DH.88 Comet by airfix

the de Havilland DH.88 Comet was a twin-engined British aircraft that won the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race. It set many aviation records during the race and afterwards as a pioneer mail plane. G-ACSR came 4th in the race and the pilots Cathcart Jones and Waller went on to record a return time of 13½ days to set a new record.The de Havilland DH.88 Comet was a twin-engined British aircraft that won the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race, a challenge for which it was specifically designed. It set many aviation records during the race and afterwards, as a pioneer mail plane. The clean lines of the DH.88, especially in the striking colours of Grosvenor House, make it a true design classic.Despite previous British air racing successes, culminating in 1931 in the outright win of the Schneider Trophy, there was no British aeroplane capable of putting up a challenge over the MacRobertson course with its long overland stages. The de Havilland company stepped into the breach by offering to produce a limited run of 200 mph (322 km/h) racers if three were ordered by February 1934. The sale price of £5,000 each would by no means cover the development costs. In 1935, de Havilland suggested a high-speed bomber version of the DH.88 to the RAF, but the suggestion was rejected. (Later, de Havilland developed the de Havilland Mosquito along similar lines as the DH.88 for the high-speed bomber role.)

With de Havilland managing to meet the challenging production schedule, testing of the DH.88 began six weeks before the start date of the race. On the day of the race, the three distinctively-coloured aircraft took their places among 17 other entrants ranging from a newDouglas DC-2 airliner to two converted Fairey Fox bombers.Three orders were indeed received, and de Havilland set to work. The airframe consisted of a wooden skeleton clad with spruce plywood, with a final fabric covering on the wings.