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PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

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• Airline Operations • Turbo-prop Models • Airliner-configured Military Models

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Specialty Press 39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, MN 55056. Phone: 800-895-4585 or 651-277-1400 Fax: 651-277-1203 http://www.specialtypress.com Midland Publishing 4 Watling Drive, Hinckley, LE10 3EY, England. Phone 01455 254 450 Fax: 01455233737

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AIRLIlfERTECH 5

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VOLUME

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CONVAIR TWINS . PISTON CON·VAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS NICHOLAS A. VERONICO

AND

WILLIAM T. LARKINS

ERAU-PRESCOTT LIBRARY

COPYRIGHT ©

2005

BY NICHOLAS

A.

VERONICO AND WILLIAM

T. LARKINS

Published by Specialty Press Publishers and Wholesalers 39966 Grand Avenue North Branch, MN 55056 United States of America (800) 895-4585 or (651) 277-1400 http://www.specialtypress.com Distributed in the UK and Europe by Midland Publishing 4 Watling Drive Hinckley LElO 3EY, England Tel: 01455 254 450 Fax: 01455 233 737 http://www.midlandcountiessuperstore.com ISBN-13 97"8-1-58007-073-7 ISBN-I0 1-58007-073-6 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher in writing. Material contained in this book is intended for historical and entertainment value only, and is not to be construed as usable for aircraft or component restoration, maintenance, or use. Printed in China Cover: United's N73152 (msn 170) was originally ordered by Pioneer Airlines, but the sale was cancelled before the aircraft began construction. United acquired the delivery position, and the 340-31 was delivered on April 21, 1954, as Mainliner Providence, and is seen on the ramp at Oakland, California. The airliner was sold to Frontier Airlines in June 1959, and was later converted to Convair 580 turboprop configuration. (William T. Larkins) Title Page: North Central Airlines acquired N481OC, msn 100, when Delta sold off seven of its 340/440 fleet in 1960-62. The aircraft later rolled out North Central's new paint scheme as shown here. This aircraft was upgraded to Convair 580 configuration in May 1969. On July 1, 1979, North Central and Southern Airways merged to form Republic Airlines, subsequently acquired by Northwest Airlines in January 1986 for $884 million. (Northwest Airlines)

Back Cover, Upper Left: Frontier Airlines acquired N73162, msn 361, from Sabena in October 1967. Frontier upgraded the plane to 580 configuration in 1968, and operated the aircraft until August 1985. The plane passed to DHL, and had been phased out of service by 1990. (Nicholas A. Veronico collection) Back Cover, Upper Right: Ex-United 340-41, msn 5, eventually caught the eye of World Airways founder Ed Daly. The plucky Daly, of Irish descent, acquired the executive-configured aircraft for his personal aircraft and decorated it so. The aircraft was a fixture at Oakland International and is seen in January 1972. (William T. Larkins) Back Cover, Bottom: Aspen Airways acquired 18 Convair 580s beginning in 1972. One variety of paint schemes is shown on N5818 (msn 128, exAllegheny). In June 1991, Aspen merged with United Air Lines feeder carrier Air Wisconsin, the "largest independently held regional carrier in the United States." This Aspen 580 is ready to depart San Jose, California (William T. Larkins)

AIRLINER TECH

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TABLE OF CONTENTS CONVAIR TwINS

ACKNO~EDGMENTS

4

INTRODUCTION

5

CHAPTER

1

DEVELOPMENT OF THE

CHAPTER

2

CONVAIR-LINER EXTERIORS: POWERPLANTS AND SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22

CONVAIR-LINER INTERIORS

35

CHAPTER

3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER

5

240, 340, 440

8

240, 340, AND 440 INITIAL DELIVERY CUSTOMERS . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . • .

44

TuRBOPROP POWER: TuRBO-LINER, 540, 580, 600, AND 640

62

CONVAIR-LINERS IN COLOR . • . . . • '. . • . . . • . . • . • . • . . . . . . • .

65

CHAPTER

6

AIRLINER-CONFIGURED MILITARY MODELS . . . • .

82

CHAPTER

7

SECOND-TIER CARRIERS . . • . • . . . . • . • . . . . • .

87 99

APPENDIX

1

AIRLINE OPERATORS AND MODELS FLOWN . . . • .

ApPENDIX

2

SECOND AIRLINE OWNERS

100

ApPENDIX

3

HULL LOSSES BY DATE AND MANUFACTURER'S SERIAL NUMBER (MSN) • . . . . • . . . . . . • . . . .

101

SIGNIFICANT DATES IN CONVAIR-LINER HISTORY

104

APPENDIX 4

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS would like to extend our Bingham; Warren Bodie; Darlene thanks to the great many and Roger Cain; William F. "Bill" enthusiasts who have pro- Chana; Edward J. Davies; Jim Dunn; vided information and photographs Keith Gaskell; Scott E. Germain; for this project. We wish to make a Wayne McPherson Gomes; Jackie special acknowledgement for the and Kevin Grantham;. Erv Hare; contributions of J.M. Gradidge, who Karen B. Haack; Todd Hackbarth; has photographed, documented, and Earl Holmquist; G.S. Hunter (editor written about Convair-Liners for of the Convair Traveler); Clay Jansson; more than 45 years. When selecting Chalmers Johnson; Norm Jukes; Leo photographs for this volume, the Kohn; Dave Lucabaugh; Thomas authors attempted to find the great- Wm. McGarry; Michael H. Marlow; est variety of paint schemes and as Glenn 1. Martin Maryland Aviation (GLMMAM); Robert many original delivery customer air- Museum craft as possible. Many photogra- O'Dell; Linda and Dan O'Hara; Douphers dug deep to provide the images glas Olson; Milo Peltzer; Leslie and seen on these pages, and we wish to Stan Piet; Kathy Ponce - NASA Ames offer thanks to: Kelly and Ian Abbott; Research Center Technical Library; Henry Arnold; Caroline and Ray Jon Proctor; Kelly and Taigh Ramey;

