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Replica de Havilland Comet Fuselage Taking Shape in Wisconsin
The de Havilland Comet revolutionized air travel as the world’s first commercial jet airliner, offering unmatched speed and comfort. Despite early successes, fatal design flaws led to catastrophic failures and its eventual decline. Today, its legacy lives on through a passionate effort to recreate the aircraft’s forward fuselage, preserving a pivotal chapter in aviation history.
A recent image of Steve McNeilly's Comet 1 fuselage coming together in his hangar. (photo via Steve McNeilly) (Image credit: Steve McNeilly)
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July 29, 1949 marked the maiden flight of the world’s first commercial jet-powered airliner, the de Havilland DH.106 Comet, with the legendary WWII night-fighter ace, John “Cats Eyes” Cunningham, guiding the prototype aloft from Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, England. After a significant period of testing, this sleek, elegant and revolutionary design entered service with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (better known as BOAC) on May 2, 1952, more than six years ahead of its closest rival, the Boeing 707. Initial passenger reviews were incredibly positive, since the aircraft was so much quieter, smoother-flying and faster than the propeller-driven airliners it was intended to replace.
The front cover of a 1952 BOAC sales brochure featured the company’s newly commissioned de Havilland Comet 1. (Image Credit: BOAC Sales Brochure)BOAC’s fleet of airliners featured these four types at the time of the deHavilland Comet’s introduction, as shown in the centerfold of this 1952-dated brochure. The Comet was the pride of the fleet at that moment. (Image Credit: BOAC Sales Brochure)BOAC’s route map as depicted in a 1952 company brochure. The Comet served BOAC on many of these routes. (Image Credit: BOAC Sales Brochure)
However, such pioneering, technological leaps forward often arrive with unanticipated and sometimes catastrophic flaws. Tragically, such was the case with the Comet. Within the first year of flight operations, two aircraft crashed due to a wing design error, while a third broke up after flying through a severe thunderstorm shortly after takeoff. Airliner accidents were relatively frequent in those days so, while troubling, these incidents did not immediately cause operators (nor aviation authorities) to suspend Comet flights. However, a sequence of two fatal accidents resulting from in-flight structural failure during early 1954 saw the global Comet fleet grounded, and the production line halted, until a review board could determine the cause. Despite extensive physical testing, including pressure hull cycling, de Havilland’s engineers had missed a mistake in the forward, lefthand escape hatch cutout. The fuselage skin in this area was of insufficient thickness to withstand the repeated stresses of pressurized flight and caused the airframe to rip apart after about three thousand flight cycles.
Comet 1 G-ALYU undergoing pressure cycle testing in a water tank at RAE Farnborough during the 1953 investigation into Comet accidents. The fuselage eventually failed, offering engineers insight into the design flaws, offering solutions to remedy the issues. (Image Credit: RAE Farnborough)An image from the document which resulted from the investigation into the Comet crashes shows the failure point in a test fuselage from Comet 1 G-ALYU which was tested to destruction. The skin around the forward escape hatch was apparently too thin and failed after just 3,057 flight cycles (1,221 actual and 1,836 simulated). Note that the hatch frame itself remains intact. Contrary to popular belief, the window design was not the problem. (Image Credit: wikipedia)
While de Havilland came up with a method for ameliorating this issue and resumed production relatively quickly, the aircraft’s reputation had suffered a near-fatal blow. Furthermore, significantly superior jet airliners like Boeing’s 707 and the Douglas DC-8 were already in production by that point, and soon swallowed up most orders which the Comet had hoped to fulfill. While the Comet remained in production until 1964, only 106 examples (including prototypes) were built. A military adaptation, however, did result in the superlative Hawker Siddeley Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, which flew with the RAF from October 1969 until the type’s retirement in June 2011.
Here we see a pair of Royal Aircraft Establishment operated examples of the de Havilland Comet. The example in the foreground is a former BOAC-operated Comet 4 (G-APDF), which later served in the RAF as XV814. Note the highly modified tail configuration and the large pod under the forward fuselage. These were all modifications as part of the Nimrod maritime surveillance aircraft program. The Nimrod was a direct descendant of the Comet. (Image Credit: RAF photo)A Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft, serial number XV235, takes off for a mission in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in March 2003. Britain’s armed forces contributed significantly to this campaign. The Nimrod R.1 electronics surveillance and countermeasures variant also served in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s decades-long commitment to that conflict as well. (SSgt. Matthew Hannen, USAF photo) (Image Credit: (SSgt. Matthew Hannen, USAF photo))
Despite the Comet’s failings, it still holds a special place in history… not to mention the hearts of many aviation enthusiasts around the world, and especially those in the nation of its birth. That being said, we at Vintage Aviation News were surprised to learn about a dedicated Comet devotee named Steve McNeilly who is building the forward fuselage of a Comet 1 in southeast Wisconsin – from scratch!
We recently had a conversation with McNeilly to learn more about his project, and what prompted his enthusiasm for the Comet. It turns out that his love for the type dates to 1987 when, as a teenager, he helped a team of volunteers from there Rotary Club of O’Hare disassemble a grounded, and by then derelict, former Mexicana de Aviación Comet 4C (XA-NAS) at O’Hare Airport. McNeilly noted, “It took four years to dismantle the aircraft, as the Smithsonian had expressed interest in taking it for eventual restoration. That never materialized, and by the early 1990s, the completely dismantled aircraft was cut up for scrap by the City of Chicago, with no warning.”
