de Havilland DH121 Trident

Aircraft Overview:

First flown in 1962, the Trident was the second turbojet airliner designed and built at Hatfield. It was designed for speed and economy on short-haul operations by British European Airways, with an advanced 35 degree swept wing for cruise at Mach 0.88. The Trident broke new ground by having three engines, and by having all three at the rear (with the middle engine buried below the fin) so placing the jet exhaust noise behind the passenger cabin. The Trident was also the first airliner in the World to be designed and certified for automatic landing, with the Smiths Industries ‘Autoland’ system. Compared with the earlier 81-passenger Comet 4; the Trident 1 had shorter range but carried its 103 passengers at 80 mph greater speed, on three-quarters of the thrust. The Trident 1 was followed by the 115-passenger 1E with enhanced airfield performance, the higher weight, longer range 2E and the stretched 179-passenger 3B having an RB162 boost turboject added in the tail . In total, 117 Tridents were built.

Aircraft Specifications:

Power Unit: Three 11,930 lb.s.t Rolls Royce RB163-25 Spey turbofans

Wing Span: 98 ft (27 m)

All-up Weight (A.U.W): 143,500 lb (48,535 kg)

Cruise Speed: 610 mph (981 kph)

Cruise Altitude: 40,000 or 30,000???? ft (12,192 or …. m)

Range: 2,430 miles (3,910 km)

Passengers: 91 to 117 (149, high density)

On Display at the Museum:

The Museum’s exhibit is the nose/cockpit an……..Trident 2E G-AVFH, built at Hatfield ……. and acquired by the Museum in 19….. The …. fuselage is of larger diameter than on the Comet, allowing economy 6-abreast passenger seating with a central aisle. The nose incorporates a radome for weather radar. The nose undercarriage is unusual in being offset 2 ft to port to retract sideways between the same two fuselage frames that support the passenger entry door. This saved structure weight and allowed a larger equipment bay forward under the flight deck. The passenger door is of ‘up-and-over’ plug type.

Inside the cockpit of the De Havilland Trident DH121 G-AVFH #deHavilland #museum #theta360 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA