Only once did the two Comets, DH88 and DH106, fly together — and it was 30 years ago this year
WORDS: BEN DUNNELL
As unrepeatable aviation events go, it takes some beating. The first — and last — aerial meeting of de Havilland’s two Comets, aircraft separated by just 15 years in terms of their maiden flights, but a metaphorical lifetime when it came to technology and performance. Yet parallels can be drawn between DH88 and DH106. The mid-1930s air racer and the late-1940s jet airliner both embodied de Havilland’s pioneering spirit, its position at the forefront of contemporary aeronautical development.
