deH Comet on UK routes?

[DispatchDragon]

Righthandseat

Your welcome its what makes this forum so good - BTW like your signature
I have ahemmm a few kilt pins from my days in gatwick in the mid 70s


Leif

[steve p]

There's more info here than on Google!

It's more likely to be correct as well.

Best wishes
Steve P

[Garry Russell]

Hi Leif

We used to get the Dan Air Comets over regular and every night at the same time it seemed Dan Air Delta Mike would trundle over.... Gatwick bound

They would be just starting to come down from cruise so wer throttled well back and the sound was similar to lorry tyres on hot tarmac, that sort of slow speed whine where you can almost here the seperat tread nodulde and the Comet the serperate fan blades. A very distinct but unmistakeable sound.

Still clear now........thirty plus years later

Garry

[Garry Russell]

OK

Looked up the info

BUA had put the One-Elevens on the Gatwick Glasgow and BEA wanted to compete and considered the Comet becomming spare as Tridents came on line. British Rail had introduced high speed electric Inter City trains as well. Then British Eagle annouced they were putting One-Elevens on the Heathrow Glasgow (forgot about them)..so the decision was made.

Fom May 2nd 1966 Comets did the Heathrow Glasgow twice a day

Leaving Heathrow

07-30 (BE5010)
17-30 (BE5052)

Other timing by Vanguard with Comets subsituting at times

It shaved 15 mins off the Vanguard

As more Tridents joined more Comets were freed up and more of the services were Comet operated and by the spring of 1967 they did the LHR-Edinburgh too.

Agian the Comets taking an increasing number of rotations as the Tridents freed them up.

From the summer of 1968 Tridents started to gradually replace the Comets on most of the new routes the type had started after the first take over by the tri-jet

Garry

[ianhind]

Garry,

I'd forgotten RCO, RCP and RGM - a few odds and ends, like some of the Viscounts out of a main sequence. It's not as though they were replacements for losses.

And looking up data, I see I missed

Aerolineas Argentinas, MEA, Kuwait and Sudan as initial operators for the Comet 4/4C. There was also Malaysian using ex BOAC Comets.

Ian

[Garry Russell]

And there are paints for all of them either from Dave or myself

Garry

[Garry Russell]

Just for the record as odd BEA Viscounts are mentioned

Some of the younger ones mat not be familiar with the fleet

BEA Viscounts

701
G-ALWE,F G-AMNY-OP, G-ANHA-F, G-AOFX

802
G-AOHG-W, G-AOJA-F, G-AORC,D

806
G-AOYG-T, G-APEX,Y, G-APIM, G-APJU, G-APKF, G-APOX

807
G-BBVH

G-AOFX was bought new to make up numbers after losses
G-AMOK was written off or should have been but rebuilt as they were short of aircraft. It took about two years and was rebuilt by Marshalls of Cambridge.

G-APOX was a rebuild as a new airframe on the line using the remains of G-AOYF that was written off in a heavy landing before delivery

G-BBVH was bought by BEA from NZNAC only to lease to GB airways and never entered service with BEA.

Various others operated on lease (V.700/700D)

Including G-ANRS, G-AODG, G-AODH, G-APNF, G-APNG, G-APZC, G-APZP, G-ARBW

Written off during time with BEA

G-ALWE, G-AMNY, G-AMOK (repaired), G-AMOM, G-ANHC, G-AOJA, G-AOHI, G-AOHP, G-AOHU, G-AORC

I think that's all.... :think:

Garry