de Havilland Comet 4C

[hobofat]

Awesome work! I have no knowledge of arabic, so can't comment on the accuracy, but it sure looks good! Appreciate the blog updates, they are an enjoyable read.

[guym-p]

Oh, that's nice to know about the blogs, thank you. I'll put more into them if they are appreciated.

Skills! Yes! The trouble about being on the steep part of the learning curve is that one can look back on old work and find it unacceptably awful in the light of new skills acquired. In the last week, I was asked if this was really only my first X-Plane project. My immediate answer was, "Yes, of course," but as I thought about it I realised that I have started again, completely from scratch, a total of three times, it's just that I haven't published anything yet. Does that make this my first project or my third?

The other question I'm asked is how many hours I've put into it. I became so frightened by this that I stopped counting years ago. But it is fair to say that most of the time is spent researching, learning and practising. Probably 2/3 of the time has therefore been "training" rather than actual construction time of the finished-quality Comet.

What will be interesting is how long my second project takes from scratch. Then again, what new skills do I want to learn for that? Plug-in programming, for example ...

[Dozer]

You've broken such a lot of new ground with the Comet, plugin work will be relatively straightforward I'm sure. At least, it's a much more well-worn path!

[Goran_M]

plugin work will be relatively straightforward I'm sure. At least, it's a much more well-worn path!

C++...

Gizmo...

[guym-p]

Comet 4C, LV-AIB, at Paris Orly Airport (LFPO). Aerolineas Argentinas ordered a total of seven Comets from de Havilland, operating between South America, North America and Europe between 1959-71. Paris Orly was one of their destinations.

Although I have not updated the Comet for X-Plane 10 yet (but I will) it is hard to resist firing it up from time to time, downloading the latest beta, and taking a few screen shots. I am delighted by the new airport scenery, and by the airport floodlights lighting the aircraft with HDR on.

Progress with this livery was slower than expected because I had not reckoned on the airline lettering wrapping so far around the nacelle tanks. Stupidly, I did not look ahead, and had made the break in the UV map too low so that the lettering would have been split horizontally. This was annoying, because it meant baking the metal textures, shadows and lit textures for the tank and winglet again, and re-drawing the graphics for the already completed liveries. Hey, ho; but it gets better every time ...

Next job: Kuwait Airlines.

There is more news here, as usual:

http://dh-aircraft.c...46b5b5a-91.html

[Cameron]

Nice work, Guy!

[Dozer]

Goran, are you comparing wire to fishing line?

[Cameron]

Goran, are you comparing wire to fishing line?

More like a tangled mess to simplicity.

[guym-p]

I finished the Kuwait Airways livery yesterday evening. They ordered two Comet 4Cs in 1962, leased two Comet 4s from BOAC in 1965, and bought another Comet 4 from BOAC in 1966. They flew scheduled daily services in the Middle East and Far East (India and Pakistan) and services to London, Paris and Frankfurt several times a week. Comets remained in service until 1968, when they were replaced with DH/HS-121 Tridents.

The screenshots were made using X-Plane 9.70.

[Ntr09]

I've been in a fix for a good airliner lately. This will be perfect considering I like old stuff. Great job Guy, this is looking outstanding!

-NR

[guym-p]

Thanks! As "old stuff", it is quite demanding. No FMS, no GPS. There's not a lot of latitude in the flight model either, so you've got to get the speeds right for the weight and hit your marks to make a perfect landing.

[Ntr09]

Yeah I love that kind of flying. No "fly-by-wire" to help you out and radios for navigation. Modern airliners are too easy/boring.

-NR

[guym-p]

The Comet was held up while I was away on assignment in March/April. I'm back, and I've just finished liveries for Misrair and United Arab Airlines.

I had been confused about whether "Misrair" or "United Arab Airlines" was more correct or original. Flicking through books on the Comet, or images on the web, UAA is definitely in the majority. After reading up on the history of the airline, Misrair ("Misr" meaning "Egypt") has more continuity with the founding of the airline (originally a private venture) in 1932, and Egypt Air, as it has been from 1971 to the present day.

