The Convair 880 was designed to be smaller and faster than the competing aircraft of the era, the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. It is called an 880 to represent its speed of 880 feet per second or 600 miles per hour.
First flying on 27 January 1959, it entered service on 15 May 1960 with Delta Air Lines on the Houston to New York route. Just 65 were built at Convair in San Diego during its production run, which ended in 1962.
Convair 880 Video
Following on from the last video about the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, this week we look at the super fast Convair 880. Titled “Introduction to a Champion”, it was produced by Delta Air Lines in 1960 and runs for about 13 minutes.
This film has it all, with a short piece on the production line, as well as a look at the General Electric “pure jet” engines. Next it goes inside, showing the typical five abreast seating, as well as the “club compartment” with tables in between the seats.
Next, the voiceover switches to a stewardess with a southern accent. Passengers receive snacks, cocktails and much is made of the quietness and passenger appeal of the cabin. I rather enjoy seeing the design of the cabin of the era, very different to now.
Beautiful air to air shots taken at dusk are a feature towards the end of the video, followed by a dinner service. Those trays are loaded with food, so I doubt anyone went hungry when flying Delta back then!
That Famous Convair 880 Photograph
There are two absolutely iconic photographs of the Convair 880 that you must see. Larry Pullen and Tom LeBoutillier had the idea for a head on shot and gained the permission from the Delta Air Lines Chief Pilot and the FAA to make the attempt.
Four departures took place each morning in Houston when the lighting was correct. Unfortunately, none of the shots on the first day worked out as the aircraft were too high by the time they arrived where the photographers were. The next day, the first two flights gave the same result. Captain John Steiger was in command of the third one and promised to help out.
Keeping the aircraft virtually on the ground, the landing gear was retracted and the famous pictures were taken. You can read the full story of how the pictures came about by Larry Pullen on this Facebook post. You will be amused by what happened directly afterwards!
Overall Thoughts
So how does the Convair 880’s speed compare to the aircraft you might fly on today? The Convair regularly cruised at Mach 0.87, which is very fast. Well, by comparison an Airbus A320 will cruise at Mach 0.78 while a Boeing 777 will clock in at Mach 0.84.
All of that speed came at the cost of fuel efficiency, while the five abreast cabin meant less seats. As a result, the aircraft was less economical to operate which is partly why it was not a sales success.
Did you ever fly on board a Convair 880? What did you think of the video? Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Mel Lawrence via Flickr
Colour head on photo by Tom LeBoutillier via Classic Airliner Videos on Facebook.
Black and white head on photo by Larry Pullen via Airliners.net
In the Summer of 1970 my Eastern Airlines 727 HOU- JFK went tech. I was transferred to a Delta CV-880 HOU – LGA, being an unaccompanied minor I got to sit in First Class. I distinctly remember turning around for a view of economy and the five across seating. Aside from the real china and cutlery, filet mignon and salad with Greek Goddess dressing, precious little remains with me.
Now that is some luck all round – getting a Convair 880 not long before they were removed from service, and First Class to boot! How awesome! To be fair, you’ve remembered plenty, the five abreast economy and the food. I always remember the food myself. Thanks for the comment, sounds like some experience – I’m very jealous!
I flew on a Delta Convair 880 on one occasion in Aug. of 1966 from MIA to ATL. Flying time was 1 hour 13 minutes which was about a half hour faster than the published schedule. The “super scooter” upon reaching cruising altitude was very quiet (you could hear the wind rushing past the airframe). Unfortunately, this aircraft was a “gas hog” and was taken out of service before its service life should have ended. An otherwise good aircraft.
That’s extremely quick, isn’t it? I like that you mentioned the quietness, as the Delta video says the same thing – that all you hear is the wind rushing past the airframe. The Boeing 727 was similar if you sat towards the front. Definitely uneconomical, but a solid aircraft all round really. Thanks for the comment – glad to hear you got to fly in one!
I never flew one but remember seeing them around ORD in the early 70’s. A sweet looking aircraft! Funny that the 5 abreast seating was considered a competitive disadvantage at the time when you consider that some airlines, Continental especially, were configuring some of their 707s and 727s with 5 abreast sections as a sort of Economy+/Eurobusiness cabin we see today. What’s old is new again sometimes.
Yes, I agree with you. It would have been definitely interesting to fly on one, especially as they were only in mainline service for such a short time.