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De Havilland DH.88 Comet 'Black Magic'

In 1933 the MacRobertson Air Race was commissioned by Sir Harold Smith as a means to bring attention to Melbourne Australia as a destination for fledgling airlines. The race was to be run between RAF Mildenhall England, and Melbourne Australia; a grueling distance of 11,300 miles. The British aircraft industry was keen to win the race but had no aircraft capable of competing let alone winning, so a new aircraft had to be designed.

deHavilland stepped forward and created the DH.88 Comet, an all new aircraft incorporating many new features such as stress-skin wood construction, retractable landing gear, cantilever monoplane wings, landing flaps, and variable pitch propellers. Despite these many innovations the aircraft was ready and flight tested just six weeks prior to the race.
Three aircraft were produced for the air race, but the first was G-ACSP "Black Magic", built for Jim and Amy Mollison a famous air racing husband and wife couple of the time.

At the start of the MacRobertson Air Race in October 1934 Jim and Amy's Black Magic was the first to takeoff and held the lead for much of the first half of the race. After suffering several pitfalls in Karachi Pakistan, the Mollisons were forced to abandon the race. But another Comet would go on to to win, G-ACSS "Grosvenor House" piloted by Charles Scott and Tom Black.

Despite having a singular purpose, competition in this particular air race, the Comet's lineage and design can be seen in many following British aircraft; primarily the DH.98 Mosquito of WWII fame. Both "Grosvenor House" and "Black Magic" survived into preservation, and are arguably the most famous and beautiful British aircraft to ever take to the skies.


Description and Specs:

This version of the DH.88 Comet is anatomically similar to its real counterpart capable of the same speeds and consisting of a similar fuel tank layout. She does one thing well, going fast in a straight line for a long time.

Top Speed: 237mph
Range at 190mph: 180+km
Passenger Capacity: 2

Operational Notes:
The Aux Fuel Tank is in the rear of the aircraft and helps with balance, only us it for takeoff and landing.
THERE IS NO FUEL GAUGE FOR THE AUX TANK
The common practice was to have each engine drawing from a separate tank via the use of the Port/Stbd Fuel C0cks.
Aircraft Trim is accomplished by pressing hotkey '5', and then tapping the W/S keys to adjust pitch incrementally.*
Maneuverability is affected by speed, the faster you go the slower the aircraft responds to stick inputs.
The Aircraft does include pitch control, but like the real aircraft will automatically set itself when above 150mph, it will reset once on the ground.
As the aircraft burns off fuel you will find your ability to maneuver increases and the aircraft will become less nose heavy.
Speed is affected by the Landing Gear being down, retract them as soon as possible; it is a hand crank system, so it does take some time for them to extend/retract.
The Aircraft does not have a heating system, so if you fly to the Arctic, dress warm. It does however simulate Carburetor Icing*
Taxing can be accomplished in the usual fashion with the left/right arrow keys. Pressing the 'Toe Brakes' (Spacebar) in conjunction with the Left/Right Arrow keys will lock the respective wheel and allow for a tighter turn.

*Note: The Aircraft has two hidden buttons in the right tail plane surface (reference the screenshot above). These buttons can be used to disable the simulation of Carburetor Icing and enable Roll Trim, which will help to hold the aircraft level.