The Brabazon
- the name evokes the immediate post-war optimism of civil aviation. The giant airliner was built by Bristol Aircraft in 1949 to cross the Atlantic & serve the empire. However the plane proved to be a commercial failure when airlines felt that it was too large & expensive to be useful. Large & luxurious it carried only 60-80 passengers & with a range of 5 000 miles a 225ft wing span & eight engines buried in the wings with enough fuel to reach New York the 100-ton bomber was more impressive & capable than the B-29: the ultimate passenger airliner was born. Now with previously unpublished material & illustrations from the original Bristol Brabazon sales brochure among other sources the Brabazons 1930s-style elegance is displayed once again celebrating its design construction & sheer luxury. A fitting outcome for such a paragon of post-war optimism & an aircraft still considered by many to be the foremost in propeller-driven civil aviation.