigrate it, but obviously, it’s whole raison-detre of that machine is 100% for flight. Likewise, whilst in no way denigrating ‘SS, it’s was in such poor repair and stripped-out when O.W. acquired it, rebuilding it to airworthy status meant a very large part of the a/c was new or replacement material or parts.
.
I know that there are some very switched-on folk in these forums who are fully aware of the ongoing effect of restoring and maintaining a/c in an airworthy status. Some enthusiast might not be aware of this however. Thus, the ‘to fly or not to fly’ issue primarily applies early on, because sure as hell, as time goes by an inevitable transmutation will occur. I’d suggest ‘SS is well past that point. It’s worth recalling, she’d been crashed, rebuilt, re-engined and re-propped before the war, had sat-out rotting under tarps for the duration, and was basically just a shell when tarted-up for the FoB after the war. (I hope the experts on ‘SS will forgive me if I’ve only quoted a couple of details from distant memory.) The restoration to flight was a herculean task with a clear purpose; Flight.
.
Is there a risk? Sure, but TSC have a wonderful record and reputation for operating such a/c with great professional rigour and safety. In the case of ‘SS, flying her makes sense. Where she operates from is really just an operational detail.
.When I saw her fly after her restoration, I was very moved, as it was a sight that I never though realistically possible. Now that Hatfield has succumbed to the bulldozers, the remaining a/c are the most visible memorials to the magic of D.H. ‘SS must’ surely take pride of place as a reminder of those heady days.

she was flown before, from Hatfield so why not OW?

Short, narrow and bumpy

she was flown before, from Hatfield so why not OW?

Short, narrow and bumpy

re;

she was flown before, from Hatfield so why not OW? Like all the airframes she will be flown only when the weather is absolutely right.

Seen her taxi but not fly. Want too though!

A great sight would be both Comets next to a “bigger comet” maybe at Bruntingthorpe?

re;

she was flown before, from Hatfield so why not OW? Like all the airframes she will be flown only when the weather is absolutely right.

Seen her taxi but not fly. Want too though!

A great sight would be both Comets next to a “bigger comet” maybe at Bruntingthorpe?

I’m sure they’ll manage to find somewhere more appropriate than OW to operate it from

I’m sure they’ll manage to find somewhere more appropriate than OW to operate it from

The Kevlar upper decking is completely reversible and I guess the choice of Gipsy Queens was made on the basis of trying to keep her airworthy with engines for which there is a supply of parts without dramatically deviating from the original units . As for originallity -I think ‘Grosvenor House’ is substancially more original than ‘Black Magic’.

As for flying her -she had two incidents in her recent flying career that I can recall – the aircraft is priceless and irreplaceable .

The Kevlar upper decking is completely reversible and I guess the choice of Gipsy Queens was made on the basis of trying to keep her airworthy with engines for which there is a supply of parts without dramatically deviating from the original units . As for originallity -I think ‘Grosvenor House’ is substancially more original than ‘Black Magic’.

As for flying her -she had two incidents in her recent flying career that I can recall – the aircraft is priceless and irreplaceable .

That will be a sight ( and sound ) to die for.

Certainly will…….. Never seen CSS fly but looks as though I might be getting the chance.

Planemike

That will be a sight ( and sound ) to die for.

Certainly will…….. Never seen CSS fly but looks as though I might be getting the chance.

Planemike

I’m all for flying it. I wonder how much original material is in SS compared to Black Magic? Anyway I am really looking forward to the day when we can see both of them at OW together. That will be a sight ( and sound ) to die for.

I’m all for flying it. I wonder how much original material is in SS compared to Black Magic? Anyway I am really looking forward to the day when we can see both of them at OW together. That will be a sight ( and sound ) to die for.