Convair CV-880 & CV-990 & CV-540 Promo Spot - 1961

[@wotan10950]

One of my first flights was on a Modern Air 880 (or 990, can’t recall). Modern Air was a “supplemental” airline back in the 1960/70s, essentially a charter carrier. I was only 12 or 13, but the legroom and sear comfort were things we could only wish for today. Full meals, too.

[@zachmatt3]

I flew Delta's 880 several times in the 60s, and it was an outstanding aircraft in which to be a passenger. One of things I remember most was how quiet the cabin was in spite of the turbojet engines.

[@seanpratherful]

zachmatt3 Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@Guerry-3]

There are so many things that come to my remembrance when I view this clip. Thank-you so very much for sharing! My first flight on an 880 was on a Delta morning flight between Philadelphia and Atlanta in the early 70’s. The reason I remember this flight is because I was upgraded to sit in first class, and for the breakfast meal, we were served champagne. Although I was too young to drink, the stewardess did not care and kept refilling my coupe glass. Most certainly, although we had landed, I was still flying. As memory serves, and someone please correct me if I am wrong, the CV-990 was the CV-880 with turbofan engines. As you can tell, of all the aircraft of the “Golden Age”, the CV-990 is my favorite, but it really causes me to grind my teeth at what it could have been if Howard Hughes had kept his nose out of it. This is one of those times when I wish I could have been a billionaire (after taxes) and could have bought an airplane company. I would have hired the best and only make one demand, “Make my airplane really cool looking and capable of being modified to suit a variety of missions!” After that, my briefs would take about 5 minutes, for all I would want to see is just how cool looking my aircraft looks. My leadership style has always been a hands off approach as long as things were going well. My part in the ordeal is handling the fun stuff like dealing with and making miserable the lives of bureaucrats. Just call it a gift. Again, thank-you for sharing this bit of history with us.

[@mcdonnell220]

You're very welcome, and thanks for your continued kind words, I appreciate it.

[@Guerry-3]

Thank-you Stevo for your reply. I am well aware of the regulations that prohibit turbojet power on other than military aircraft. Even though I enjoy to be sarcastic when I often wish for the days of black smoke and noise, I actually am making reference to the entire lifestyle that once represented commercial air travel.

[@mrblujet]

My Grandfather was a captain for TWA and said that flying the CV-880 was like flying a fighter jet. He really liked it.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

I had completely forgotten about Northeast Airlines, it merged with Delta in 1972.

[@bobcarter4343]

I was a ticket agent for TWA and we had, on occasion trouble getting the front doors to open on the 990. Occasionally we had people in and out of the aircraft putting their full weight on the handles.

[@aerospacenews]

It was so cool seeing the old 880 and 990 in action. There are 880s at the boneyard in Mojave but I've never seen one fly in real life.

[@Alpha8713]

Music cue at 2:59 is "Bargains Galore" by Stuart Crombie and Dennis Berry.

[@ksbear2]

My very first flight was on a TWA CV=880 from MKC (the old municipal airport in KC) to SDF (Louisville). Brings back good memories.

[@richschindler8731]

Great video. Oh how I loved seeing the 880’s and 990’s all the time back in the day. Real aircraft, not your twin engine nothing special aircraft of today.

[@DaBlazesUSay]

I'm sorry that I did not get the opportunity to fly on either the Convair 880 or 990. I used to see the 880 during ops for Delta and TWA at both Louisville (SDF) and Cincinnati (CVG). However, I did fly on a Republic Airlines Convair 580 a couple of times in & out of Detroit (DTW). One time, going into DTW, we were cruising at FL200 through, and I mean THROUGH, towering cumulus! CU clouds are beautiful, but if you fly through them they are the potholes of the sky. We made it OK, though!

[@houstoncowdog]

Wow, 849 mph ground speed is what you call "gettin on down the line".

[@Red-rl1xx]

houstoncowdog Isn't that supersonic, though?

[@Vpmags]

Most probably a strong tail wind yielding a supersonic ground speed while the airplane is actually flying at sub/transonic speed.

[@Red-rl1xx]

VP Magalang That's possible.

[@publicmail2]

It was from jetstream tail wind probably 150 mph tailwinds plus the speed of aircraft. It would not be supersonic because the aircraft is travelling inside a parcel of air (jetstream) plus aircraft speed, they only add in ground speed not indicated airspeed which is the air speed going over the wings. To break the sound barrier you would have to exceed Mach 1.0 relative to the air going over the aircraft not ground speed, it does sound strange right?

[@DSGNflorian]

Thanks for uploading. Those were beautiful, beautiful airplanes. Sadly, the Convair 880 and 990/Coronado were a little too over-engineered and undersized to achieve success. Built to be very fast and very strong, their tremendous power and comparatively high weight along with limited seating capacity made them more expensive to operate than 707s and DC-8s. Just after the dawn of the Jet Age in the 1950s, the focus of the airlines quickly shifted to operating economy. While the cruising speed of the Convair 880/990 was in excess of 600 mph, having the fastest airliner was not that much of a competitive edge in a world where practically all passenger jets flew close to 600 mph. Very few 990s were built. Of those, most ended up in charter services by the early 1970s. In 1973, a Convair 990 survived a mid-air collision with a DC-9 (which crashed, killing all on board), tearing off part of the left wing yet the pilots managed to land the plane. The Convair jets may have been fuel thirsty, but they were built like tanks! I absolutely love the look of the 990. Those clean, smooth engine nacelles suspended from sharply raked pylons, that dramatic wing sweep angle and the quirky anti-shock bodies gave this plane a wonderfully sleek, rakish appearance. She's a beauty for sure!

[@worldwidebear1967]

A Convair CV-880 is standing in Graceland, it was/is Elvis Privat Jet ;-)

[@ketoking9435]

Awesome channel,,,

[@miaflyer2376]

...880 feet per second is the origin for the model designation. So, did you learn something new today? LOL

[@strafrag1]

I wonder why these aircraft weren't more popular in sales?

[@kurttappe]

Range. They were competing against the DC-8 and 707, both of which could fly to Hawaii and Europe which the 880 could not. I think the 990 could reach Hawaii but by time it was introduced airlines had chosen the competitors.

[@strafrag1]

Thanks for the info, Kurt. Cheers, Peter.

[@mcdonnell220]

The 3-2 seating was also a factor; fuselage too skinny to feature 3-3 seating in coach, along with the fact that the G.E. engines were thirsty even for 1960s standards. 880s served Delta and TWA from 1960 to 1974.

[@johneddy908]

+Kurt Tappe, according to the film, TWA used the 880 "Superjets" for transcons alongside the Boeing 707s and 720.

[@johneddy908]

The Convair 540 did not last very long. Shortly after its introduction with launch customer Allegheny, Napier Aero Engines Ltd., which built the Eland turboprop engines that powered it, was acquired by Rolls-Royce and no further conversions were made since the latter decided to concentrate on developing its own Dart and Tyne engines. Allison, today a Rolls-Royce heritage company along with Napier, would later provide the proven 501-D13 engine, resulting in the 580.

[@TheHelder51]

São tão maravilhosos esses reviews. Convair é bonito até no nome.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

👍👍

[@lrg3834]

By the looks of it, General Dynamics was/is far more impressive as an organisation than Boeing or Douglas (McDonnell Douglas) in terms of total capability. I am impressed, to say the least.

[@miguelgabriel7568]

Lindo