racer
one
Gipsy Six
2 x 225 hp. ea.
29' 0"
44' 0"
3,000 lbs.
5,500 lbs.
200 mph
235 mph
1,200 fpm
19,000 feet
2,925 miles
4/14/34
A de Havilland DH.88 Comet won the Maidenhall England to Melbourne Australia MacRobertson Trophy race of 1934 with a time of just over 71 hours.
Its wings and fuselage were made of wood, and all the fuel was carried ahead of the cockpit to keep the wings thin.
The DH.88 was the first ever aircraft produced by de Havilland with retractable landing gear, variable pitched props, and landing flaps on the same aircraft.
A total of 64 aircraft from around the world were entered into the MacRobertson Trophy race. Eventually twenty of them actually participated. Three of them were Comets.
Five DH.88 aircraft were built in all.
RC DH.88
Keith Shaw and his rc DH.88.
Pictured above is Keith Shaw and his scratch built rc DH.88. It has a wingspan of 88". Powering it are a pair of Astro Flight 25 electric motors. Weight is only 7.5 lbs.
The first picture below is of the rc DH.88 for sale from Advanced Scale Models. Wingspan is 88". The fuselage is 59" long.
Recommended power are .32 to .40 two cycle engines or .52 four cycle engines. If you prefer electric power, a pair of 36-30-3/1000 motors are recommended.
The second picture below is of the rc DH.88 for sale by ARD Enterprises. It is 1/5 scale with a wingspan of 96" and fuselage length of 65.5". Powering can be a with a pair of RCS 1.40 gas engines. All up weight is about 24 lbs.
You can get a short kit or plans for a RC DH.88 from Airborne. Their rc airplane has a 78" wingspan and a 54" length. For power you will need .35 to .40 engines. Upon completion the weigh should be around 11 lbs.
We are not sure if the Hirobo rc DH.88 is still in production. The ARF has a 45" wingspan and a length of 29.5". Recommended power comes from Speed 380 type motors.
HET-RC has a rc DH.88. Wingspan is 43". Light ply and balsa are used in the construction. You can fly it with Speed 400 size motors.
The next picture is of the rc DH.88 for sale from RC International. Wingspan is 81". Fuselage length is 56". All fiberglass construction is used.
Recommended are Mega 22/20/4 or geared Mega 22/20/2 motors. It will weigh about 7 to 8 lbs. upon completion.
The final picture on this page is of Anders Lindstrom with his giant scale rc DH.88 slope soarer. It has a wingspan of 98".
Airworld Modellbau has a rc D.H. 88 for sale. It is of all fiberglass construction and includes retracts. Wingspan is 81", length is 41", and power is from electric motors.
Both Galaxy Models and Cloud Models have a rc DH 88 kit for sale. The wings are sheeted foamy and the fuselage is balsawood and plywood. Wingspan is 52" and weight is around 3 lbs.
For power you will need Speed 400 type motors.
Electric Aero Modeling, EAM, had a rc DH 88 for sale that appears to have been discontinued. Wingspan is 42" and weight is about 29 oz. Speed 400 type motors were the recommended power source.
de Havilland DH.88 Comet
