(Convair) 880 - 990 Coronado @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Convair 880 Convair 880
    Convair 880
  • Convair 880 Convair 880
    Convair 880
  • Convair 990 - 1976 Convair 990 - 1976
    Convair 990 - 1976
  • Convair UC-880 Convair UC-880
    Convair UC-880
  • Convair 990 Convair 990
    Convair 990
  • Convair 880 Convair 880
    Convair 880
  • Convair 990 Convair 990
    Convair 990
  • Convair 880 Convair 880
    Convair 880
  • Convair 880 - Company livery - 1959 Convair 880 - Company livery - 1959
    Convair 880 - Company livery - 1959
  • Convair 990 Convair 990
    Convair 990
  • Convair 990 - Shuttle gear Convair 990 - Shuttle gear
    Convair 990 - Shuttle gear
  • Convair 990 Convair 990
    Convair 990
  • Convair UC-880 Convair UC-880
    Convair UC-880
  • Convair 990A Convair 990A
    Convair 990A
  • Convair 990 Convair 990
    Convair 990
  • Convair 880 Convair 880
    Convair 880
  • Convair 990 Convair 990
    Convair 990
  • Convair 880-22M Convair 880-22M
    Convair 880-22M

Convair 880 & 990 Coronado

Convair 880

The Convair 880 was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller and faster, a niche that failed to create demand. When it was first introduced some aviation circles claimed that at 615 mph it was the fastest jet transport in the world. Only 65 Convair 880s were produced over the lifetime of the production run from 1959 to 1962, and General Dynamics eventually withdrew from the airliner market after considering the 880 project a failure. The Convair 990 was a stretched and faster variant of the 880.

Design and development

Convair began development of a medium-range commercial jet in April 1956, to compete with announced products from Boeing and Douglas. Initially the design was called the Skylark but the name was later changed to the Golden Arrow, then Convair 600 and then finally the 880, both numbers referring to its top speed of 600 mph (970 km/h) or 880 ft/s (268 m/s). It was powered by General Electric CJ-805-3 turbojets, a civilian version of the J79 which powered the F-104 Starfighter and F-4 Phantom II.

The first example of the initial production version, the Model 22, made its maiden flight on January 27, 1959; there was no prototype. After production started the FAA mandated additional instrumentation, which Convair added by placing a "raceway" hump on the top of the fuselage, rather than ripping apart the interiors over the wing area. The final assembly of the 880 and 990 took place at the Convair facilities in San Diego, California.

The airliner never became widely used and the production line shut down after only three years. The 880's five-abreast seating made it unattractive to airlines, while Boeing was able to out-compete it with the Boeing 720, which could be sold much more cheaply as it was a minimal modification of the existing 707. In addition, the General Electric engines had a higher specific fuel consumption than the Boeing's Pratt & Whitney JT3Cs.

General Dynamics lost around $185 million over the lifetime of the project, although some sources estimate much higher losses. It is generally agreed that the losses incurred in the Convair 880/990 were the largest losses incurred by a corporation up to that time. The aircraft was involved in 17 accidents and five hijackings.

A modified version of the 880 became the Convair 990 Coronado, produced in parallel between 1961 and 1963.

Operational history

The design entered service with Delta Air Lines just over a year later, in May 1960, slightly modified as the 880-22m, having newer version 805-3B engines. 880s were flown by Cathay Pacific, Delta, Japan, Northeast, Swissair, TWA and VIASA. One of Elvis Presley's private jets was an 880, formerly in commercial service with Delta and nicknamed "the Lisa Marie". The last aircraft was withdrawn from commercial service by major operators in 1975.

As they left commercial service, many 880s were bought by American Jet Industries for various uses. One example was converted to freighter use in 1974, and flew until 1982 with various companies. Another was used to train FAA flight examiners until it was destroyed in a minor explosion in the cargo hold in 1995. Most of the remaining examples were scrapped by 2000. One was used as a movie prop for the Amazing Stories television program.

The United States Navy purchased one 880 which was modified as an in-flight tanker. Unofficially designated UC-880, it was assigned to the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, and employed in Tomahawk cruise missile testing and aircraft refueling procedures. The UC-880 was destroyed in a cargo hold explosion test at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland in 1995.