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Graham Robson; Rhonda and Doug Scroggins - Scrogginsaviation.com; J.D. Scroggins; Bill Slate; Lawrence Smalley; William Steeneck; Ron Strong; Kenneth Sumney; Arne Szura; Norm Taylor; Sandy Thacker, daughter of Convair-Liner project engineer Leo pfankuch; Scatt Thompson; Betty S. Veronica; Karen and Armand H. Veronica; Tony Veronica; John Wegg; the library of the Northern California Chapter of the American Aviation Historical Society; and the staff of Specialty Press. Nicholas A. Veronico San Carlos, California William T. Larkins Pleasant Hill, California

AL594 was one of 165 Liberator Mk. IIs built for the British, and was reverse lend-leased to the U.S. Army Air Forces and flown by the Air Transport Command (ATe). The aircraft is seen in storage on Feb. 7, 1947, at Kingman, Arizona. On contract, Consolidated flew Liberators for the ATC on its Pacific routes. The aircraft manufacturer named its charter operation "Consairways." Experience gained by flying Liberators on scheduled service was incorporated into the design of the Convair-Liner. (William T. Larkins)

4

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INTRODUCTION orld War II saw a tremendous number of advances in aviation technology, from leading-edge slots (or slats) for low-speed maneuverability - as first demonstrated in 1923 on the Handley Page H.P.21 fighter and later built into the mass-produced Messerschmitt Bf-109s - to robust pressurization systems as flown on the B-29, to the production and implementation of the first jet engines. Long-range navigation also saw technical advancements. Even further advancements were made to the aircraft that flew bombs as well as those that transported men and equipment to remote outposts. When America entered the war, its long-range transports consisted of a

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variety of bomber aircraft converted for the new role. Consolidated's B-24 Liberator bomber was built in the C87 cargo and C-109 fuel-transporter versions, while the XC-108 - a cargo version of the B-17 - was also attempted. Medium-range transports were based around converted airliner types from the DC-3/C-47 to the larger Curtiss CW-20/C-46. These transports were developed prior to World War II, and were built in significant numbers during the conflict. War on a global scale drove the development of larger, longer-range, four-engine transports. Lockheed's C69 became the postwar Constellation, and Douglas' C-54 evolved to become the postwar DC-4, DC-6, and DC-7,

while Boeing's C-97 set a new postwar standard for luxury air travel when it was built as the commercial Model 377 Stratocruiser (see AirlinerTech Vol. 9 - Boeing B377 Stratocruiser). The military's focus on long-range transports and its satisfaction with the C-46 and C-47 saw a complete abandonment of further medium-range transport development. So successful were the C-46 and C-47 designs that a number of both types were still employed hauling cargo in South America or passengers on sight-seeing flights in Alaska and the Caribbean more than 55 years after the end of the war. In the days following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the need to move men and priority

The Curtiss C-46 was highly sought after by non-scheduled can'iers and the major airlines alike. The aircraft's ability to carry 13,500 lbs over a distance of 1,700 miles made it a money-maker. National Airlines' C-46F-1-CU, serial number 44-78721, was leased by National on July 2, 1948, registered N1661M, and is seen here at Oakland in the early 1950s. This Curtiss Commando crashed in South America on May 28, 1972. (William T Larkins)

CONVAIR TWINS

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N90915, msn 35929, was typical of the many war-surplus transports available to start-up airlines after the war. Built for the Army Air Forces as C-54G-1-DO, serial number 45-0476, the aircraft was delivered on June 30, 1945, too late to see war service. The aircraft was subsequently leased to American Overseas Airlines as Flagship Gander in 1946. In 1950, Alaska Airlines leased the plane from the Air Force, and in 1953 the plane was leased to Transocean Air Lines. Named Taloa Panama, the aircraft flew non-scheduled service from Transocean's Oakland home base for two years before being returned to the Air Force. (William T Larkins)

equipment across the North Atlantic and the vast Pacific became readily apparent. Gen. Douglas MacArthur moved his headquarters from the archipelago to Australia after fall of the Philippines. Japanese conquests of territory and its marauding submarines solidified the need for a scheduled air route between the west coast of the United States and Australia. To assist the Army's Air Transport Command in flying cargo and personnel, two contracts were awarded one to Pan American Airways for the trans-Atlantic routes and the other to Consolidated Vultee, manufacturer of the B-24, for trans-Pacific operations. The aircraft manufacturer formed a subsidiary called Consolidated Airways, Inc., which later became known as "Consairways." Consairways began flights on April 23, 1942, and flew regularly scheduled trips through the end of the war. From its stateside bases at San Diego, and later Suisun-Fairfield Army Air Field (now Travis Air Force Base, California), Consairways crews flew to Brisbane, Australia (via Hawaii, Christmas Island, Canton Island, Nandi, and Noumea), to Guadalcanal and Nadzab, New Guinea (via Hawaii, Canton Island, and Nanomea), and

6

later to Manila (via Hawaii, Johnston Island, Tarawa, Kwajalein, and Guam). On December 30, 1945, three months after the victory over Japan, Consairways ceased operations. The postwar, long-range transport market saw Boeing, Douglas, and

Lockheed enter a sales frenzy in which manufacturers courted customers and formed the basis of decades-long relationships. However, the mediumrange transport market appeared neglected. A number of aircraft manufacturers avoided the market antici-

Boeing's model 377 Stratocruiser also emerged from a military requirement for a long-range transport aircraft. Stratocruisers set the standard for postwar luxury air travel. (Boeing)

AIRLINER TECH . C; ..

