A British Barn Find DH88 Comet- Black Magic
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ย. 2023
- A British Barn Find DH88 Comet- Black Magic
Derby Black Magic Webpage:
www.cometracerproject.co.uk
Derby Black Magic Facebook Page:
/ 330548433801421
Wikipedia MacPherson Air Race London to Melbourne
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacRobe...
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FlyWire is about exploring flight and the freedom this incredible experience brings us on a personal level. Flying has always captured the imagination and excitement of living life to its fullest. Hi, I'm Scott Perdue. In a former life I flew the F-4 and F-15E, more recently I retired from a major airline. I've written for several aviation magazines over the years, was a consultant for RAND, the USAF, Navy, NASA as well as few others, wrote a military thriller- 'Pale Moon Rising' (still on Kindle). But mostly I like flying, or teaching flying. Some of the most fun I had was with Tom Gresham on a TV show called 'Wings to Adventure". We flew lots of different airplanes all over the country. Now with FlyWire I want to showcase the fun in flying, share the joy and freedom of flight and explore the world with you. Make sure you subscribe if you want to go along for the ride!
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The DH88 Comet has to be one of the best looking airplanes built.
From a company that specialized in beautiful-looking and flying aeroplanes.
I accept & respect your subjective opinion, but in my subjective opinion, there were many aircraft, pre WW2, that were well into the category of "best looking airplanes built" For me, a least, the Comet was not one of them.
@@KB10GL The eye of the beholder, I suppose.
My late,and very much missed, brother in law was working on the restauration of Black Magic and took me down to see it. I was astounded by the thinness of the front fuselage and thought that I could put a hole in it with one punch. From the same aerodrome my ex father in law worked for Flight Refueling Ltd which was one of the pioneers in it's field and they developed the drogue system. One funny incident he told me about was when the pilot of their Lancaster was told he was no longer fit to fly, he took the Lancaster out for one last time and flew it at hedge hight down a very straight road next to the airfield, frightening the life out of quite a few motorists, some ending up in ditches. He never flew again.
My Dad was an apprentice at DeHavilland's. He, and others longed to restore Grosvenor House but, was told by management (in the 60's?) that she was "too far gone". I'm glad that the Shuttleworth collection managed to completely rebuild her - she is incredibly pretty. Dad did get to restore the Hummingbird DH53 instead. And had the pleasure of seeing her fly many times. Unfortunately, that airplane was involved in a (fatal) accident and last I heard there were no plans to rebuild it. Dad was not happy about the accident - saying that they had no business flying her that day (due to bad weather/high winds) - oops! I cannot tell you how excited I am to see Black Magic fly (will probably cry). Thanks for the awesome video!
The 'Grosvenor House' DH88 is still flying with the Shuttleworth Collection, she flies from a grass field but only when the conditions are perfect... she's gorgeous to watch
It's my belief & understanding that the current Grosvenor House is a replica, the original having been lost, or scrapped many years before.
@KB19GL - check out the Shuttleworth Collection website and you can even read about the plot to assassinate Hitler which their DH88 may have taken part in.... enjoy the read
@@KB10GL Not true. That's the original aircraft at Shuttleworth. There is a flying replica in the USA.
My Mother worked shifts at the De Havilland Canada Downsview plant near Toronto during WW2. They turned out about 1300 Mosquitoes which we shipped over the North Atlantic to the UK.
Amazing I live just down the road and wasn't aware of this, I made a model of the DH88 as a kid and have loved its beautiful lines ever since. De Havilland were a very innovative company and they served our Nation well during the war.
I wish them well with their project and would love to see it in the air.
Interesting... BTW the Grosvenor House in London was the Non-Commissioned Officers "club" and hotel for military personnel in the 1960s along with the nearby Columbia Club Hotel for officers. One of them - I think the Columbia Club -- had a teen club in the basement for us brats, as well as embassey kids and ex-pats kids who went to London Central High School at Bushy Park. Both are still fine hotels off Hyde Park.
It is a pleasure to listen to an American Gentleman speak of English matters, in such affectionate tones..
