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Convair 990 Coronado#Surviving aircraft

{{Short description|American four-engined jet airliner (1962–1987)}}

{{More citations needed|date=August 2009}}

{{Infobox aircraft

|name = Convair 990 Coronado

|image = File:Swissair Convair 990 in flight.jpg

|caption = The Convair 990 is a low-wing airliner with four underwing turbofans.

|type = Narrow-body jet airliner

|national_origin = United States

|manufacturer = Convair

|designer =

|first_flight = January 24, 1961

|introduction = 1962

|retired = September 1987 (1994 with NASA)

|status = Retired

|primary_user = American Airlines

|more_users = Spantax
Swissair

|produced = 1961–1963

|number_built = 37

|developed_from = Convair 880

|variants =

}}

The Convair 990 Coronado is a retired American narrow-body four-engined jet airliner produced between 1961 and 1963 by the Convair division of American company General Dynamics. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines: the 990 was lengthened by {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}}, which increased the number of passengers from between 88 and 110 in the 880 to between 96 and 121. This was still fewer passengers than the contemporary Boeing 707 (110 to 189) or Douglas DC-8 (105 to 173), although the 990 was {{convert|25|-|35|mph|kph|abbr=on}} 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 from New York City to Los Angeles against the wind. They wanted a larger passenger capacity than the Convair 880, which was the smallest of the first-generation U.S. jet airliners. The design was known as the Convair 600 and was redesignated the Convair 990 in the month of its first flight.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/convairtravelervol.xii196061/page/n101/mode/2up|title=Convair Traveler Vol. XII 1960 61|year=1953}} The 990 began flight testing on January 24, 1961.{{cite book|last1=Proctor|first1=Jon|title=Convair 880 & 990|date=June 1996|publisher=World Transport Press|location=Miami|isbn=0-9626730-4-8|page=55|edition=First}}

One change from the 880 was the large anti-shock bodies on the upper trailing edge of the wings, to increase the critical Mach by reducing transonic drag. The inboard shock bodies, which were larger, were also used for additional fuel tankage. Later during the design period, Convair modified the design to include fuel in the outboard pods as well, but during the initial test flights the extra weight caused the outboard engines to oscillate in certain conditions. The pods were redesigned once more and shortened by {{convert|28|inch}}, causing increased drag. The inner set of pods were used to route the fuel-dump tubes from the fuel tanks, terminating in a prominent outlet.{{cite book|last1=Proctor|first1=Jon|title=Convair 880 & 990|date=June 1996|publisher=World Transport Press|location=Miami|isbn=0-9626730-4-8|page=55}}

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 found on the Pratt & Whitney JT3D that powered the 990's competitors. The engine was a simplified, non-afterburning civil version of the J79, used in supersonic military aircraft. Like most versions of the J79, the CJ805 and CJ805-23 were smoky, although secondary operator Spantax eventually had their engines refitted with low-smoke combustion chambers in the 1970s.

Like the 880, 990s incorporated a dorsal "raceway" added to the top of the fuselage to house the two ADF antennas and one VHF antenna.{{cite book|title=Convair Jet Airliners|date=December 1961|publisher=General Dynamics: Customer Service Dept|location=San Diego|page=203}}

Operational history

File:Cockpit Convair Coronado Luzern.jpg

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, among other changes."Reduction of Drag Rise on the Convair 990 Airplane". AIAA Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 1 No. 1, January–February 1964, pp. 8–12. Despite the modifications from the basic 880 and those in response to drag problems in testing, the aircraft never lived up to its promise of coast-to-coast nonstop capability from JFK to LAX. American Airlines' timetables show little or no difference in scheduled time between 707 and 990A flights.{{Cite web |date=August 1, 1967 |title=American Airlines Timetable |url=https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/aa/aa6708/aa6708.pdf}} AA began to dispose of its 990As in 1967.{{Cite web |title=American Airlines Annual Report, 1967 |url=https://dn790002.ca.archive.org/0/items/americanairlinesannualreports/americanairlines1967_text.pdf}}