Survivors

According to author Niall Booth, there were only nine airframes left in the world as of December 2005 — five in the United States, and one each in Haiti, Portugal, Venezuela and South Africa. None are airworthy, and only one is properly preserved: Elvis Presley's Lisa Marie (named after his daughter), at Graceland in Memphis. One of the other four U.S. aircraft was subsequently cut up for scrap in April 2007, although the forward fuselage is being saved for use in a museum. The one existing in Portugal was placed near the Lisbon Airport and converted into a strip club until being sold for scrap. It was destroyed on April 28, 2008. In addition, the forward fuselage of former TWA Convair 880 N803TW (MSN 3) is being restored at the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey for eventual display.

Ex Japan Airlines Convair 880 MSN 22-7-6-58 (58th produced) was converted into a business jet in the 1970s (registration N88CH). It was purchased by the Ciskei government in 1987 intended for use by president Lennox Sebe, however it remained at Bhisho Airport for several years due to a lack of funds for making it airworthy. In 1992 it was purchased by Billy Nel (now Eastern Cape Provincial Finance MEC), who had it transported to his private residence north of East London, South Africa. The 1970s VIP interior with couches, beds and a bar remain intact and it is used for private functions. One of the engines was donated to the Stutterheim Engine Museum.

Accidents and incidents

  • On May 23, 1960, a Delta Air Lines Convair 880 N8804E crashed on takeoff at Atlanta Municipal Airport (now Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International) resulting in all four crew as fatalities. This flight was to be a training sortie for two Delta captains who were being type-rated on the 880. At rotation the aircraft pitched nose up, rolled left and then back more steeply to the right at which time it struck the ground, broke apart and was consumed by a post-crash fire.
  • On November 20, 1967, TWA Flight 128 crashed on approach to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. 70 people were killed and 12 survived.
  • On June 15, 1972, a bomb exploded on board Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z killing 81 passengers and crew.
  • On December 20, 1972, North Central Airlines Flight 575, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31, collided during its takeoff roll with Delta Air Lines Flight 954, Convair 880 N8807E, as the Convair 880 taxied across the runway at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Only two people on the Convair 880 were injured, and 10 people died and 15 were injured on board the DC-9.

Convair 990 Coronado

The Convair 990 Coronado was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a "stretched" version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. The 990 was lengthened by 10 feet, which increased the number of passengers from between 88 and 110 in the 880, to between 96 and 121. This was still fewer than the contemporary Boeing 707 (110 to 189) or Douglas DC-8 (105 to 173), although the 990 was claimed to be some 25 to 35 mph faster than either in cruise.

Design and development

American Airlines asked Convair to design an aircraft for coast-to-coast flights, able to fly nonstop New York to Los Angeles against the wind. They wanted somewhat larger passenger capacity than the 880, which was the smallest of the first-generation U.S. jet airliners. The 990 entered production in 1961.

One change from 880 was the large anti-shock bodies on the upper wings to increase their critical Mach and reduce transonic drag. This allowed the heavier 990 to go slightly faster than the 880, cruising at about Mach 0.91, making it the fastest subsonic passenger jet ever built. Only the supersonic Concorde and Tu-144 have ever carried commercial passengers at a faster speed. Originally, there were plans to use the bulges as fuel tanks, but during test flights the extra weight caused the tanks to vibrate excessively. Instead, the inner set of bumps also served a secondary role as fuel dump for the fuel tanks in the fuselage.

The engines were also changed to the uprated General Electric CJ-805-23s, which were unique in that they used a fan stage at the rear of the engines, compared to the fan stage at the front of the engine as found in the Pratt & Whitney JT3D that powered the 990's competitors. The engine was a simplified, non afterburning civilian version of the J79, used in military fighters. Like the J79, the CJ805 was smoky.

Like the 880, 990s were later modified with a dorsal "raceway" added to the top of fuselage to hold wiring for additional instrumentation.

