BRISTOL BRABAZON

In the immediate post-war optimism of civil aviation, the giant Brabazon airliner was built by Bristol Aircraft in 1949 to cross the Atlantic and serve the empire. Large and luxurious, it carried only 60-80 passengers, but with a range of 5,000 miles, a 225ft wing span and eight engines buried in the wings with enough fuel to reach New York, the ultimate passenger airliner had been born. However, the plane proved to be a commercial failure when airlines felt that it was too large and expensive to be useful.