FLYING IN THE COMET
WE COUNT ourselves fortunate that four members of the staff of THE AEROPLANE have so far flown as passengers in the Comet, totalling fifteen hours between them. First was the editor’s trip two years ago in the record-breaking out-and-back return trip from London to Rome in “LVG”. It was not furnished at all and the cabin pressurizing system was at that stage limited to a differential of only 5½ lb. per sq. in., so that at one time the cabin altimeter showed 13,000 ft. But the trip was great fun, the flight smooth and the tremendous snore of the jets, though powerful, was not in the least disturbing; the outstanding impression was the lack of vibration. The editor wrote that he was convinced that once passengers have been introduced to the delights of turbine-powered air travel, they would patronize the air lines which provided it.
F.T.M. made the next trip in less comfortable circumstances. He took advantage of an early opportunity to be aboard during a normal development flight, and thus took part in a series of high altitude, low speed, and stability tests. In spite of the fact that a short interval of the flight was devoted to posing the Comet for photographs at 5,000 ft., and that for…
