P4044 CONVAIR 880 - SWISSAIR

The Convair 880 was an American airliner that was first flown in 1959 and entered service a year later (1960). In the basic version, the machine was 39.42 meters long with a wingspan of 36.58 meters. The propulsion was provided by 4 General Electric CJ-805-3 turbojet engines with a thrust of 51.8 kN each. The traveling speed (cruise) oscillated around 900-950 km / h. The machine was able to carry up to 110 passengers. In total, 65 examples of this machine were built. The 880 model was developed at an aviation plant Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation , known as Convair, in order to compete with Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 planes. The machine was to be jet propelled and dedicated to medium-distance flights. The machine, however, did not turn out to be a sales success and was inferior to its rivals in terms of economy of use and operation. In the course of the service, it also turned out to be relatively emergency. Only one modified version was made, called Convair 880M, which had engines General Electric CJ-805-3B, stronger chassis, increased capacity of fuel tanks and a much more effective rudder. However, it did not arouse enthusiasm in the market. Convair 880 was operated by airlines such as Delta Airlines, Japan Airlines, Swissair and TWA.