During May 1961, one of the pre-production 990 aircraft, while demonstrating the margin between its operating speed and its capability during a dive at .97 Mach from 32,000 ft to 22,500 ft, reached {{convert|675|mph|km/h}} at an altitude of {{convert|22000|ft|km}}: the fastest true airspeed ever attained by a commercial jet transport at that time.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/Aviation_Week_1961-08-07/page/n45/mode/2up?q=convair+990|title=Aviation Week 1961-08-07|date=7 August 1961}}Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News, May 18, 1961 p32 However, in level flight the maximum speed, 0.84 Mn, was less than that guaranteed to American Airlines, 0.89 Mn, because the drag levels with the anti-shock bodies were much higher than predicted. A drag reduction program was instituted during which streamlining of the engine pylon/wing interface and addition of nacelle fairings achieved 0.89 Mn.The inside Story Of The Convair 990 The Fastest Subsonic Airliner In The World, John T.Kutney Sr., AIAA 2007 5338, Figures 10,16,21

In 1963, the 990A was reported to burn {{convert|13,750|lbs|t}} per hour of fuel at {{convert|0.84|Mach|altitude_ft=35000|kn km/h|0}} at {{convert|35,000|ft|km}} at a mass of {{convert|200,000|lb|t}}.Flight 31 Jan 1963 p150 In contrast, a modern Boeing 737 MAX 8 typically carries 162 passengers and burns {{cvt|4,460|lb|t}} per hour at {{cvt|0.78|Mach|altitude_ft=35000|knots km/h|0}} at sub-optimal parameters.{{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/pilot-report-flying-737-8-boeing-s-new-narrowbody-breadwinner |title= Pilot Report: Flying the 737-8, Boeing's New Narrowbody Breadwinner |date= May 12, 2017 |author= Fred George |work= Aviation Week & Space Technology}}{{Synthesis inline|date=May 2024}}

File:Convair 990A HB-ICC Swissair Ringway 07.64 edited-3.jpg 990A Coronado "St Gallen" at Manchester Airport in 1964]]

Swissair bought eight 990As beginning in 1962, 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 (SAS) also operated 990A Coronados on their long-haul schedules to Tokyo and other destinations in the Far East and also to South America and Africa.https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/sk/sk6404/sk64-05.jpg {{bare URL image|date=February 2024}}

File:Swissair Convair 990A Coronado taking off from Arlanda Airport (1).jpg

The 990's niche was soon captured by the Boeing 720 and Boeing 720B, derivatives of the Boeing 707, and later by the Boeing 727. By the time the assembly line 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 airlines to broadly accept the Convair 880 and 990 led Convair's parent company, General Dynamics, to suffer one of the largest corporate losses in history. As a result, Convair exited the jet airliner business, although it later built fuselages for McDonnell Douglas, specifically for the DC-10, KC-10 and MD-11.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-14 |title=Convair 990 Coronado: Too Fast Too Soon {{!}} International Aviation HQ |url=https://internationalaviationhq.com/2020/11/14/convair-990-coronado/ |access-date=2023-04-10 |language=en-US}}

When the major airlines retired their Convair 990s, they found a second life on charter airlines. Spantax of Spain had a large fleet until the mid-1980s, as did Denver Ports of Call. In 1967, Alaska Airlines purchased Convair 990 PP-VJE from Varig, and operated it as N987AS in scheduled airline service until 1975.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

Variants

  • 600: Designation used for conception, design and build of first aircraft.
  • 990: Initial production version.
  • 990A: Higher cruising speed and longer range.[http://www.airliners.net/aviation-articles/read.main?id=67# "The Might-Have-Beens: Convair 880 and 990."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526204834/http://www.airliners.net/aviation-articles/read.main?id=67 |date=2016-05-26 }} Airliners.net. Retrieved: August 20, 2011.

Operators

File:Interior of Convair 990 operated by Swissair.jpg now on public display in the Swiss Museum of Transport, the Verkehrshaus der Schweiz in Luzern ]]

File:Convair 990 on ramp EC92-05275-30.jpg.]]

*Original operators.