ALL Aviation is WONDERFUL...👍
Thanks for posting a really interesting video here. I think people living in other countries really just don't realise just what you can find hidden away in British Barns. The area around "Brooklands" in Surrey is probably one of the most densely populated areas of "Barn Finds" anywhere in the world. Both racing cars and aircraft manufacture was undertaken in this area for many decades and until the 1990s, their requirements and skillsets were interchangable. There are still many rare and exciting "Barn Finds" out there and they just keep coming to the surface.
What a find. An incredible story thank you for sharing
Beautiful aeroplane,so advanced. I made an Airfix model of 'Black Magic' back in the '70s. Amy Johnson lies somewhere out there about twenty miles east of me.What a lady.
A fantastic accomplishment for the day & with other advancements with the DH91 Albatross they ended up with the War winner Mosquito.
BTW second in the race was a Dutch DC2 with a paying passenger - check out how a WW1 Signal man saved them at Albury Australia when they were lost at night in bad weather (Hills in the area) by flashing the whole Towns electric lights in Morse Code & they landed at the Race course (Had to pull the fence down to get airbourne the next day).
I'm a great fan of dH aeroplanes, and flew a lovely Chipmunk (see my avatar) for about 35 years as a part owner (I much preferred it to the Yak52 I also had a share in for a few years). I have flown the Chippie into Derby airfield more than once, and before that, many times, into Derby Burnaston which was the main airfield for Derby before East Midlands Airport opened. Burnaston is nor a Toyota car factory which forced the move of light aircraft operations to the present Derby airfield.
A few years ago one of the Old Warden pilots wrote an article in 'Pilot' magazine about flying the Comet G-ACSS. It is a bit of a handful in the air apparently, as it is an uncompromised long distance high speed racer, which makes landing and take off very demanding. Well worth a read if you can find a copy (I used to write for 'Pilot' myself occasionally).
I’d love to read the article!!
@@FlyWirescottperdue It was in the February 2016 issue of 'Pilot' magazine.
The Chipmunk was designed and produced after WWII by De Havilland Canada, hence its DHC-1 designation (these days it would be pronounced "Dash One"). It has little connection with the parent company in England. After several changes of ownership, De Havilland Canada is now based in Alberta, a province with a rich aviation history and several aviation museums.
@@awuma It's 'de Havilland'. Lower case 'd'. Named after the de Havilland family in England, same family as the actress Olivia de Havilland came from. Quite a strong connection between 'dH' and dHC', then.
An amazing story. Thank you, Scott. I remember building a plastic construction kit of 'Grosvenor House' when I was a boy in the late 1950s. We knew it was the fore-runner of the 'Mozzy' because my father had been a Mosquito Pathfinder pilot in WW2. He loved that 'plane.
My mind is blow. The fact that wood can construct such a great air craft. I did some research on the mechersmitt 162 and it was wood back in the 1930’s. It’s incredible how much engineering came from wood and roofing tar or polyurethane and other additives. Thank you for the knowledge. I have now learned history on the other side of the past issue. This air craft is way safer than others and it has a great set of engines. I’m sure they made them coast effective for combat. For mechanical to electrical fixes.
Thanks for the plug for the Black Magic rebuild - they are building a replica alongside it - such an important plane historically. It is on my list of planes to paint - having found monochrome photos of all three at Mildenhall UK before the race.
Greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪,,, thank you for a lovely and informative video, you've a new subscriber
Scott,
Great video. Love the featured aircraft and the history behind it." Wooden Airplanes". The Mosquito is my personal favorite British warbird. Praise the carpenters involved. This made my day. Thank you
Outstanding
Todd
Made mine too!
Great account Scott and thanks! Darby house's effort to restore a landmark monument to history and aviation is truly deserving of our support.
Derby. He even spelled it for you.
Very interesting indeed! BTW my father saw Grosvenor House land in Melbourne and would often tell the tale.
When we were in the Southern part of the South Iland of NZ some years ago we came across an establishment at Manderville that did Dehavilland restorations, they were building a Comet from the plans, looked great.
