Convair 990 coronado

In the early jet age, the market was dominated by two American quad-engine long-range airliners, the Boeing and the Douglas DC These aircraft flew faster, higher, and further than their piston-powered predecessors, convair 990 coronado, drastically convair 990 coronado the world of aviation forever. Breaking into such a market was going to be no easy task, and Convair, a subdivision of the larger General Dynamics Corporation, thought it might know just the secret to breaking into the jet market.

The Convair Coronado was an American narrow-body four-engined jet airliner produced between and by the Convair division of American company General Dynamics. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair produced in response to a request from American Airlines : the was lengthened by 10 ft 3. 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 , which was the smallest of the first-generation U. It was known as the Convair and was redesignated the Convair in the month of its first flight. One change from the 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.

Convair 990 coronado

The internet at large has been ablaze recently with stories about a radio-controlled scale model of a World War II German King Tiger tank whose job was to drill holes in over-pressurized Space Shuttle tires during ground tests. Now, whether a Second World War German tank serving as the basis for this vehicle has any explanation other than NASA engineers being the most lovable dorks in the Milky Way or not is up for some debate. But mixed up in the social media circus is the aircraft wearing these special tires so brimming with PSIs that it'd kill anyone within a radius of a few dozen feet. This is the story of the Convair Coronado, a failed commercial passenger jetliner that had a miraculous second renaissance working for NASA. Only then did it receive the above-mentioned RC Tiger tank robot buddy we all know and love. But at the start of the program in the late s, Convair genuinely wanted to re-invent the wheel with the jet. At the time, American Airlines, in particular, was extra keen on a long-haul, narrow-body jetliner capable of flying across the Continental U. Of course, existing airframes like the Boeing and Douglas DC-8 could already manage this feat in ideal conditions. But managing this feat in a strong headwind, flying specifically from the east coast to the west coast, was easier said than done in the early days. By the turn of the 60s, Convair was already intimately familiar with jet power. Early successes with the jet-piston hybrid B Peacemaker strategic bomber, the F Delta Dagger jet fighter, and the B Hustler jet bomber had already established the company as a force within the military side of things. But at least at first, nothing Convair manufactured in the civilian sector stood a chance of meeting American Airline's expectations. Convair's first jet airliner, the , wasn't a sub-par aircraft by any means. With two purpose-built civilian variants of the B Hustler's General Electric J79 engines under each wing, the was a serviceable, albeit not perfect, civil passenger liner platform. But with a relatively paltry passenger capacity of passengers, a typical Douglas DC-8 trimmed in an all-economy seating arrangement could easily double the 's passenger count.

Although the carrier hoped to dive into the jet age by adding the DC-8 to its lineup of Douglas planes, the cost was too steep. Unfortunately, the airline experienced financial troubles as convair 990 coronado debts increased and tax fraud allegations were levied.

Convair developed this American-built, narrow-body, four-engined aircraft in response to a request from American Airlines AA. Although AA had not operated the Convair , they had extensively studied the airliner. As a result, AA requested a larger airframe with transcontinental capabilities. American Airlines wanted a jet that could fly coast-to-coast 45 minutes faster than its competitors, the Boeing and Douglas DC The Convair Coronado was a stretched version of the Convair , with a longer fuselage that increased passenger capacity to between 96 and , although still fewer than the Boeing and Douglas DC Despite being faster than its competitors in cruise, the Convair did not meet the promised specifications and failed to deliver on its coast-to-coast nonstop capability.

On 5 January , a Convair Coronado operated by the Spanish airline Spantax crashed shortly after take-off from Stockholm Arlanda Airport , killing five of the ten people on board. The aircraft was earlier that evening about to fly to Mallorca with Swedish travelers, but at take-off the number 4 engine developed a fault. The take-off was aborted and the aircraft returned to the gate and the passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft. At hours the aircraft started its take-off roll on runway During the take-off roll, the nose yawed to the right. The aircraft rotated at knots with 27 degrees flaps. While climbing, the aircraft banked degrees to the right and the airspeed suddenly dropped to 10 knots below V2 knots. The aircraft contacted some treetops, banked degrees and crashed 1, meters from the point of lift-off. The cockpit was separated from the rest of the fuselage and was wedged between tree trunks and hard frozen ground and tilted 45 degrees to the left. First officer Miguel Granado was sitting to the right and became trapped when the seat pushed forward and both legs were caught up under the instrument panel.

Convair 990 coronado

In the early jet age, the market was dominated by two American quad-engine long-range airliners, the Boeing and the Douglas DC These aircraft flew faster, higher, and further than their piston-powered predecessors, drastically changing the world of aviation forever. Breaking into such a market was going to be no easy task, and Convair, a subdivision of the larger General Dynamics Corporation, thought it might know just the secret to breaking into the jet market. The manufacturer would build the fastest aircraft to ever take to the skies at the time, flying 25 to 35 miles per hour faster in cruise than the and DC But this aircraft would never quite succeed in the market, and only 37 of the type were ever built. The project was a commercial failure, and Convair would never enter the civilian airliner business again.

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Taken November 5, To accommodate a higher number of passengers, Convair elongated the jet ten feet, allowing it to carry between and passengers. Article Talk. Production of the aircraft ceased in , with only 37 units being manufactured. American Airlines wanted a jet that could fly coast-to-coast 45 minutes faster than its competitors, the Boeing and Douglas DC Despite its speed, the 's efficiency and capacity sacrifices led to only 37 aircraft being produced, making it one of the lowest-selling jetliners ever. Nonetheless, the jet did enter service with several operators, including Spantax, Swissair, and Varig. It boasted a maximum speed of knots at 20, feet and a standard cruise speed of knots at 35, feet. And while this has helped the Coronado receive minor restoration work over the years, mainly through community contributions and use for filming, much of the aircraft still needs work. It is a stretched version of the Convair , longer than the by 10 feet and capable of carrying 96 - passengers. Photo by Malcolm Nason , used with permission. The Convair fell far short of its ambitions to capture a major share of the jet market with its higher speed. They leased a second and third CV and continued their expansion.

Convair developed this American-built, narrow-body, four-engined aircraft in response to a request from American Airlines AA. Although AA had not operated the Convair , they had extensively studied the airliner.

However, much of the rear two-thirds of the fuselage, including wings, engines, and tail, seem to have taken a good beating by the elements. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair produced in response to a request from American Airlines : the was lengthened by 10 ft 3. This is the story of the Convair Coronado, a failed commercial passenger jetliner that had a miraculous second renaissance working for NASA. Photo: Aero Icarus Flickr. This four-engine design was Convair's first attempt at competing with the aforementioned Boeing and Douglas DC Despite its introduction in , AA began phasing out the s as early as The tests ultimately determined the runway surface at Kennedy Space Center, which allowed a higher crosswind landing limit for the orbiters. Interestingly, there was a much smaller margin between the wingspans of the Convair and designs. The key difference between the Convair and the that preceded it was the aircraft's length. London: Putnam, Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Wikimedia Commons.