Convair 880

Convair (Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft) was a division of General Dynamics from 1952 to 1961. Under Joseph T. McNarney it had produced a series of successful commercial prop aircraft. Convair began development of a medium-range commercial jet in April 1956 to compete with products from Boeing and Douglas. Initially it was called the Skylark but the name was later changed to the Convair 600 and then the 880, both numbers referring to its top speed (600 mph or 880 ft/s). It was a very fast jet, powered by General Electric turbojets, cruising at around 0.87 mach.

The Model 22 first flew on January 27, 1959, there was no prototype testing. The first commercial flight was in May 1960 by Delta Airlines. Only 65 880s were manufactured from 1959-1962, they were too late to properly compete with the other first generation airliners and their greater speed was less economical.

They were flown by Alaska[?], Cathay Pacific, Delta, Japan, KLM, Northeast[?], Swissair, TWA and VIASA[?]. Elvis Presley's private jet was an 880. The last aircraft was withdrawn from commercial service in 1974. General Dynamics lost around $185 million over the life-time of the project, although some sources estimate much higher losses. The aircraft was involved in 17 accidents and 5 hijackings.

A modified version of the 880 became the 990 Coronado

• Wing span: 36.58 m
• Length: 39.42 m
• Height: 11 m
• Passengers: 88-110
• Crew: 3
• Power: 4 of General Electric CJ-805 turbojets (52.85 kN)
• Weight: 42 tons (empty), 83 tons (maximum)
• Range: 5120 km
• Ceiling: 10,700 m