1/144 5-89 Airfix Comet 4 - Craftmaster Issue
Plastic Model Kit, Box Condition: Fair+
Nice 1/144 scale kit of the world's first jet airliner. Features clear side and cockpit windows, very fine raised panel lines and recessed control surface lines, detailed optional position undercarriage and passenger boarding stairs. The kit has never been started. NOTE: missing decals and one (of 10) clear side window parts. Inventoried with all other parts including instructions. The initial Comet Is were in operation long before the 707, which gave the British an incredible post-war lead in the expanding civil aviation market. Just as the Comet was flying high and orders were pouring in from around the world, Comets began to mysteriously fall out of the sky. Everything from lighting to terrorist bombs were blamed. For months the root cause went undiscovered. Then, in a landmark investigation that is considered the first modern post-crash autopsy, it was discovered that the stresses around a small ADF window on the top of the fuselage were causing metal fatigue failure when the fuselage was pressurized. To confirm this, a Comet I was placed in a water tank and subjected to pressurization stresses. After some time, a dramatic failure occurred. Then parts of a crashed Comet were pulled from underwater proving once and for all that this was the root cause.
This item has been sold.
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