So I decided to do both: SU-ALC (Misrair) to represent the first Comet delivered to the organisation in 1960, and SU-ALE (UAA), which was the third aircraft delivered, and the first as United Arab Airlines.

A potted history from my research is written up here:

http://dh-aircraft.c...da752fe-94.html

Some higher resolution screen shots:

Edited April 21, 2012 by guym-p

[Pirx]

What a nice, nice airplane! The last images are wonderfull. I love that liverie.

Hoping a soon release.

[steven winslow]

You started this thread 11 months ago. She really is looking good. Do you have any idea when you're going to release her?

[guym-p]

I started the project 5 years ago! The Comet has to be fitted in-between photographic assignments. Sometimes I have to drop everything and leave the Comet for a month or two, and that adds uncertainty to deadlines, not to mention my own confusion when I try to get back into it again. This is the disadvantage of being a one-man band.

The good news is that the Comet itself is finished to X-Plane 9 standard. My immediate job list is to add one last airline livery and starboard-side forward loo in the passenger cabin. Then I will start work on the manual, which will be vital or people will not even be able to start the engines, let alone fly anywhere.

It flies well in 10 and "feels" the same. It's a entirely subjective view, though, and I will need to check all the performance figures to make sure. I have made a list of things that are actually broken in 10, for example the engineer's panel displays only port-side hydraulic pumps and electrical generators active. In this case, the solution is easy. Others may require a little more bending to my will.

[RojanTrojan]

Just the 5 years Guy???? Blimey! Incredible dedication. Well done mate, I can't wait to try it out for myself.

Rhydian

[i<3xplane10]

looks cool

Edited July 12, 2012 by i<3xplane10

[eaglewing7]

A: You've got the wrong model in mind, this was a very safe airframe, even the first Comet's were incredibly safe, they just suffered from metal fatigue and pressurization cycle issues.

B: It's not funny in any way to poke fun at the tragic losses of life, and airframe that occurred.

[guym-p]

Gosh, was it really May since my last post?

I have been really busy this Summer, and the X-Plane has had to take a back seat. However, every week, I do something to advance the Comet project a little further, whether it's a little work on the web-site, or the manual, or a major chunk of work on the Comet itself.

I have just finished one such major chunk: a VIP interior to go with the RAF Transport Command livery. I've posted a write up with screen shots here:

http://www.dh-aircraft.co.uk/news/files/fa57bc46c09a48f01079159d125485b3-98.html

Guy.

[eaglewing7]

Wow that VIP interior is beautiful. Certainly shows how aviation, back in the day, was much more comfortable than it ever is today...

Besides that, we wouldn't want the brass to be uncomfortable now would we?

[Nicola_M]

Stunning, beautiful work.

[guym-p]

Thank you! It is a pleasure, and the more I do, the more I learn, and the more I enjoy it. I've got something resembling a paint kit, too. Currently only designed to help me produce liveries consistently, but it could be the basis of something public. Complicated though. The UV map around the nose is hideous.

Photographs of the original VIP interior show it to be quite utilitarian. Comfortable, but basic. Nothing like the wood panelling and leather trim of the original "Air Force One", which was also delivered in 1962. It had to be possible to convert the Comets from VIP duty to troop carrying or even as a flying ambulance in double-quick time.

[Orcair]

That interior does look fantastic! Interesting to see the sleeper chairs recline as much as a blue Lufthansa business class seat now.

[guym-p]

That interior does look fantastic! Interesting to see the sleeper chairs recline as much as a blue Lufthansa business class seat now.

Thanks! It just goes to show that nothing is really new. The Comet was certainly not the first aircraft to have fully reclining seats, either. Having studied the Comet more than other aircraft, one of the issues was that the amount of fuel required for extended range reduced the maximum number of passengers, which created the opportunity to have sleeper chairs with 60" seat pitch on those flights. It's one of the reasons that BOAC were quick to change from Comets to Boeing 707s as soon as they became available. Marvellous for passengers flying long-distance on Comets between 1958-62 (ish), though.