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Top Ten industry Changing Airliners |
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Articles
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Written by Courtney Miller
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Friday, 20 July 2007 |
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Page 2 of 11
#10 - de Havilland Comet
 The fact that the Comet was the first commercial jet airliner to reach production, and the first jet to cross the Atlantic seem the obvious reasons to include it in the top ten, but its effects on the airline industry have come more from its failures than its successes. Plagued by crashes in its early years, the Comet introduced the industry to such problems as turbojet compressor stalls, metal fatigue, and dangerous pilot technique differences between propeller and jet aircraft.
Most importantly, however, was the knowledge gained which led to the change from square to rounded windows. Several crashes that grounded the Comet were attributed to the enormous stresses created by the corners of the Comet’s square windows. While de Havilland was ultimately unable to overcome the stigma of the Comet as an unsafe airplane, the lessons learned were invaluable to the industry. For this reason the De Havilland Comet is considered on of the most important pioneers in safe jet airliner transportation.
While the jump to new technology puts the Comet on the list, The aircraft at number 9 used existing technology to innovatively offer groundbreaking service to airline passengers.
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