Restored De Havilland DH88 "Comet Racer" G-ACSS "Grosvenor House" taking off at Old Warden Airfield
The de Havilland Comet was a twin-engined British aircraft designed for the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race. Three examples took part in the race and one of them won it. The type set many aviation records during the race and afterwards, as a pioneer mail plane. The modern features and clean lines of the , especially in the striking colours of Grosvenor House, the race winner, make it a true design classic. The MacRobertson International Air Race, a race between London and Melbourne to be held in October 1934 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the State of Victoria, was announced in 1933. The scarlet G-ACSS was the property of Mr and was named Grosvenor House after the hotel which he managed. The crew were C. W. A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black. When the Mollisons in another DH88 "Black Magic", ran into problems at Karachi, Scott and Campbell Black took over the lead and were first into Allahabad. Despite a severe storm over the Bay of Bengal they reached Singapore safely, eight hours ahead of a DC-2. They took off for Darwin, but over the Timor Sea lost power in the port engine when the oil pressure dropped to zero. Repairs at Darwin got them going again, although continuing oil warnings caused them to fly the last two legs with one engine throttled back. Their lead was unassailable despite this, and after the final mandatory stop and more engine work at Charleville they flew on to cross the finish line at Flemington Racecourse at (local time) on 23 October. Their official time was 71 hours 18 seconds. Grosvenor House has been restored to flying condition as it was in the MacRobertson race, and is housed at the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden in England where it returned to the air in 2014.
Size: 7500px × 5000px
Location: Old Warden Airfield, Bedfordshire, UK
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -acss, ., 34, 1934, 80th, air, aircraft, airfield, anniversary, australia, comet, dh88, engine, grosvenor, house, london, macrobertson, melbourne, propeller, race, racer, red, shuttleworth, trophy, trust, twin, warden