Accidents and incidents

  • May 28, 1968: Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892 (PK-GJA) crashed after takeoff from Bombay-Santacruz Airport, killing all 29 people on board and one person on the ground.{{ASN accident|id=19680528-0|title=PK-GJA}}
  • January 5, 1970: A Spantax Convair 990 (EC-BNM) crashed at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport outside Stockholm, Sweden while taking off on a three-engine ferry flight to Zurich, Switzerland, killing five of seven passengers; the three crew members survived.{{ASN accident|title= EC-BNM|id= 19700105-1|accessdate= 2014-10-17}}
  • February 21, 1970: Swissair Flight 330 (HB-ICD) crashed near Würenlingen, Switzerland while trying to return to Zurich Airport after a bomb detonated in the aft cargo compartment, killing all nine crew and 38 passengers.
  • August 8, 1970: A Modern Air Transport Convair 990 (N5603) was being ferried from New York to Acapulco when it crashed on approach to Alvarez International Airport, Mexico. No one was killed, but one of the eight crew was badly injured.{{ASN accident|title= N5603|id= 19700808-0|accessdate= 2014-10-17}}
  • December 3, 1972: A Spantax Convair 990 (EC-BZR) crashed at Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife while taking off in an almost-zero visibility, killing all seven crew and 148 passengers.Gero 1997, p. 111.
  • March 5, 1973: Spantax Flight 400, a Convair 990 (EC-BJC) on a flight from Madrid to London, was involved in a mid-air collision with Iberia Flight 504, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, over Nantes. The Convair 990 lost part of its left wing, but its pilots managed to land safely at Cognac – Châteaubernard Air Base. The DC-9 crashed, killing all 68 passengers and crew on board.
  • April 12, 1973: A NASA Convair 990 (N711NA) collided with a U.S. Navy Lockheed P-3C during the approach to NAS Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, California. Both aircraft crashed on the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course, half a mile short of the runway, killing all aboard except for one Navy crewman.[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19730412-1 "Accident description: 12 APR 1973."] Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved: August 20, 2011.{{#tag:ref|One Navy crewman in the P-3 survived the crash. He was in the P-3's tail section, which broke off the aircraft as the 990 collided from above. He fell out of the broken tail section and survived with massive injuries. People at the golf course who witnessed the crash tried to break open windows on the wreckage with golf clubs, in a futile attempt to pull the injured out before fire consumed the crews.|group=N}}
  • July 17, 1985: A NASA Convair 990 (N712NA) suffered a blown tire during take-off at Riverside-March AFB, California. While attempting to clear the runway, the rim shattered and punctured the right-wing fuel tank forward of the right main gear. All 19 occupants survived, but the subsequent intense fire destroyed the plane, its equipment and documentation.{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19850717-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-990-30A-5 Coronado N712NA Riverside-March AFB, CA (RIV)|first=Harro|last=Ranter|website=aviation-safety.net}}

Preserved aircraft

  • 30-10-2 – N990AB – Aircraft in storage since 1980 with Scroggins Aviation at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. This aircraft was formerly operated by Aérolíneas Peruanas.{{cite web|title=Convair 990, serial no. 02, N990AB|url=http://www.convairjet.com/CV990_cn02.html|website=ConvairJet.com|access-date=26 September 2016}}
  • 30-10-12A – HB-ICC – Aircraft on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, Switzerland. This aircraft was formerly operated by Swissair.{{cite web |url=https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/museum/aviation/convair-cv-990-coronado |title=Convair CV-990 Coronado |website=verkehrshaus.ch |access-date=2015-11-11}}
  • 30-10-18 – EC-BZP – Forward fuselage preserved at Sabadell Airport in Sabadell, Spain for cabin crew training. This aircraft was formerly operated by Spantax.{{cite web|title=Airframe Dossier - Convair CV-990, c/n 18, c/r EC-BZP|url=http://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=72474|website=Aerial Visuals|publisher=AerialVisuals.ca|access-date=26 September 2016}}
  • 30-10-29 – N810NA – Aircraft on display as a gate guardian at Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. This aircraft was formerly operated by American Airlines, Modern Air Transport and NASA.{{cite web|title=Airframe Dossier - Convair CV-990-30A-5, c/n 29, c/r N810NA|url=http://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=309|website=Aerial Visuals|publisher=AerialVisuals.ca|access-date=26 September 2016}}
  • 30-10-30 – EC-BZO – Aircraft in storage at Palma de Mallorca Airport in Palma, Majorca since 1987. This aircraft was formerly operated by Spantax.{{cite web|last1=Edlind|first1=Tony|title=Spantax S.A (BX)|url=https://www.angelfire.com/ct/edlind/spantax.html|website=AngelFire|publisher=Tony Edlind|access-date=26 September 2016}}

