De Havilland designed and built the DH88 Comet Racer in nine months as a response to a chance in winning an air race proposed by Sir MacPherson Robertson in October of 1934.

The Museum’s exhibit was built as N6550 at Hatfield in 1939, was used for training during the War. In 1956 it was converted for crop-dusting, as a single-seater flown from the rear cockpit. The hopper was placed in the front cockpit position, at the centre-of-gravity, to maintain aircraft balance whatever the hopper load level. Dispersion used a broad metal venture spreader, mounted below the fuselage and stiffened by a pair of dividers in the duct. Released under pilot control, the powder and granular chemicals were drawn by gravity and suction down into the spreader, where they were entrained by the airflow through the device, and spread laterally behind the aircraft. Last used in 1961, the aircraft was acquired by the Museum in 1976 and restored in 1991, with the engine returned to ground running condition.

The Museum’s exhibit was built at Hatfield in 1935 as the last of the DH87A type, and first flown by Geoffrey de Havilland himself. It was later converted to DH87B type with the rectangular wings. It saw wartime service as a communications aircraft. It was acquired in 1974 and restored by 1988. It has a simple vane-type Air Speed Indicator under the port upper-wing leading edge. But there is also a pitot-static head under the lower starboard wing.

The Museum’s exhibit is one of only two left in the UK, was built by Scottish Aviation Ltd of Glasgow in 1943 and flew at least three times for the Army guns off Manorber, South Wales until March 1946, it was acquired in incomplete form in 1986 and restored in its original colours and markings. For demonstration purposes, solid-state electronics provide control from a remote console, the windmill drives a small generator, and the engine is a shell only, with an electric (car starter) motor and straight shaft.

The C.24 was the only rotorcraft built by de Havilland, and only this one example was built. It was acquired by the Science Museum in 1974, and is now on permanent loan to this museum. The engine is the original, but the twisted slab propeller is not.