Would love to come across on my next visit back to NZ
Hi Scott, I really enjoyed your vid about ‘Black Magic’. Just five months ago, I stood in that same building completely in awe of the project underway. I was waiting for the weather to improve, following my aircraft’s annual inspection at Derby’s Airspeed Aviation, and the Jones family, who own the airfield, kindly arranged for me a viewing. I also enjoyed, however, your attempts to get your tongue around the Mother Country’s language! As George Bernard Shaw once said "England and America are two countries separated by the same language." 😊
The DH88 is at Egginton airfield near Derby. I have been there twice - once to look around (there are more aircraft to see, apart from Black Magic) and once to fly in a Cessna (the pilot let me handle the controls for a while). Egginton is well worth a visit.
Looks like a dream bird from yesterday. 😎👍
Derby is also home to a little engine manufacturer - Rolls Royce. Some of you may have heard of it.
I didn’t see them on the field. Where are they?
@@FlyWirescottperdue The Rolls Royce factory is in the center of Derby - or is the center of Derby depending on which way you look at it.
The now filled-in Grand Surrey Canal had a firm called Fentlemans and they made parts for the various WW2 aircraft. If you look on a map of London the bottom part of Coburg Road SE15 had a ramp leading to the factory and the other side of the canal part of the factory was across the oil drum floating bridge. The Germans learned of the factory and tried to bomb the place several times, We were bombed out and lived a short distance from the factory.
Great to see.
Thanks for broadcasting what you find in your travels.
Fabtastic stuff. So glad you could publicise this project,
The DH88 is a BEAUTIFUL AIRPLANE...👍
My favourite old time plane 🎉 great video, thanks for sharing
Just for information, if you’re ever on the A50 come off at the Toyota factory junction and your about 5minutes from Egginton airfield, I live very close and have had a look in that shed, it’s incredible what they’re doing!
Fantastic video. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story.😊
Absolutely fantastic!
Thanks, really interesting video, and DH really put together top end technology for this, and elegant design in both form and function!
DeHaviland came out with a wide assortment of trailblazing designs from pre-WWI to current production.
I didn’t know that! Very interesting. Watching this, I noticed for the first time, a remarkable resemblance between the DH88 and the ME262.
A great and interesting article, fascinating in fact. The Hornet followed the mossie, another unique and very fast wooden aeroplane.
The Hornet was praised by Eric "Winkle" Brown as the best aircraft of the 487 types he had flown.
Great report Scott.
I live in Derby, and id never heard of this! Fantastic find, ill see if i can go over and take a look.
I used to live where the taxiway entrance at the then Parap (Darwin) airport was next to the runway, where the airplanes landed. The airport has since moved. I currently live near Amy Johnson Avenue. Named after the aviatrix mentioned. My great uncle was present at the airport at the time in Darwin.
The adhesive they used was furniture glue. I believe it was called resorcinol. This was before epoxies and modern adhesives were available but was sufficient to do the job of joining wood structures. 🤠
Still use that stuff with wood.
Still use it in the form of Aerodux. It's more than sufficient lol, as with any glue used in an aviation application it is stronger than the material it bonds. Alongside Aerolite 306(easier to use, less weather-resistant), which is a urea glue, it is the primary certified wood glue for homebuilders (in the UK at least).
Wood rot is a bigger limiting factor with wooden aircraft structures. Operation in the tropics is lethal because of rapid fungal growth.
That’s just way too cool 😎
What a great piece of history.
Derby - somewhere in England. Oh, and, incidentally, headquarters of Rolls-Royce aero-engines.
Jets are for kids.
Fantastic thanks!
Thanks, a lot of good content on the internet including film of the race.
Thanks great to see. 😊
It should be noted that just over 1000 Mossies were built in Canada at the Downsview plant in Toronto.
Gorgeous airplane probably why they survived
I had one as a model, and I remember the fine film about the Race!
This aircraft gave DE Hsviland the experience with wood construction they'd need for the DH Mosquito during the WW II
Thank you for an interesting and informative video.
If I remember correctly Microsoft FS had one of these aircraft in one of the incarnations. Beautiful airplane! Great video
Hello, Black Magic was registered in Portugal as CS-AAJ and named Salazar after the, by then, Portuguese PM, as seen in the picture. I think it was to be used for a record flight to Rio de Janeiro.
