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Dehavilland DH.88 Comet "Black Magic" being Restor

Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:16 pm

I understand "Black Magic" is being restored somewhere in the UK? If I remember it was owned/ being restored by someone in the flight school business?
Does anybody know anything more or have any Pics of this fascinating airplane?
I got to see Grosvenor house back in April at Old Warden, the real airplanes are actually rather small.
Mods please don't move to vintage section too quick please!

Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:53 pm

That same aircraft from some time was sold to Portugal and baptized "Salazar", the name of the current dictator at the time, and used in a atempt to break a record from Lisboa-Rio de Janeiro which, unfortunately didn't achieve (engine problems on take-off). It was later sold. So, if anyone has news on it I would also be interested in reading them :)

Wed Nov 04, 2009 3:30 pm

Here is the website for the restoration of Black Magic.

www.cometracer.co.uk

Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:25 pm

Here are some of my photos from my visit to the project this past summer

http://forum.planetalk.net/viewtopic.php?t=8186

hummm...maybe we need a historic/vintage air race class

Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:28 pm

it would be gret to see some of those blasts from the past racing...strictly for fun of course.
:D

ACSP

Fri Nov 06, 2009 5:47 pm

They had an open day a fortnight ago. We were the only people there at the time, so the team gave us an personal tour around the airframe and a detailed explanation of the work they were doing and their expectations for the future.

Since Mike's photos in the summer, they have got on well with the upper decking, and were starting to lay the first layer of strips of ply onto the framework. A second layer will be laid at right angles to the first. All required remedial work on the fuselage has now been completed

It looks as if much of the metalwork for the fuselage has also been completed and we were shown the wonderful drawings for the undercarriage. These had all had to be redrawn using the nearest available appropriate specification of tubing as the original size was no longer available. The drawings were a work if art in themselves.

Open days are advertised on the Comet racer website. it's well worth a visit.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:28 pm

Thanks for the update, Simon!
jet1 wrote:Re: hummm...maybe we need a historic/vintage air race class. it would be gret to see some of those blasts from the past racing...strictly for fun of course.
:D

As the Comets were long-distance endurance racers, I'll stick to an air display by them instead, ta. That way we'd get to see more than one pass. :lol:
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