"Victory Bound"
by Domenic DeNardo
The de Havilland DH.88 Comet, Grosvenor House, arrives at Melbourne to win the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race -- an England to Australia race for glory and £10,000 pounds ($50,000 U.S.).
In November, 1919, four men under the command of Captain Ross Smith had flown a two-engine Vickers-Vimy 11,000 miles from England to Australia. They did it in twenty-seven days and twenty hours and claimed the £10,000 pound prize offered by the Australian Commonwealth. Almost exactly fifteen years later another £10,000 pounds was offered for a flight from England to Australia, except that this time the finish was at Melbourne which required an additional flight across the continent.
The MacRobertson Air Race, sponsored by Melbourne
confectionary millionaire, Sir Macpherson Robertson, was to be flown from
London to Melbourne, and was to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the
founding of Victoria, Australia. Twenty aircraft participated in the
race, which began on 20 October, 1934. The grueling, 11,300 mile
course tested the pilot's skill with challenges of difficult navigation,
inclement weather, fatigue, and nocturnal flight over mountainous and barren land.
The prize of £10,000 English pounds ($50,000 u.s. and a $2,500 gold cup;
second price, $7,500 u.s.; third, $2,500 u.s.).
Two of the Comets (and what looks like the Granville QED) lined up at
Mildenhall prior to start of the race
The eventual winners were C. W. A. Scott and T.
Campbell Black flying the Grosvenor House; second place went to the
crew of a standard service Douglas DC-2 of the Royal Dutch Airlines
KLM, which flew with six passengers and 400 pounds of mail; third went to a
Boeing 247D piloted by the flamboyant American aviator Roscoe Turner; and
fourth was claimed by another DH. 88 Comet flown by O. Cathcart
Jones, K.F. Waller which arrived in Melbourne 4 days 22 hours after leaving
Mildenhall. The winning flight had taken only 70 hours and 54 minutes,
conclusively smashing the record set fifteen years earlier.
The Trophy
For an informative narrative of the race visit: http://www.dc3airways.com/1934-1.html
The de Havilland Comet was specially designed to compete in the race. The design was the work of A.E. Hagg. It was constructed entirely of wood and powered by two Gipsy 6R racing engines, producing 230hp each providing a maximum level speed of 237mph. Three were designed, built, and tested in eight months, with the first flying on 8 September, 1934. Power for the Comet was provided by two special 230 hp Gypsy Six R engines which gave a maximum level speed of 237 mph. Total fuel capacity was 213 Imperial gallons, with an economy cruise of 223 mph at 10,000 feet, they had a potential range of 2,850 miles. The Comet was the first British airplane with retractable gear, flaps and controllable propellers.
The aircraft named Grosvenor House was ordered by A.O. Edwards, director of Grosvenor House Hotel in London, who ordered the aircraft painted red with the name of his hotel on the fuselage. The other two Comets were painted green (G-ACSR) and black (G-ACSP named Black Magic).
Following this air race the “Comets” established many other distance records as well.
Still Around...
Grosvenor House on display in Shuttleworth Collection
After returning to England G-ACSS was stored at Essex
Aero Ltd (although one engine went into another racing aircraft). The
aircraft was externally restored as "Grosvenor House" in 1951 by de
Havilland Technical School students for display at the Festival of Britain.
Later, the aircraft was put on display in the de Havilland Engine Co. Ltd
showrooms at Leavesdon. On 30 October, 1965, the aircraft was handed
over to the Shuttleworth Collection. In the early 1970s a decision was
taken to restore the aircraft to air worthiness. Work began in 1976
and the aircraft was found to be in a sorry state internally.
Considerable work was required and assistance was received through the R.A.E.
and BAe. Externally the only change is the replacement of the tailskid
with a wheel. First post-restoration flight was on Sunday May 17 1987.
Today, the aircraft is on display at the Shuttleworth Collection at Old
Warden Park in Britain.
"Comet over Oshkosh"
by Domenic DeNardo
This second painting depicts a full-scale replica of the Grosvenor House Comet, flying over Oshkosh for the 1993 EAA Fly-in.
This replica was built during the period 1991-1993 by
Bill Turner of Repeat Aircraft, Riverside, California, for the sponsor and
owner, Tom Wathen. The original drawings were used for the
construction and it closely matches the original except for a three degree
wing washout, a hydraulic landing gear retraction system, modern
instruments, and modern brakes. The aircraft is powered by two Gipsy
Queen engines. Today, the replica can be seen at the
Wings of History Air
Museum located in San Martin, California.
-- Two views of the replica at Oshkosh in 1993 --
Two web site which offer a wealth of information on the:
http://www.pjcomputing.flyer.co.uk/comet/index.html
http://www.xs4all.nl/~tozu/dh88/