The DH 88 G-ACSS Grosvenor House is displayed by the Shuttleworth Collection in England. I visited this facility in 1987 among the Aircraft Accident Investigation short Course attendants.
Shuttleworth collection is well worth a visit.
great Vids Scott. Interesting history with Britain/Austrailian aviation, see Southern Cross and Amy Johnson "most famous woman aviator NOT to crash" think you'll find a number of Mosquitoes, Moths were also built in Canada...(Weston, Ontario)...Lancasters (Malton)...Hurricanes (Thunder Bay- with a female engineer in charge of production!)..Albermarles??? ETC... Not sure.
What a job title Long-Distance-Race-Pilot, Great upload, lucky you, must be great to do for a living something like that, I raced Motocross bikes from age 9-16, managed to get inside the top 35 riders of my age in GB. Subbed.
Any American aviation aficionado's visiting England must include the Shuttleworth collection in their itinerary . its not a museum . Many years ago was very lucky on a warm summers day to see all of their aircraft take to the Sky.
You should watch the video I did about my visit to Old Warden.
G'day Scott,
Yay Team !
I made an Airfix 1:72 scale Comet in red plastic, which looked great - in about 1970 ; at around the same time I first read the story of the London to Melbourne Air Race, and the complicated eccentric machines and personalities of the people flying them.
As I recall it, only Grosvenor House & Black Magic had the
Pneumatic Two-position Automatic-Variable Pitched Propellers.
They always struck me as a vile concept in a Multi-engined machine.
Spring Tension pulled the Blades into Coarse Pitch, and Compressed Air pushed them into Fine Pitch for Takeoff ; so the Reservoir was pumped up into Fine Pitch, and the Reservoir had a
Slow
Leak...!
As long as one became
Safely airborne and had the
Wheels up, before the
Springs overpowered the dwindling
Air pressure.
Each Propeller had it's own Reservoir.
There were no Propeller Controls.
Landings had to be made with both Prop's in
Coarse Pitch..., so
Good luck trying to climb out after a missed approach ; &
Assymetric Engine Failure, full of fuel - with the good engine moving inexorably into
Coarse Pitch must have been a constant hovering anxiety...(?) !
The Frise Ailerons were their attempt to cling onto the
Eliptical tapered pointy-tipped
Wingplan..., which was
Geoffery DeHavilland's favourite way to defeat
Wingtip Vortex-Drag...; without
Paying the penalty of a suDDEN
VICIOUS
Tip-Stall which was
So very bad that
The DH-87a Hornet Moths were all (bar one) recalled to have their pretty little pointed, efficient, deadly Wings removed - and a free set of
Slightly sweptback rectangular
Parallelogram-plan
DH-87b
Wings..., on which both Wings
Stall - starting at the Root and progressing outwards (rather than stalling the Ailerons
First...).
Washout..., turned out to be the
Definitive
Cure.
As built into the
Spitfire's
Eliptical
Wingplan,
Later on...
When I was preparing to
Test fly my
VJ-24w,
I rigged both Ailerons to trail in
Neutral, at Stick-central, with their
Trailing Edges
Floating about 1 centimetre /1/2 an inch higher than the T.E. on the rest of the Wing.
The Plans did not suggest
Any such thing...
But when betting my
Life ;
I prefer to
Hedge my
Bets...(!).
Effectively imparting a
Smidgeon of Reflex, or
"Negative Flaps",
Right out there, at the
Wingtips...
After my second attempt to land in the 200 yard Paddock, while climbing out, I began to turn - and I felt the Wing
Begin to mush...
Prompting Stick-Push to
Drop the Nose and recover Airspeed
Before trying to climb
Sufficiently high as to be able to turn and climb
Safely.
I reckon that maybe the inner half of both Wings had begun stalling, the
Stall was moving outboard on both sides - but the
Ailerons rigged to both
Float high, and
De-Cambering the
Wingtips..., enough that they
Continued to fly
When it mattered
While I was figuring it out.
It's the little
Details which matter.
Which is probably why
I so enjoy pondering
Obscure but fascinating
Minutiae...;
Every now and again,
It's acting on a
Hunch arising from the
Trivia File...,
Jumps out and saves the
Moment from
Going wrong... (!).
