De Havilland Comet

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/de-havilland-comet

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the aircraft designation?De Havilland DH.106 Comet
2. What is the manufacturer's nationality?British
3. Why did the early Comet planes crash?The crashes happened because the jet’s high‑altitude pressurization caused tiny cracks to grow in the metal, especially around the square windows and antenna cut‑outs. These cracks eventually made the fuselage break apart.
4. How did engineers fix the Comet after the crashes?They redesigned the aircraft with stronger parts, made the windows smaller and rounded, and tested a full‑scale fuselage by repeatedly pressurizing it until it failed. This helped make the new models safer.

Turbojet Engine: A type of jet engine that produces thrust by expelling a high-speed jet of hot gas.
Pressurized Cabin: An aircraft cabin maintained at a higher atmospheric pressure than the outside air at high altitudes.
Metal Fatigue: The progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading.
Stress Concentration: A location in a structure where stress levels are significantly higher than the average stress, often due to geometric discontinuities.