Word: havilland
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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When Britain began testing the world's first jet airliner three years ago, U.S. plane builders and airline executives alike looked down their noses. De Havilland's Comet, they said, would gobble too much fuel too fast to carry much payload, could not even pay its way. By last week the skeptics were changing their tune a bit. After four months in commercial operation, the Comet was beginning to look like the new queen of the airways...
First Offer. U.S. airline bosses were not long in getting the word of the Comet's fine performance. Recently, T.W.A.'s President Ralph Damon dropped in for a look at a De Havilland plant, and later went for a ride in the Comet; so did Pan American's President Juan Trippe. Then came Eastern Air Lines' economy-minded President Eddie Rickenbacker ("I count the pennies-then I count the mills"). Last week, after a 90-minute flight in a Comet, Rickenbacker became the first to announce that he was ready to place an order. Eastern, said...
...Geoffrey de Havilland, Rickenbacker's challenge posed a tough problem. Sir Geoffrey has been complaining that he would need an order at least that big to justify the expansion necessary to put Comets into volume production (current production: one a month). But Rickenbacker's time limit was hard for the leisurely Britons to meet ("Really now," commented one British aircraft builder, "you cannot suddenly swell an industry to twice its size, you know"). De Havilland's bosses promised Rickenbacker a firm answer within a week...
...King Talal's own orders, only 30 people-all of them dignitaries-would be allowed at the airport. Everything began properly as planned. A 25-gun royal salute blasted out from Arab Legion cannon and rolled off the surrounding hillsides, reverberating through Amman. A twin-engined De Havilland Dove rolled to a stop, and out stepped 43-year-old King Talal, looking worn and taut. He mumbled a few words, which no one could understand, to Lieut. General John Bagot Glubb Pasha, the powerful Briton who commands Talal's Arab Legion, and to Premier Tewfik Pasha Abul Huda...
...London time one misty afternoon last week, exactly on schedule, the commercial jet air age began. The dolphin-bodied de Havilland jet liner Comet got the take-off signal, swept down the runway at London Airport, its four turbines whistling a high pitch, and climbed seven miles into the air carrying a full load of 36 passengers, six crewmen and 30 bags of mail. The next day, as thousands watched at Johannesburg's Palmietfontein Airport, the silver and blue BOAC jet streaked down, ending its 6,724-mile trip. Total elapsed time: 23 hours, 38 minutes. This...