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Consolidated Vultee incorporated many of the lessons learned while operating an airlinestyle service for the U.S. military during World War II into the company's postwar designs. The recipient of such operating lessons was the company's twin-engine, 3D-seat Model 110, and later its Model 240, shown in an artist's conception of what the aircraft would look like in airline service. (Consolidated Vultee via Scroggins collection)

pating that a glut of surplus C-46s and boom. It was anticipated that these C-47s would be released to the pub- men, having ridden into battle in lic through the War Assets Adminis- unpressurized, noisy C-46s and -47s, tration (WAA). After the war, the WAA would prefer a mom luxurious mode sold surplus C-47s for as low as of transportation. That perceived $25,000, or leased them for· $3,000 need drove Boeing, Consolidated per month. Those C-46s and C-47s Vultee, Curtiss, Douglas, and Martin sold surplus were quickly snapped up to propose a new series of mediumby GIs, starting what became known range airliners. as "non-skeds" - airlines that providConsolidated Vultee's operation ed cargo and passenger service on a of an airline during the war years non-scheduled basis. The non-skeds came to have major significance in the quickly sewed up the under-20-pas- postwar period. Lessons learned from senger market, leaving a void in air- its Consairways operations were craft to serve the 24- to 44-seat incorporated into the company's new passenger market. Most C-46, DC- Model 110 design, which later became 3/C-47, and later surplus DC-4 oper- the Model 240. This new design ators were designated Large Irregular accommodated 30 passengers and Carriers, and by the end of 1946, near- featured under-the-tail, rear, passenly 150 had applied to the Civil Aero- ger entry stairs, dual-wheel tricycle nautics Board for registration. landing gear, and twin Pratt & WhitReturning GIs, having experi- ney 2,100-hp R-2800 Double Wasp enced air travel to distant lands, were engines with reversible pitch proexpected to fuel a postwar travel pellers, and it could cruise at 275

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

mph. One lesson learned while the company was flying its Liberator variants across the Pacific came from the B-24's cowling. To remove the cowling, a mechanic had to disassemble nearly a dozen pieces, which was cumbersome, and removing or installing it added time during turn-arounds. From this lesson, the Model 110 incorporated what became known as the "orange peel" cowl, which separated from the engine in four parts, hinged at the firewall, and was quite an innovation for 1945. Consolidated Vultee and Martin had each put its designs out for inspection by the airlines. Martin was off to a great sales start, while Consolidated Vultee began to market its Model 110. It was now only a matter of attracting customers. And in sales, listerring to a customer's needs is the biggest part of making the sale.

7

DEVELOPMENT OF -tmE 240, 340, 440 uring the opening days of World War II, nearly half of all DC-3s in airline service were conscripted by the military. In the waning days of the war, most airlines were contemplating how they were going to meet the anticipated demand of the traveling public. The carriers did not want their conscripted DC-3s back, and most were searching for an updated, larger alternative to the venerable Douglas twin. Most airlines had postwar plans for the DC-4 and pressurized DC-6 on their long-haul routes, but none had seen an attractive, medium-range transport. While the carriers were contemplating how they were going to meet the anticipated travel boom, airframe manufacturers were simultaneously attempting to anticipate the needs of their customers. Each had been working on "paper" airplanes designs that seemed good on the drafting table, but had not yet taken flight. Of the major airframe manufacturers, Boeing, Consolidated Vul- Boeing tried entering the medium-range airliner market with its 17-passenger Model tee, Curtiss, Douglas, Lockheed, and 417, depicted, and 30-seat Model 431. The lines of the aircraft around the cockpit Martin had all been working on air- certainly reflect its Stratocruiser heritage. (Boeing via Jon Proctor) liner designs for the postwar market. To find a suitable medium-range Martin's entrant transport for its fleet, American Airlines into the postwar invited all the airframe manufacturers medium-range to submit designs. North American was airliner market too involved in building military airwas its Model craft and elected not to respond to 202 design. The American's call for design submissions. unpressurized Lockheed was busy selling and buildaircraft met with ing its Constellation; however, the significant sales company was working on a short-haul success and was airliner, the Saturn, which proved too a direct small to meet American's needs. Lockcompetitor for heed believed a substantial foreign sales to Convair's market (for more than 500 aircraft) ModelllO and existed for its high-wing, 14-passenger later the Model 240. (Glenn 1. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum via Stan Piet)

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AIRLINER TECH

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Here is Consolidated's Model 110 in flight over the hills near San Diego, California. (Otto Menge/Consolidated Vultee Aircraft)

