HarvardIV wrote:
If I remember right the DH-88 is a replica.
The replica is in the US.
http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/comet.html
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 October 30 1965 the aircraft was handed over to the Shuttleworth Collection. In the early 70's a decision was taken to restore the aircraft to the air. 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. The aircraft was based at Hatfield as Shuttleworth's own airfield at Old Warden was too small. In 1993 when Hatfield closed the aircraft was returned to Old Warden where it is still taxied.
G-ACSP (c/n 1994) "Black Magic", Built for Jim and Amy Mollison. First flown September 8 1934, the CoA was issued on October 9, 1934. After the 1934 England-Australia air race (in which it set an England-Baghdad record), the black and gold aircraft was sold to the Portuguese Government in March 1935. Registered as CS-AAJ and named "Salazar" the aircraft was acquired for a planned Lisbon-Rio de Janeiro mail route. It has been suggested the Mollisons were unsuccessful in trying to repurchase the aircraft in 1936. After an overhaul at Hatfield in 1937 (the return flight to Lisbon taking 5 hours 17 minutes), the later history of the aircraft has not been publically recorded, and the aircraft was thought lost. In 1980 the remains were recovered by Jim Pierce from a farm in Portugal. Unfortunately some of those were destroyed in a fire. Subsequently sold several times, the remaining elements were sold to Ken Fern in 1987. A rebuild based on those elements is now underway at Derby in the UK.
G-ACSR (c/n 1995) Built for Bernard Rubins. First flown October 12, 1934, the CoA was issued the same day. After the 1934 England-Australia air race the aircraft was named "Reine Astrid". It made a mail run to Leopoldville on December 20th, returning in 8 days. Sold to the French government and reregistered as F-ANPY, the aircraft a Croyden-Le Bourget record of 52 minutes on delivery on July 5, 1935. The aircraft was then used for mail proving flights. After the occupation of France by the German Army, the aircraft was destroyed in a hangar fire at Istres in 1940.
F-ANPZ (c/n 2260) The CoA was issued on June 26, 1935. Built for the French government, the nose compartment was redesigned for carry mail (the most noticeable difference being the absense of a landing light). After the occupation of France by the German Army, the aircraft was destroyed (along with F-ANPY) in a hangar fire at Istres in 1940.
G-ADEF (c/n 2261) The aircraft built for Cyril Nicholson, and named "Boomerang". First flown June 3, 1935, the CoA was issued on August 6, 1935. The aircraft was intended to contest a variety of distance records. A Hatfield-Cairo record was set on August 8, 1935 during an attempt on the Cape record which was abandoned due to oil problems. In a second attempt the aircraft crashed in the Sudan on September 29, 1935 when the crew took to their parachutes after propeller problems.
Several replicas have been produced for film productions. A flying replica was built in 1991-92 by Bill Turner of Repeat Aircraft in Riverside, California. The new aircraft has incorporated some safety changes, plus hydraulic undercarriage retraction, improved brakes, and modern instrumentation. The aircraft is based at the "Wings of History" Museum in California.
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