Such is life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Good story Warbbles. Interesting observation on the performance of the wing.
@@FlyWirescottperdue
No worries mate,
Half the fun is in
Knowing the
Backstory (!).
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
There's a model of the DH88 Grosvenor House on a pole at the Comet Hotel bulding opposite the site of the the factory in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England.
After these DH88 had finished their racing career they were used by the French mail carrying service, then in the war were interned by the German forces and pushed into a barn, they were never re commissioned after the war, so what happened to them is unknown. Chris B.
The ME262 pilots loved to chase the De Havilland Mosquito!
Before their engines cooked...
interessting video. thank you.
Grosvenor: the S is silent.
Derby airfield is about half an hour from me, have been lucky enough to see inside that "shed" a few times. Also lucky to have flown in a Tiger Moth from there as well .😊
I used to be a member of EAA Chapter One at Flabob Airport in southern California. I had the pleasure of hanging out there and observing the construction of Bill Turner's replica of the (red) Comet racer. Reportedly, landing the Comet was "interesting," with virtually no forward/downward visibility.
At Flabob Airport in Riverside, California working for Bill Turner at his Repeat Aircraft hangar, I was the first person hired and senior builder for the DH 88 replica along with Roger Baumert and Mike McCue. I was sent to Hatfield in the UK and photographed every inch of the original Grosvenor (silent “s”) House during an annual inspection. I also went to Alberta, Canada and visited George May’s Comet replica with the two piece wing at his shop as he could not accommodate the full 44 foot span of the wing. My photos of construction and the first flight were featured EAA’s monthly magazine “Sport Aviation.” Bill Turner did the early flights as well as Dave Morse and Robin Reid. Retired U2/SR71 pilot General Pat Halloran installed a small video cam in the Comet nose to mitigate the lack of visibility whilst landing. Rafe Tomsett, Sonoma Skypark, CA
Interesting story, thanks. By chance I will be travelling from near Mildenhall to Calcutta/Kolkata next year.
Nice
G,day Scott from Sydney Australia.
At first appearance the Comet looks like Spitfires. Interesting concept the wood laminations (the brown glue, formaldehyde) for the wings: I bet a lot more weight than aluminium or fabric?
Great history story from Flywire.
🌏🇭🇲
I don't think, judging from the performance of the Comet, and later, Mosquito , that they could have been heavier than other contemporary construction methods.
Nah there is very little difference in weight between the major methods of aircraft construction, its more about material availability, manufacturing capability and ease of mass production or cost concerns. I can think of some aircraft that have had both wooden and metal versions of their wings, depending on mark.
Ply skin vs fabric is a good example, a stressed ply skin glued to the wing structure can itself carry load, either increasing the load capacity of the structure, or enabling a reduction in weight for the same strength with a fabric skin.
Most homebuilt light aircraft until fairly recently were majority wood construction, with either beam or box spars made from wood and ply.
Aluminium is almost 6 times denser than spruce, but can be formed and stressed in a very different way, hence why monocoque wings can get to the same weight as wood and handle the same loads (and greater if we're talking industrially produced with forgings and complex structures). However far more difficult to produce, and requiring significantly greater tooling setup than wood.
It's also worth noting that a fabric-ed wing with all the tapes, rib stitching, adhesive glue, patches, tapes, inspection panels and associated structure with many coats of dope is relatively heavy. Funnily enough we ply-skinned a stearman wing a while back with 3mm ply for a wing-walking stunt, still had to have Ceconite covering too. Heaviest wings that ever went on a Stearman lol.
A truly lovely airplane so advanced in its time all in wood with similar characteristics as the Mosquito. 👍👍👍👍
Superb video. Some interesting info. for you, not far from the airfield is the home of Rolls Royce aero engines in Derby. Also the Mosquito could carry the same bomb load as a B17 they would fly out ahead of the main RAF bomber force to Berlin fly back over the main force then re fuel pick up a new crew of 2 and take off again and bomb after the main force ( the idea was to keep the HUN out of his bed for longer periods). 414mph in level flight! There was a sign in the cockpit not to exceed 600 in a dive ( this may have just been British sense of humour)
Barn finds - always some of the best. You're welcome.