Saturn. Two prototypes were built, the first flying in June 1946. The Saturn had a 74-ft wingspan and a length of 51 ft, 6 in. The original cost of the Saturn was advertised at $85,000; however, by the time of its first flight, the plane's price had inflated to more than $100,000. Due to the combination of cost, increased gross weight, a lack of sufficient power, and the glut of small, ex-military transports available on the market, Lockheed cancelled the Saturn and scrapped both prototypes. The remaining five firms delivered airliner designs to American Airlines for their consideration. In November 1945, American's management gave its employees sketches of the aircraft, data sheets, and a survey on which to judge the merits of each design. Of the submissions, American's employees placed Douglas' airliner first, followed by Consolidated Vultee's, with Martin's twin-engine design rounding out the top three. Boeing had submitted both its Model 417-42 (17-passenger) and Model 431-16 (30-passenger) airliner con-

cepts, which had the lines of their bigger brother, the Stratocruiser. American's management immediately threw out the high-wing designs as unacceptable, thus Boeing was quickly out

of contention. Neither Boeing design could find a place in the market having to compete with inexpensive surplus transports, and they were both shelved. Curtiss had proposed its CW-

Artist's conception of how the Model 240 would look in American Airlines colors. (Consolidated Vultee Aircraft)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

9

American Airlines places order for 100 revolutionary new Consolidated Vultee airliners!

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'l'he Cnnntir ~~Il ill. equil'Pl't1 with o"...r plant imotal. lation h:.l.!l ht.~n ..s~ially tlt'Sign..,.1 to tliminllle t':l:h::r.ust noiBt:.. and \·ilJrntio<1. Amo--.ir.tn Airlin.~ annount~ thal Ihl' 010passenger COIlI'air 2,10 will lie used for ..wift N'Onomk-:t.Illil:hUlutIL'!;!tthan 1000 ma~. in the 1,;nited St:ttC!l. )'1l'Xiro. alld Cllnad'l .

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THREE VIEW

28, 1946 issue of Aviation News to announce its 100-aircraft order from American Airlines for the Model 240. (William T. Larkins collection)

Shown here is a three-view dimension drawing of the ConvairLiner model 240. (Scroggins collection)

The prototype Convair-Liner 240, N90849, msn 1, took to the skies on March 16, 1947, with pilot Sam Shannon and copilot Russell R. Rogers in the cockpit. It is shown here on the Lindbergh Field ramp, October 24, 1948. (William T. Larkins)

10

AIRLINERTECH

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28, an R-3350-powered airliner with a lOO-ft wingspan, which sat 32 passengers. This aircraft fared no better, and the sales effort was eventually abandoned. Douglas Aircraft, never one to let an aircraft design go unused or unstretched, proposed its DC-8 - the first aircraft to bear such designation. This concept was the overwhelming choice of American's employees. The plane was based on Douglas' innovative, tricycle-gear XB-42 "Mixmaster," which featured twin, contra-rotating propellers driven by a pair of Allison V-171O liquid-cooled engines. The airline version moved the wing from mid-fuselage to the bottom of the fuselage to enlarge the cabin area and

CONVAIR 240-ENGINEERING LJATA BOOK PILOT'S ClWARTMEMT CURTAIM STOWAGE

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This is the general interior arrangement of the Convair-Liners built for American Airlines. As the type's launch customer, American had a tremendous say in the aircraft's interior design. (Scroggins collection)

eliminate the former bomb bay area. Although the design could seat between 40 and 4S passengers, depending upon interior configuration, American Airlines' management saw an aircraft that would be unreliable in scheduled service. Douglas could not interest any other firms in the DC-S concept, as those carriers also perceived the DC-S's contra-rotating propellers and its associated drive mechanisms as too maintenance intensive for airline use. The remaining two players on American Airlines' list of potential airframe suppliers were narrowed down to Consolidated Vultee (also known as Convair) and Martin. Each had presented what appeared to be viable

Convair-Liner 240-0, msn 4, NX94201, was one of the aircraft Convair retained for flight and systems testing. Note the hybrid Convair-Liner/American Airlines paint scheme. This aircraft was eventually delivered to American on March 31, 1949, and christened Flagship Chapultepec. (Hank Arnold via David W Lucabaugh)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

11

designs, both similar in overall external appearance. Martin pitched its unpressurized Model 202, a twinengine, low-wing, tricycle-gear transport that seated 40 passengers. American Airlines turned down the 202 for its lack of pressurization; however, Eastern and Pennsylvania Central (later Capital Airlines) as well as a number of South American carriers signed up for the Martin 202, while Northwest and United ordered pressurized Model 303s. The airplane manufacturer had lost the American deal, but Martin's postwar sales were off to a great start. Convair's wartime experience led the company to believe that six factors would drive demand for postwar commercial airliners. According to James B. Rea, engineering test pilot and design specialist in Consolidated Vultee's flight research department, the factors dictating a successful design were an aircraft's ability to fly between two cities at the highest speed, with maximum safety, at a minimum cost, in maximum passenger comfort, enabling a high frequency of schedules, with an assurance that schedules would be flown on time. In addition, Rea stated that a commercial transport must maximize the rate of return on the airline's investment. These factors, Consolidated Vultee believed, were designed into its Model 110. Convair built a single Model 110 prototype to demonstrate its concept to the airlines. The aircraft had a fuselage length of 71 ft and a wingspan of 89 ft, and the plane's height from the ground to the top of the tail measured 25 ft, 2.5 in. One set of stairs was located under the tail, and an entrance door ahead of the wing made this airliner the first in U.S. history to feature a passenger-boarding door in that location - now standard equipment on all commercial aircraft. The aircraft featured a gull wing, which encompassed 813 sq ft and was fitted with

12

•

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Factory-fresh Continental Airlines 240-3, N90846, msn 95, seen on the Lindbergh Field ramp one day after delivery to the carrier, on October 24, 1948. (William T Larkins)

Seen holding short at Oakland in October 1951, a Martin 202 and Convair 240 sit side by side awaiting clearance. The Convair-Liners distinctive exhaust augmentor stacks are readily visible. (William T Larkins)

-,

Swiss Air Lines Convair-Liner 240-11, HB-IRS, msn 132, Glarus, awaits its new owners after rolling out from the factory on February 26, 1949. This aircraft flew the European skies for a little more than four years before being acquired by Mohawk Airlines. Christened Airchief Chippewa, the aircraft was re-registered N1017C. (Warren Bodie)

AIRLINER TECH :-.

