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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1075.PDF
177 FLIGHT, 10 August 1961 FIRST sight of a new de Havilland aeroplane is always guaran- teed to arrest the attention of the aviation world. Not since the first DH 106 Comet was rolled out in April 1949 has a Hatfield event been more eagerly anticipated than the roll-out of the first DH 121 Trident—particularly as de Havilland publicity policy has been to cut the cackle till the egg is hatched. The hatching (roll-out in the jargon) took place at 5.30 on the warm sunny evening of last Friday, August 4. Much work remains to be done on this, the first of 24 aircraft for BEA, before its three Rolls-Royce Speys thrust it into the start of an intensive flight-test programme. If all goes well, maiden flight should be before the end of the year. One quite important test is already passed: like all de Havilland types— bar none that we can recall—the Trident is a good-looker. Among the de Havilland people who witnessed the Trident's debut were, left to right in the group picture: Mr John Cunning- ham, chief pilot and director; Mr H. G. Sturgeon, managing director; Mr J. P. Smith, chief designer (civil aircraft); Sir Geoffrey de Havilland; and Mr C. T. Wilkins, technical director. FOOTNOTE: 8een with the Trident in one of the pictures is BEA's fourteenthComet 4B—delivered on the same day to complete the corporation's present planned Comet fleet two months ahead of contract date.
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