MR2uesday

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 05/15/2018 at 10:07 • Filed to: planelopnik, mr2uesday

5

9

Two MR2 Tuesday

Svend > ttyymmnn 05/15/2018 at 10:45

0

Beautiful aircraft.

ttyymmnn > Svend 05/15/2018 at 10:47

1

Definitely unique.

Svend > ttyymmnn 05/15/2018 at 11:22

0

Come on, that is beautiful.

Evolved from the blighted de Havilland Comet.

Passenger jets were a new age of travel and companies were keen to be first on the apron. The aircraft was prone to metal fatigue around the windows which at best would cause a tear in the fuselage, at worst caused the fuselage to rip apart in flight. 

They diagnosed it by taking a full size Comet, building a wooden frame around it and filling it with water while engineers inside pressurised the cabin.

Unfortunately by the time it was diagnosed it had already lost favour around the world and they came out of service.

The water tank test was used on a few following aircraft makes and models as a part of prototype and preproduction testing.

Even when it evolved into the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod as the aircraft got older more and more problems came about, such as leaking fuel lines, etc... but the operators loved them, it was their girl, just as the Handley Page Victor and the Vickers VC10 had with their air crew.

ttyymmnn > Svend 05/15/2018 at 11:36

1

The Comet is definitely an interesting story, one that I’ve written about. Neither the Nimrod nor the Victor will ever win any beauty contests, but they are certainly products, and representatives, of their era. Now, I always thought the Comet was an attractive aircraft, and its nose made its way, in its entirety, into the Sud Caravelle, another one of my favorites.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 05/15/2018 at 12:18

2

That’s not a MR2 you Nimrod. Wait... carry on.

0pihl > ttyymmnn 05/15/2018 at 13:50

0

I was driving up I5 from LA to San Francisco-through the middle of the state-when a Nimrod crossed the highway at about 200 feet. I can only assume it was landing at NAS Lemore. Man, it was impressive.

0pihl > ttyymmnn 05/15/2018 at 13:51

1

Also, I flew on a Comet in 1964.

ttyymmnn > 0pihl 05/15/2018 at 14:00

0

Wow. That’s two years before I was born!

ttyymmnn > 0pihl 05/15/2018 at 14:01

0

I imagine it was. I probably would have driven into the ditch, or caused a wreck while stopping to look at it.