Operational history

The 990 did not meet the specifications promised and American Airlines reduced its order as a result. The 990A was developed by adding fairings to the engine nacelles, pylons and the lower surface of the wing. Convair and GE aerodynamicists designed these modifications using a local area rule to delay the high-speed drag rise. Despite the modifications, the aircraft never did live up to its promise of coast to coast non stop capability from JFK to LAX. American Airlines timetables show little or no difference in scheduled time between 707 and 990A flights; AA began to dispose of its 990As in 1967.

In 1963 the 990A was reported to burn 11750 lb/hour at Mach 0.84 (483 knots) at 35000 ft at a weight of 200000 lb.

Swissair bought eight 990As from 1962 onwards, operating them on long distance routes to South America, West Africa, the Middle and Far East, as well as on European routes with heavy traffic. Their fleet was withdrawn from service in 1975. Scandinavian Airlines also operated Coronados on their long haul schedules to Tokyo and other points in the Far East.

The 990's market niche was soon to be captured entirely by the Boeing 727 and the Boeing 720 (a derivative of the 707), and by the time the line was shut down in 1963, only 37 990s had been produced, bringing General Dynamics' entire production of commercial jet airliners to 102 airframes. The failure of the Convair 880 and 990 to be accepted by the airlines led Convair to suffer what at the time were the largest corporate losses in history.

When the major airlines retired their Convair 990s, they found a second life operating for charter airlines. Spantax of Spain had a large fleet until they were gradually retired in the mid-1980s.

Variants

  • 990 : Initial production version.
  • 990A : Faster cruising speed and longer range.

Accidents and incidents

  • May 30, 1963 — An American Airlines Convair 990 was destroyed by fire at Newark International Airport, New Jersey, USA.
  • May 28, 1968 — A Garuda Indonesia Airways Convair 990 crashed in a nearly vertical attitude, some 4–5 minutes after takeoff from Bombay-Santacruz Airport outside Mumbai, India, killing all 14 crew and 15 passengers.
  • January 5, 1970 — A Spantax Convair 990 crashed near Stockholm-Arlanda Airport outside Stockholm, Sweden while taking off on a three-engine ferry flight to Zürich, Switzerland, killing five crew.
  • February 21, 1970 — Swissair Flight 330 crashed near Würenlingen, Switzerland while trying to return to the airport after a bomb denonated in the aft cargo compartment, killing all nine crew and 38 passengers.
  • August 8, 1970 — A Modern Air Transport Convair 990 crashed on approach to Alvarez International Airport, Mexico, killing one crew.
  • December 3, 1972 — A Spantax Convair 990 crashed at Los Rodeos Airport on the island of Tenerife while taking off in almost zero visibility, killing all seven crew and 148 passengers.
  • March 5, 1973 — A Spantax Convair 990 on a flight from Madrid to London was involved in a mid-air collision with an Iberia McDonnell Douglas DC-9 over Nantes. The Spantax aircraft lost part of its left wing, but its pilots managed to land safely at Nantes Airport. The Iberia DC-9 crashed killing all 68 passengers and crew on board.
  • April 12, 1973 — A U.S. Navy Lockheed P-3C (157332) operating from NAS Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, California collided with a Convair CV-990 (N711NA) operated by NASA during approach to runway 32R. The aircraft crashed on the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course, half a mile short of the runway, resulting in the destruction of both aircraft and the deaths of all aboard except for one Navy crewman.
  • September 10, 1973 — A California Airmotive Corporation Convair 990 (registration N7876) on delivery from Garuda veered to the left and collided with a GCA unit after landing in heavy rain at Agana Airport, Guam.
  • July 17, 1985 — A NASA Convair 990 suffered a blown tire during take-off and caught fire at Riverside-March AFB, California, USA

Aircraft on display

Several 990s have survived. A former Swissair Convair 990 is on display in the Swiss transportation museum, the Verkehrshaus in Luzern, while two are owned by the Mojave Spaceport. Of these, one is on display at the airport's entrance, and the other is used for movie and television filming projects.

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Source : Article Convair 880 of Wikipedia ( authors )
This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Convair 990 Coronado of Wikipedia ( authors )
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