Editing De Havilland Comet (section)

===Overview===
[[File:Museum of Flight DH Comet interior.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dan-Air]] Comet 4C cabin at the [[National Museum of Flight]]]]

The Comet was an all-metal [[Cantilever wing|low-wing cantilever]] monoplane powered by four jet engines; it had a four-place [[Cockpit (aviation)|cockpit]] occupied by two pilots, a flight engineer, and a navigator.<ref name=francis99/> The clean, low-drag design of the aircraft featured many design elements that were fairly uncommon at the time, including a swept-wing leading edge, integral wing fuel tanks, and four-wheel bogie main undercarriage units designed by de Havilland.<ref name=francis99>Francis 1950, p. 99.</ref> Two pairs of turbojet engines (on the Comet 1s, Halford H.2 Ghosts, subsequently known as de Havilland Ghost 50 Mk1s) were buried in the wings.<ref name=francis100-101>Francis 1950, pp. 100–101.</ref>

The original Comet was the approximate length of, but not as wide as, the later [[Boeing 737|Boeing 737-100]], and carried fewer people in a significantly more-spacious environment. BOAC installed 36 reclining "slumberseats" with {{cvt|45|in|mm}} centres on its first Comets, allowing for greater leg room in front and behind;<ref>Hill 2002, p. 27.</ref> [[Air France]] had 11 rows of seats with four seats to a row installed on its Comets.<ref name=popmech149>Cookman, Aubery O. Jr. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6NkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA149 "Commute by Jet."] ''Popular Mechanics'', 93(4), April 1950, pp. 149–152.</ref> Large picture window views and table seating accommodations for a row of passengers afforded a feeling of comfort and luxury unusual for transportation of the period.<ref>Smith 2010. 30(4), pp. 489, 506.</ref> Amenities included a [[galley (kitchen)|galley]] that could serve hot and cold food and drinks, a [[bar (counter)|bar]], and separate men's and women's toilets.<ref name=francis98>Francis 1950, p. 98.</ref> Provisions for emergency situations included several [[lifeboat (shipboard)|life raft]]s stored in the wings near the engines, and individual [[personal flotation device|life vest]]s were stowed under each seat.<ref name=francis99/>

One of the most striking aspects of Comet travel was the quiet, "vibration-free flying" as touted by BOAC.<ref name=walker69>Walker 2000, p. 69.</ref>{{refn|BOAC flight crew revelled in standing a pen on end and pointing that out to passengers; invariably, the pen remained upright throughout the entire flight.<ref>Windsor-Liscombe, Rhodri. [http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/topia/article/view/2680/1885 "Usual Culture: The Jet."] ''Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies (Toronto: York University)'', Number 11, Spring 2004. Retrieved 26 April 2012.</ref> |group=N}} For passengers used to propeller-driven airliners, smooth and quiet jet flight was a novel experience.<ref name=francis100>Francis 1950, p. 100.</ref>