Mexico’s flag carrier, Mexicana de Aviación, operated four de Havilland Comet 4Cs from 1959 until the early 1970s. The aircraft ended up in the USA after the airline acquired Boeing 727s, with one of them (XA-NAS) becoming the inspiration for Steve McNeilly’s decision to recreate the forward fuselage of a Comet in southeastern Wisconsin. Incidentally, another of Mexicana’s Comet 4Cs is currently under restoration with the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. (Image Credit: de Havilland Aircraft Company)A study of the former Mexicana de Havilland Comet 4C XA-NAS prior to its disassembly circa 1987. (photo via Steve McNeilly) (Image Credit: Steve McNeilly)
The former Mexicana Comet 4C XA-NAS sitting at O’Hare Airport before the dismantling effort began circa 1987. Note the Illinois Air Guard C-130s in the background. (photo via Steve McNeilly)
The volunteer disassembly team working to dismantle the former Mexicana Comet 4C at O’Hare Airport in the late 1980s. (photo via Steve McNeilly)
A view of the Comet’s cockpit at the time the O’Hare Rotary Club began to disassemble the ill-fated airliner. (photo via Steve McNeilly)
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“As a teenager, I loved working on N999WA,” McNeilly continued. “It was like walking into another world. For decades, memories of [XA-NAS] at O’Hare made me wish the aircraft could have been saved. Now, as a Captain at a major airline, I had the resources to do the unthinkable; build a replica de Havilland Comet. But, time and money constraints have limited us to the first 30 feet of the fuselage.”“I chose to do a replica Comet 1, instead of a Comet 4C (like the one at O’Hare). The Comet 1 was iconic… it entered service as the world’s first jet airliner… I created all the technical drawings, based on photos and known measurements. Several friends in England helped me with technical data that they had access to.”“I started work in May 2022, cutting plywood for the nose jig, and then cutting aluminum and countersinking thousands of holes to be flush-riveted. The first stage was to build the nose production jig.”
The wooden jig which Steve McNeilly’s team used to help construct the Comet’s nose. (photo via Steve McNeilly) (Image Credit: Steve McNeilly)
“The Comet 1 replica is 100% aluminum, with flush riveting. We’ve driven around 4,000 rivets to date. The goal has been to build the structure as close as possible to the original de Havilland designs, given limitations of time, money, materials availability, and fabricating capabilities. The entire structure has been hand-built using hand tools, with the exception of CNC-cut fuselage frames.”
The nose section for Steve McNeilly’s replica Comet 1 fuselage begins to take shape in his workshop. (photo via Steve McNeilly) (Image Credit: Steve McNeilly)
“Once the nose was completed in May 2024, I moved the project to a large hangar. There, I hired [3 part time] mechanics to help with the remaining build of “Section 2,” the next 21 feet of fuselage. Major tasks included building the steel support stand, drilling the longerons and floor beams, cutting and shaping the keel frames and stringers, fabricating the floor panels, and the most difficult part: shaping the skins and riveting them. Today, the entire keel is riveted, and we’re starting work on the side walls. Those will require new jigs and more tasks to learn.”
A recent image of Steve McNeilly’s Comet 1 fuselage coming together in his hangar. (photo via Steve McNeilly) (Image Credit: Steve McNeilly)A view of the work proceeding on Steve McNeilly’s Comet 1 fuselage recreation. The next stage will involve building up the fuselage side walls. (photo via Steve McNeilly) (Image Credit: Steve McNeilly)
When asked about the configuration he plans to finish his Comet fuselage in, McNeilly responded that it will be: “… a replica of the 1952 BOAC Comet 1 interior, featuring cool light gray headliners and royal blue carpeting. The cabin seats will be fabricated, using first class modern seat frames as the main structure. The cockpit seats will be Weber bolt-down, fully articulating seats, modified with the lower and back cushions to match the original Comet cockpit seats. The Comet cockpit seats were unique, not used in any other aircraft type. But, they’re unavailable, and my efforts to locate any around the world have been unsuccessful.”
These images from a BOAC brochure show elements of the cabin configuration for one of the company’s deHavilland Comet airliners. While it is likely these photographs are from a later variant than the Comet 1 which Steve is recreating, the interior he is planning to replicate will likely look similar to these depictions. (image via BOAC Comet brochure circa 1957). (Image Credit: BOAC brochure)
“The ultimate plan is to have a mostly-functioning cockpit flight simulator, with a 16-foot diameter visual system that moves in front of the nose. The forward galley will be fabricated and will be functional, and the forward passenger compartment of 8 seats will be an exact replica. The fuselage will be painted in the classic BOAC paint scheme, with an authentic interior, and polished aluminum keel. The main objective is to bring back to life something that no longer exists, except for a few pieces in museums.” Steve reckons it will take another two to three years to complete this worthy project. We wish him well with his endeavors, and look forwards to posting updates from time to time. For anyone wishing to learn more about his plans, or to contribute to the project in some fashion, please do contact Steve McNeilly via his website www.dehavillandcomet.com
Steve McNeely standing proudly beside his mechanically complete Comet 1 nose section soon after its completion. (photo via Steve McNeilly) (Image Credit: Steve McNeilly)
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.