Specifications (Convair 990A)

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965-66{{cite book |title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965-66 |editor1-last=Taylor |editor1-first=John W.R. |year=1965 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd. |location=London |pages=233–234}}

|prime units?=kts

|crew=4 (+ cabin crew)

|capacity=up to 149 passengers

|length ft=139

|length in=9

|length note=

|span ft=120

|span in=

|span note=

|height ft=39

|height in=6

|height note=

|wing area sqft=2250

|wing area note=

|aspect ratio=6.2

|airfoil=

|empty weight lb=133000

|empty weight note=

  • Maximum zero-fuel weight: {{cvt|160000|lb|0}}

|gross weight lb=

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight lb=253000

|max takeoff weight note=

  • Maximum landing weight: {{cvt|202000|lb|0}}

|fuel capacity=

|more general=

|eng1 number=4

|eng1 name=General Electric CJ805-23B

|eng1 type=turbofan engines

|eng1 kn=

|eng1 lbf=16050

|eng1 note=aft=fan engines

|perfhide=

|max speed kts=540

|max speed note=at {{cvt|20000|ft|0}} at {{cvt|200000|lb|0}} AUW

|max speed mach=0.871

  • Maximum permissible diving speed: M0.91

|cruise speed kts=484

|cruise speed note= / M0.84 at {{cvt|35000|ft|0}}

|stall speed kts=109

|stall speed note= at {{cvt|170000|lb|0}} AUW with wheels and flaps down

|never exceed speed kts=

|never exceed speed note=

|minimum control speed kts=

|minimum control speed note=

|range nmi=3302

|range note=with {{cvt|104373|lb|0}} usable fuel, {{cvt|25770|lb|0}} payload and {{cvt|18000|lb|0}} reserve fuel

|ferry range nmi=

|ferry range note=

|endurance=

|ceiling ft=41000

|ceiling note=

|g limits=

|roll rate=

|glide ratio=

|climb rate ftmin=

|climb rate note=

|time to altitude=

|sink rate ftmin=

|sink rate note=

|lift to drag=

|wing loading lb/sqft=112.44

|wing loading note=

|disk loading lb/sqft=

|disk loading note=

|fuel consumption lb/mi=

|power/mass=

|thrust/weight=

|more performance=

  • Take-off run: {{cvt|9800|ft|0}} at MTOW (SR-422B Field length)
  • Landing run: {{cvt|5400|ft|0}} at {{cvt|170000|lb|0}} AUW (SR-422B Field length)

|avionics=

}}

See also

File:Swissair Douglas DC-8 and Convair CV-990 at Zürich from above.tif (left, engine cowlings open)]]

{{aircontent|

|related=

|similar aircraft=

|lists=

|see also=

}}

References

=Notes=

{{Reflist|group=N}}

=Citations=

{{Reflist|2}}

=Bibliography=

{{Refbegin}}

  • Gero, David. Aviation Disasters. Yeovil, Somerset, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd (Haynes Publishing), 1997. {{ISBN|1-85260-526-X}}.
  • Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.
  • Proctor, Jon. Convair 880 & 990. Miami, Florida: World Transport Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-9626730-4-8}}.
  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965-66. London: Samson Low, Marston, 1965.
  • Wegg, John. General Dynamic Aircraft and their Predecessors. London: Putnam, 1990. {{ISBN|0-85177-833-X}}.

{{Refend}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20120126043516/http://www.convairjet.com/ Team Convair]
  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCRZ36gN6eM YouTube video of an American Airlines Convair 990]

{{Convair aircraft}}

{{Authority control}}

990

Category:1960s United States airliners

Category:Quadjets

Category:Low-wing aircraft

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1961

Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear