Test Flights

The finished prototype rolled out for its test flight program in 1949. The Comet looked futuristic compared with the pro­peller planes being used at the time. It was a sleek metal airplane with slightly swept-back wings. Its four turbojet engines fitted neatly into the root of the wing (where the wing joins the fuse­lage), giving the airplane an elegant look. If the Comet flew as fast as

planned, it would surely be a success. Piloted by wartime fighter ace John Cunningham, hired as a De Havilland test pilot, the Comet made its first flight in July 1949. The new jetliner made headlines the world over. Sleek and fast, the Comet seemed to embody the jet age.

After its first flight in 1949, the Comet continued test flights, including long-distance trips from the United Kingdom to Italy, Egypt, South Africa, and Singapore. All went well. On May 2, 1952, the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) began the world’s first jet passenger service, from London to Johannesburg in South Africa. The

Comet 1 was not a very big airplane: it carried about forty passengers and a crew of four (pilot, copilot, engineer, and navigator). Its attraction was its speed: 150 miles per hour (241 kilometers per hour) faster than the propeller-driven planes then flying the world’s air routes. It also was quieter than the propeller planes it was intended to replace, and it took less time to service between flights. The future appeared bright.