P4017 CV-990 - VARIG

The Convair 990 Coronado was an American airliner that was first flown in 1961 and entered service a year later (1962). The machine, in the 990A version, was 42.6 meters long with a wingspan of 37 meters. The propulsion was provided by 4 General Electric CJ-805-23B turbojet engines with a thrust of 71.4 kN each. The maximum speed was 0.87 Ma. The machine was able to carry up to 149 passengers. In total, only 37 examples of this machine were built. The 990 model was developed by Convair shortly after the failure of the 880 model on the market. Initially, the main user of the aircraft was to be American Airlines, which sought to obtain the aircraft as fast as possible, with favorable operating economy and a range that would allow flights between the west and east coast of the USA without stopping . Convair's works on the new plane were based on the general assumptions of the 880 model, but they used new engines, the wing geometry was significantly changed, the fuselage was extended, and the aerodynamic properties of the whole structure were significantly improved. However, after the test flights, it turned out that Convair 990 would not meet the customer's expectations, which resulted in an increase in project costs and extension of research and development works. Although the 990 model was sold to such airlines as American Airlines or Swissair, the entire project turned out to be a spectacular financial failure of Convair.