Issue No 22 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN 19
on to American soil. Two days were spent at
Honolulu, seemingly without too much of a
schedule to deal with for the crew. On landing,
the crew felt the full effect of a Hawaiian
welcome, becoming willing victims to the charm
of the Hula girls that made up the welcoming
party. Making the most of a warm climate, the
crew even found time for an early morning swim
off Waikiki Beach.
Dawn on December 16 saw the Comet climb
away from Hawaii towards Vancouver, Canada,
where it landed in time for lunch — and a
dramatic climate switch. One passenger, Capt
Edwards, a Qantas pilot who had flown from
Sydney in the Comet to size up its potential for
the important Pacific routes between Australia
and the USA, remained at Honolulu. He was
replaced by Capt Roxburgh, an experienced
Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CPAL) pilot who had
been trained on the Comet Mk IA. The airline
had suffered the first fatal jetliner crash when
its first Comet IA, CF-CUN, had crashed at
Karachi in March 1953, killing the five crew and
six passengers on board. The order for a second
CPAL aircraft was cancelled as a result. Here
was a vital chance for de Havilland to revive a
relationship with CPAL for the Comet 4.
The aircraft landed at Vancouver in decidedly
chilly weather. With snow on the distant Rockies,
Cunningham and crew, as had happened
everywhere along the route, were interviewed
by local radio stations and newspapers. Long
queues quickly formed to look at the Comet,
which was inspected thoroughly by many
people who had never seen a jet close up.
Confirming CPAL’s interest in the Comet 4,
the flight was joined by the airline’s Director of
Flight Operations, Capt Rawson, as well as Capt
Rankin, Flight Superintendent of the Western
Division of Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCAL).
Both stayed with the aircraft as it flew on to
Toronto on December 18, when it landed at de
Havilland Canada’s new factory at Downsview
in the late afternoon to be met by a huge
gathering of DHC employees.
On December 20 the aircraft took off for
Montreal and one of Quebec’s coldest winters
on record. Some of the promotional aspect of the
tour was summed up by a local man’s comment
in Flight: “I have seen many pictures in your
magazine of the Comet in the last couple of years
but never expected to see it ‘in person’”.
It was at Montreal that the aircraft had its
first, and only time-wasting, technical problem,
when a faulty jetpipe attachment on No 3 engine
prevented the aircraft from taking off for London
on December 21. Spares were sent from England
but in the event the problem was fixed on site.
However, it did mean that the team had to spend
Christmas in Montreal before finally leaving
Canada for home on December 28.HOME AT LAST
Throughout the tour elaborate equipment had
been recording every statistic of every flight
and the results put smiles on the faces of the deMAP BY MAGGIE NELSONAll dates based on
GMT departure timesFor the 1955 world tour, G-ANLO was painted in the standard BOAC colours worn on the Corporation’s For the 1955 world tour, G-ANLO was painted in the standard BOAC colours worn on the Corporation’s
aircraft during 1949–1958, with white upper surfaces, a blue cheat line from the cockpit tapering at the
tail and aluminium-painted lower fuselage and wings. The Comet 4s would enter service in 1958 in
a similar scheme but with a dark blue fin and rudder. ARTWORK BY JUANITA FRANZI / AERO ILLUSTRATIONS © 2018