A trip through time

The De Havilland Comet was the first jet airliner, and flew in commercial service from 1952 to 1981. The Comet also served as the basis for the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod military aircraft, which was retired by the RAF in 2011. The aircraft seen here was built for Mexicana in 1959 and eventually found it’s way to Washington State in 1979, when it was owned by a travel club. The Comet’s thirst for fuel and aging design meant this example never flew again. It was donated to the Museum of flight in the 1990s and had been undergoing a long restoration ever since – with the cockpit being the first section completed. It appears here exactly as it would have greeted a flight crew in the 1960s.