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Fowler flaps, which move rearward and down to increase camber of the wing. Engine nacelles, which held the fully retractable main gear, were mounted so that the nacelle's centerline was above the wing. The prototype was fitted with two 18-cylinder, 2,100-hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-SC13G Double Wasp engines, which drove four-blade, 12-ft, 2-in reversible-pitch propellers. Another innovation of the Model 110 was its engine-exhaust arrangement, which exchanged heat from the pipes for deicing and passenger cabin comfort. The Model 110 sat 30 passengers and could cruise at 260 mph at.l6,OOO ft with a range of 560 miles. American Airlines saw potential in the design and, while the Model 110 was being built, began negotiations with Convair on a number of improvements. American Airlines needed a pressurized transport that could seat 40 passengers rather than 30, and to facilitate ground handling at stops, the airline suggested that an integral air stair be installed at the forward passenger entrance. American's request for boarding stairs also included the provision that the door hinge at the top provide shelter from the weather for passengers entering or exiting the aircraft. The sole Model 110, NX90653, flew on July 8, 1946, with Russell R. Rogers and Art Bussy at the controls.

Convair's art department modified this image to reflect what the new Convair-Liner 340 would look like. (Convair via William T. Larkins collection)

CV-240: Two Engines, 40 passengers The design modifications to the Model 110 requested by American Airlines amounted to what was essentiallya new aircraft, which called for a new name. The new aircraft was to be powered by two engines and was to seat 40 passengers, thus the name "240." The air carrier and the airframe manufacturer came to terms, and the airline placed an order for 100 CV240s. The deal, announced December

Martin's entrant into the pressurized twin market was its Model 303. None of the aircraft ever flew, and they were scrapped on the assembly line. (Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum via Stan Piet)

26,1946, was valued at more than $18 million. This was the largest commercial aircraft order placed to date with a U.S. aircraft manufacturer, and it occurred little more than 15 months after the end of World War II. (Amer-

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

ican subsequently reduced its order to 75 aircraft.) With the launch of the CV240, the Model 110 became the test bed for proving the new aircraft's systems. The CV-240's design called for a wingspan that would be 33 in wider,

13

United 340-31 N73102, msn 2, on the ramp at San Francis~o on September 23, 1952, during route proving trials. When this photo was taken, no United 340s were in service. The main cabin door is all silver, apparently a replacement, and has not had the United cheatline applied. This aircraft was later christened Mainliner Omaha. (William T Larkins)

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Convair-Liner 340-38, N4803C, msn 39, is seen here at the beginning of its long career. The plane is on the ramp at Atlanta shortly after its January 16, 1953 delivery to Delta. The carrier upgraded the plane to 440 standards and flew it until Delta sold a number of its Convair twins to North Central Airlines between 1960 and 1962. (Delta Air Lines, photo no. 550562)

14

AIRLINER TECH

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a fuselage 3 ft, 8 in longer, and the tail 1 ft, 8.5 in taller than the Model no. Gone were the no's gull wings, replaced by straight wings that were easier to build. The fuselage of the 240 was fitted with square windows in place of the no's round, porthole types. As negotiations progressed, American Airline~ switched powerplants to the R-2800-34 to take advantage of the huge number of new, and virtually new, war-surplus R-2800s on the market at the time. And although the CV-240 was heavier than the Model no, and powered by lower-horsepower-rated engines, its maximum speed was more than 30 mph greater. Pressurization was the big selling point for the Convair-Liner. Pressurization enables the aircraft to climb rapidly to altitudes where it is more economical to operate piston-powered aircraft. This also allows for rapid descents. The combination of short

United named its executive-configured 340-31 N731 05, msn 5, Mainliner O'Connor after stewardess Mary O'Connor, who had logged more than 4.5 million flight miles. O'Connor was in charge of special flights for the airline. This aircraft (seen at San Francisco on July 30, 1953), later owned by IV personality Arthur Godfrey, was the State of California executive aircraft The Grizzly II, and was the personal aircraft of Ed Daly of World Airways. (William T. Larkins)

National Airlines acquired N1137, msn 137, a Convair-Liner 340-54, from Pan Am on September 21, 1954. National flew the aircraft until 1960, when it was traded to Lockheed as partial payment for new, turboprop Electras. (William T. Larkins)

distances, flown using the rapid ascent/descent profile, enabled shortand medium-haul airlines to turn a profit on such routes with only 20 to 25 of the aircraft's 40 seats filled. In addition, pressurization made pas-

sengers more comfortable, and, back in the late 1940s, more willing to fly rather than ride the train or drive themselves. The Convair 240 was the first twin-engine airliner in service with a cabin pressurization system.

