First commercial jet aircraft
JUL 27, 2015
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.031016
Today marks the first flight, in 1949, of the first commercial jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet as well as the birthday of Geoffrey de Havilland, the British aircraft engineer who founded the company that later built the Comet. De Havilland was born in 1882 and set several aviation records early in his life. The de Havilland Comet featured several relatively unusual at the time design characteristics including a swept-wing leading edge and wing-integrated fuel tanks.
Date in History: 27 July 1949
© 2015 American Institute of Physics
