"Ben Jackson"
The prototype is fitted with a water bladder and is flown in formation
with a tanker. The bladder is slowly filled with water until the plane
drops out of the sky. A gauge in the tanker indicates the max gross
weight of the new design.


How would you like to be the lucky pilot during "water test" ...#2?

http://www.theknownuniverse.com/comet.htm
(bottom half of the piece)

The Ministry of Civil Aviation decided upon a unique test to find out. They
built a tank large enough to hold one of the grounded Comets. The wings
protruded from water-tight slots in the sides of the tank. Then the tank and
cabin were flooded with water. The water pressure inside the cabin would be
raised to eight and a quarter pounds per square inch to simulate the
pressure encountered by a Comet at 35,000 feet. It would be held there for
three minutes and then lowered while the wings were moved up and down by
hydraulic jacks. The hydraulic jacks would simulate the flexing that
naturally occurs in aircraft wings during flight. This process continued
non-stop, 24 hours a day.


Montblack