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

The prototype Convair-Liner 240, N90849, manufacturer's serial number (msn) I, took off from San Diego's Lindbergh Field on March 16, 1947, with Sam Shannon and Russell R. Rogers at the controls. Flight tests last-

15

Initial Operators by Model The following is a list of first-owner deliveries by Convair Model Designation. The missing Model Numbers were for orders that were canceled, private owners, leasing agencies, or military customers. 240-0 American Airlines 240-1 Western Airlines 240-2 Pan American World Airways 240-3 Continental Airlines 240-4 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 240-5 Trans Australia Airlines 240-6 Aerolineas Argentinas 240-7 Orient Airways 240-11 Swissair 240-12 Sabena 240-13 Northeast Airlines 240-14 Central Air Transport Corporation 240-23 Garuda Indonesian Airways 240-25 Ethiopian Airlines 240-26 American Airlines

340-38 Delta Air Lines 340-39 Mid-Continent Airlines 340-40 Aero O/Y 340-41 Northeast Airlines 340-42 Philippine Airlines 340-47 National Airlines 340-48 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 340-49 Garuda Indonesian Airways 340-51 Aeronaves de Mexico 340-54 Pan American World Airways 340-57 Aerovias Venezolanas 340-59 Servicios Aereos Cruzeiro do SuI 340-62 REAL 340-68 Lufthansa Executive (Bethlehem Steel Co.)

340-31 United Airlines 340-32 Braniff Airways 340-35 Continental Airlines 340-36 Hawaiian Airlines

440-11 Swissair 440-12 Sabena Continental Airlines Garuda Indonesian Airways

--==-....

------ ~-Braniff International Airlines operated Convair 340-32, N3416, msn 47. The plane, with a modified nose to accommodate weather radar, is on the ramp at Waterloo Airport, Iowa, in April 1963. (Clyde Gerdes via Norm Taylor Archives)

16

AIRLINER TECH . ... . ;-•

440-54 Mohawk Airlines 440-58 Jugoslovenski Aerotransport Scandinavian Airlines System 440-76 LAN Chile Iberia Alitalia Executive (Union Carbide Corp.) Executive (Gulf Oil Corp.) LACSA Eastern Airlines 440-88 Lufthansa 440-89 All Nippon Airways Executive (Glenn L. Martin Co.) Executive (U.S. Industries) 440-97 Ansett Airways 440-98 Kar-Air O/Y

ed 16 weeks, certifying the aircraft for flights up to 40,500 lbs maximum gross weight. While tests were underway; Convair was building aircraft, and the company rolled out its 100th Convair-Liner in January 1949. Aircraft were selling for $495,000 each, with the Dutch carrier KL.M. receiving the 100th aircraft. One of the privileges of being the launch customer is the ability to influence how the aircraft will be laid out. In the Convair-Liner's case, American Airlines was able to specify certain cockpit items as well as how the main passenger cabin would be laid out. American placed a coat compartment across from the forward entry door with one luggage rack on each side of the fuselage, when looking aft. The main cabin featured 10 rows of two seats on each side of the aisle, with the single lavatory, stewardess (flight

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Above left: In the January 1954 issue of Flying magazine, Convair touted its customer book for the 240 and 340. (Nicholas A. Veronico collection) Above right: This full-page advertisement announcing the introduction of Convair's 440 appeared in January 1956. More speed, quieter, and more luxurious - as evidenced by the bejeweled patron of the arts - were the aircraft's selling features. Note the list of air carriers signed up to purchase the new.Metropolitan. (William T. Larkins collection)

Allegheny's N8425H, msn 128, a Convair-Liner 340-47, is seen here on the ramp at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on November 26, 1965. The plane was acquired from Lockheed on February 18, 1960; after having been traded in for Model 188 Electras by National Airlines. Allegheny upgraded N8425H to 440 standards, and later modified it to turboprop 580 configuration. (David W Lucabaugh)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

17

attendant) station, and buffet at the rear. Located behind the buffet was an 1·....'external-access-only cargo compartI ment capable of holding 193 cu ft of luggage or boxes. Subsequent aircraft N8431H buyers made- minor changes to the 240's interior to suit their individual needs (see Chapter 3). Four main cabin layouts were ultimately offered. By 1950, sales of the 240 had come to an end; airline customers had acquired 176, two executive models were delivered (see table Initial Oper- 340-79, msn 202, at San Francisco in February 1955. The aircraft was built as a ators by Model), and the U.S. Air Force 340, but upgraded at the factory to 440 standards as the demonstrator for the bought 390 aircraft in five different reconfigured exhaust augmentor tubes. This aircraft is considered the prototype 440 Metropolitan. The plane was subsequently sold to John W Mecom on October 14, variants (see Chapter 6).

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1955, who reregistered the aircraft to N776. (Doug Olson)

340: Upgrades Improve the 240 On November 28, 1950, Convair announced an upgraded version of the 240, originally designated the 240-A. The manufacturer had been courting United for a 240 order, but the carrier elected to purchase pressurized Martin 303s in January 1946. In fact, Martin had booked firm orders for more than 110 Model 303 airliners, and had flown and certified its 202 ahead of Convair's 240. When Martin test flew its Model 202, it became obvious that the air- Eastern Air Lines' N9319 shows the 440 Metropolitan's sharp lines and its Convaircraft suffered from stability problems. Liner lineage. The aircraft sits at Houston International on May 30, 1962. (c. T. The company was forced to redesign Modlin) the aircraft's one-piece wing, which it shared with the 303. United, uninterested in waiting for the wing to be redesigned and suffering through the associated production delays, cancelled its orders for the 303 in October 1947. When the other Martin 303 customers pulled their orders, the manufacturer was forced to cancel the aircraft program, which was formally announced on December 26, 1947. During the six months after the carrier had cancelled its 303 order, United reviewed its aircraft acquisi- Competition for the Convair-Liner was coming from across the Atlantic in the form tion strategy. Shortly thereafter, com- of the Vickers Viscount. Comparative maintenance costs between piston engines and pany personnel made the journey turboprops, as well as the new engine's reliability, sounded the death knell of pistonfrom United's Chicago headquarters powered short- and medium-range airliners. (William T. Larkins)