Happy Veteran's Day 🙂
What is the title of Ed Bolter's book? I'd like to get a copy of it!
The Mosquito was an amazing aircraft, but I'd never heard of the DH88 until this video - what a gorgeous airplane!
when the comet had a tailskid, i assume i skip my tailwheel and do it alike! 👍and nice find! 😍
that.s basically similar to boatbuilding...elaxticity and "light" ...
The flying example they have at the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire, is magnificent. It's original too, not a replica. Shuttleworth also have the oldest British aeroplane in the World which still flies, a 1912 Blackburn Monoplane Again it is genuine, and not a replica.
Sounds like inspiration for the Mossie
Oooooohhhh!
Great vid but would have really loved to have seen the aeroplane itself!
You did, the pictures were of the actual airplane in the narrow room it is being rebuilt in. It is a long way from flying.
Mosquitos also carried the same bomb load weight as the b17
Frankly, although the DH88is remarkable the fact is the future was with the Number 2 in the race, a KLM DC2.
FWIW got a notice on this one.
You wood not want a full on nose crash in that.
Interesting you mention Carbon Fibre composites. If you get close enough to Grosvenor House, the dH-88 based at Shuttleworth, you'll notice most of it's cowlings are composite, either CF or Carbon/Kevlar.
I believe they still have the aluminium originals in storage.
A replica of -ACSR is also being constructed, I believe to the original plans, and is near complete. Might be able to see a 3-ship of -88s within the decade!
Now, that would be something to see! I'll take a close look next time I'm at Old Warden!
@@FlyWirescottperdue Oh brilliant! I didn't know you were a regular, I work the other side of the strip for a private outfit, if there's a way to let us know when you're over please do, there are some fun things you could see ;)
@@eddcla7766
That would be fun! Go to my website and send me an email, that way I can get in touch with you next time!
With a maximum speed of 232 m.p.h. the 1934 DH 88 Comet was faster than most front line R.A.F. fighters of its day.
With no armament or armour most planes were.......
Derby is the home of Rolls Royce aero-engines.
A good friend of mine built the first Mosquito to fly in New Zealand
my father is involved with the restoration. I live 1 mile from it. slow process...
What make and model is that blue bi-plane behind you please?
PT-17 Stearman, built in 1942.
Australian sponsor was MacRobertsons
😎
Looks somewhat like an Me 262
In the photo it appears with a Portuguese registration number, if it ever was registered in Spain what was its registration number?
G-Cass was registered in Spain
What was the registration number? From what I have read it was bought directly by the Portuguese government as part of a project to carry mail between the continent and the islands (Azores and Madeira). For some reason, probably budgetary, this did not take off... @@FlyWirescottperdue
Fascinating. How come they are restoring a DH88 Comet to flight, but none of the existing Mosquitos in the UK which could be restored to flight are not allowed to by the CAA! Does it mean that the DH88 has no signs of delamination at all after all these years?
Pretty much ALL new wood.
Hello Mosquito 🦟
Scott, I searched all your thumbnails first, and I realize there isn't much that you aren't familiar with on Bonanzas. However, had you ever had any interaction with the American Bonanza Society, or is that someone you want to interact with?
I wondered if, for content, you would take a course that interests you, and comment on what you thought.
If not, maybe we could see you generalize your viewpoints on active Bonanza resources, and the ones that personally found helpful.
If you already covered this, could you be so kind as to point me in the right direction? I really like your content.
Thanks David, probably a good idea. I have not done a video like you suggest. I am a Life Time member of ABS and a BPPP instructor as well. I highly recommend them!
but where's the comet you found??
I said where it is… Derby, England.
No I mean I was hoping to actually see it. Wouldn’t they allow you to film/photo it?
Derby is the the home of Rolls Royce.
what is the glue
Recorscinal (sp?) I think.
Hardly a barn find. I remember her in the de Havilland engine factory at Leavesden. perfectly visible and there at open days for all to see.
Lighten up Francis.
7:09
Click it fast