Such a beautiful plane. While perhaps the structural issues could have been better anticipated and addressed, the fact that the engines were incorporated into the wings would likely have been the next issue for the aircraft, with fires, seized turbofans, and proximity to fuel tanks causing further incidents or accidents at rates exceeding those of planes with their engines mounted on pylons.
There were later versions of the Comet. Version 1 was underpowered, and had too much weight reduction for that reason. By version 4, the design had been debugged. With more powerful engines and structural fixes, the Comet 4 went into service and did OK. 46 Comet 4 aircraft were built. Last flight in 1997.
Interesting detail in TFA is that the pilot had converted to the plane's short take off and vertical landing mode, but instead carried out a missed approach procedure when his helmet-mounted display malfunctioned.
What do you mean by "instead"? Would you have expected the pilot to guess where the runway is without his instruments? He was flying in IMC. Meaning he couldn't see where he was going.
I'd heard of radio transmission of software during the '80s, but I hadn't heard of the use of TV transmission:
>Back in the 1980s, the BBC did something similar using a DIY tuner viewers attached to their TV screen. During episodes of the short-lived series 4 Computer Buffs, a flashing light could transmit the code for an application to the Commodore 64, Sinclair, or BBC Micro.
Interesting and thought provoking to hear him honestly criticize himself in order to resist being idolized.
It reminded me of the 1993 Nike commercial with Charles Barkley after he was criticized for his off-court behavior, culminating in his quote:
> “I am not a role model. I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”