18

AIRLllfERTECH

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One of the first 440s to fly with Continental, the first u.s. carrier to operate the type, was N90861, msn 318. The carrier accepted the plane on February 23, 1956. It was subsequently sold to Ford Motor Co., which later converted it to 580 configuration. The plane is seen at Oakland Airport in spring 1956 en route to its days at Ford. (Lawrence Smalley)

to San Diego to inspect the ConvairLiner. The first word from the airline was that they were not interested in the Convair twin. However, the high level of interest the carrier expressed in the 240 kept Convair executives comfortable in the knowledge that United would one day acquire the aircraft. In late February 1948, United Executive Vice President J.A. Herlihy led a team to the manufacturer's design offices to begin working

toward developing an aircraft suitable allow the aircraft to be quickly confor the carrier. verted to turboprop power. Through market demands and the While Convair and United were negotiating, turboprop power could design modifications made to please be seen on the horizon as the next United, a new aircraft was emerging. innovation in commercial air trans- Although it had a similar exterior port. Ensuring that its sales staff could appearance when compared to its 240 close deals at the time, and to offer progenitor, the 240-A was different its customers the utmost in flexibili- enough to warrant a new model desty, Convair engineered into the mod- ignation. Also, from a marketing ified 240 the strength and nacelle standpoint, new models help increase characteristics that would eventually the sales hype.

Convair N1R was the second aircraft to wear the registration, but certainly not the last. Before the Convair, the Dodgers flew a DC-3, and afterward moved up to a Lockheed 188 Electra, and later a Boeing 720. (Hank Arnold via David W Lucabaugh)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

19

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Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) flew 440-75 OY-KPB, msn 325, Hans Viking, for more than a dozen years. The aircraft was delivered in Apri/1956 and was sold to Linjeflyg in September 1969. (fMC Cradidge) On February 20, 1951, United announced an orderfor 30 Model 340s, which was quickly followed by an order of 20 for Braniff and a pair for the Arabian American Oil Co. In February 1951, Continental announced that it had agreed to buy eight of the type. Compared to the 240, the Convair-Liner 340 was longer, (capable of seating four additional passengers), had a greater wingspan, had a greater fuel capacity, could operate at a higher gross weight, and was fitted with more powerful Pratt &. Whitney R2800-CB-16 engines rated at 2,400 hp for takeoff. The prototype, N340l, msn 1, first flew on October 5, 1951. This was the only 340 equipped with starboard boarding stairs ahead of the wing, as all subsequent aircraft were delivered with the stairs on the port side. The aircraft was granted its CAB type certificate on March 27, 1952, clearing the way for airline operations. Although United was the launch customer, Braniff got its 340s into service

legs without refueling, and featured integral air stairs like the Convair to enable passenger boarding or deplaning without ground equipment, all at a cost lower than the 240 and 340. To meet this challenge head-on, Convair announced its Model 440 Metropolitan. Originally designated the 340B, Convair's basic design once again evolved to meet the competition. Sound attenuation improvements as well as increased speed (5 mph faster than the 340) were determining factors in the company's decision to rename the airliner. The biggest improvement in the 440 was the aircraft's exhaust 440 Metropolitan: Meeting Turboprops Head-On silencers, which eliminated the dual exhaust ports of each nacelle as on the By the mid 1950s, Vickers-Arm- 240 and 340, and replaced that unit strong Aircraft Ltd. was pushing its with a single, rectangular outlet. Awing four-engine Rolls-Royce Dart-powered trailing-edge extension was also added turboprop Viscount to U.S. air carriers to increase the wing's lift coefficient as a low-cost alternative to piston- enabling the 440 to take off at a maxpowered airliners. Vickers touted that imum gross weight of 49,000 lbs when its "Local Service" Viscount could carry using water injection to produce 2,500 54 to 65 passengers depending upon hp. Weather radar was an option availconfiguration, could fly five 100-mile able to airline customers on the 440,

ahead of schedule, on November 1, 1952. United, having taken delivery of its first 340 on March 31, entered service with the.type on November 16. The increased power of the 340 made United's high density altitude! airports, such as Denver, Colorado, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, easier and more economical to serve. Convair sold 209 airline and corporate 340s before it was forced to address the new turboprop airliners being introduced by its competitors (see previous table Initial Operators by Model).

1 Hot, high, and humid weather conditions can change a routine takeoff or landing into an accident. There are three important factors that affect air density: ALlTIUDE, TEMPE~RE, and HUMIDITY. The higher the altitude, the less dense the air. The warmer the air, no matter the altitude, the less dense it is, too. When the temperature rises above the standard temperature for a locality, the density of the air in that locality is reduced and the "density altitude" increases. This is known as "high density altitude"- note that the words high or low modify the term "density altitude." This affects the aircraft's aerodynamic performance, and also decreases the HP output of the engine. From the pilot's point of view, an increase in density altitude results in increased takeoff distance, reduced rate of climb, increased true airspeed on approach and landing, and increased landing roll distance. - (Adapted by the authors from information provided by the FAA)

20

AIRLINER TECH

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Eastern 440-86, N9320, msn 438, Friendship Baltimore, is seen here on May 15, 1960. Prior to the 1960s, Eastern's aircraft were known as "Falcons," thus, depending upon the size of the aircraft they were either painted in Silver Falcon or Golden Falcon livery. Eastern's modern, new livery seen here was dubbed the "hockey stick" livery. (David W Lucabaugh)

Convair 440-75 N4405, msn 463, is seen here at Honolulu Airport on October 1, 1966. Hawaiian leased the aircraft from General Dynamics in late 1965 and for most of 1966. After it was returned, General Dynamics leased the plane to Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, and later converted it to Convair 640 configuration. (Doug Olson via David W Lucabaugh)

which accounted for the aircraft's new nose profile. First flight of the 440 Metropolitan prototype, the modified 340 N8431H, msn 202, occurred on Octo-

ber 6, 1955. The first production 440, a corporate example for Cities Service Oil Co., NlOOO, msn 312, flew on December 16, 1955. Continental was the first airline to operate the type,

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

beginning on March 8, 1956. Sales for the aircraft were predominantly to foreign air carriers and the military, with 199 examples being built (see table Initial Operators by Model).

21

CONVAIR-LINER EXTERIORS: /---r POWERPLANTS AND SYSTEMS aving secured American as its launch customer, Convair representatives began approaching other carriers in an effort to fill the company's order book. In addition to American Airlines, 13 additional companies ordered the Convair-Liner nearly each in a different configuration. Good for the airlines, but a manufacturing nightmare. The carriers were assigned a code to identify structural modifications, cabin configurations, and external fittings applicable to each airline's aircraft. Thus, Convair engineers could release a drawing that applied to only one customer, to six or seven, or all 14. The customer codes were as follows: American Airlines (Code: A), Sabena-Belgium (B), Continental (C),

H

The Convair-Liner's fuselage and engine nacelles provided a large canvas. XB-DOX, msn 38, was delivered with an executive interior to Jorge Pasquel on February 7, 1949. Note how the cheatline has been painted above the fuselage windows, the nacelle accents, and the flag of Mexico on the nose. (Leo Kohn)

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N90670, msn 90, shows the forward cargo hatches and left rear entry door to advantage in this May 27, 1955, view at La Guardia. The aircraft crashed in bad weather on approach to Nantucket, Massachusetts, on August IS, 1958. (William Steeneck)

22

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Belly cargo compartments were the same for all aircraft except those built for American. The standard configuration (below) had web gates over the cargo doors and a compartment splitter in the center. American's aircraft (top) were fitted with gates over the doors and additional gates that formed a compartment behind the doors. (Convair via Pfankuch/Thacker) FAMA - Flota Aerea Mercante Argentina (F), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (K),

Northeast Airlines (N), Orient Airways, Ltd. (0), Pan American World Airways (P), Swiss Air (S), Trans Australia Airlines (T), Western Airlines

(W), Central Air Transport Corp. of China (Y), and the two executive-configured aircraft received Code J for the first configuration and Code V for the second (see table Convair 240 Initial Customers by Company Code).

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

Having signed American as its launch customer and with the order book filling up, Convair began bending metal for the first aircraft in the fall of 1946. The following March, the prototype Convair-Liner 240 sat on the Lindbergh Field ramp. The aircraft was striking - its low-slung wing, twin R-2800s in nacelles without cowl flaps, and its tall tail all reflecting the sunlight of a Southern California afternoon. Looking at the aircraft, for description purposes an American Airlines example, the plane had an allmetal, semi-monocoque, essentially circular fuselage with a cross section of 9 ft, 5 in, and a length of 74ft, 8 in. The pilot's compartment was easily discernible by the stepped windshield and black anti-glare panel, which extends from the windscreen forward to the nose. The aircraft sat on tricycle landing gear, each leg fitted with twin wheels, which retracted forward, either into the nose or the nacelles. The fully steerable nose wheels (26 x 6 eight-ply, nylon cord, rib tread) were hydraulically operated with pressure supplied by engine-driven pllmps, and cable controlled. The wheel could be turned 60 degrees, 45 minutes port or starboard of the aircraft centerline. Each main gear wheel was fitted with Goodyear single-disc brakes and 34 x 9.9 ten-ply, nylon cord, rib tread tires. The landing gear footprint, main gear centerline to centerline, was 25 ft, and from main gear centerline to nose gear centerline was 24 ft, 10 in. Both the nose and main landing gear could be blown into the down position in an emergency using pneumatic pressure supplied by a bottle located above the nose gear well. Behind the nose gear and below the forward cabin area was the nose wheel well, and aft of the well was the belly cargo compartment. Bags could be stowed through port-side compartment doors that gave access to the 83-

23

ft storage area. The aircraft was not fitted with a cargo compartment below the rear cabin floor. Also located directSTATIC DISCHARGE ly behind the nose gear were two footADF SENSE ANTENNA ball-shaped ADF (automatic direction MARKER BEACON \ ANTENNA finding) loop- antennas. A wire ADF range and dual-sense antennas also ran under the fuselage. Above the nose, over the cockpit, was the ram's-homshaped localizer2 and glide-path antenna, and an ARC-l VHF-blade antenna, RADAR ALTIMETER and behind it, stretching to the top of ANTENNA the tail, was the liaison antenna. The RANGE DIPOLE ANTENNA marker beacon antenna was installed on the underside of the port wing, ahead of the flaps. Above the cargo compartment on the starboard side was the main cabin51/f,.Ie- D.IS.c,~.~.r...E' boarding door. This door swung up to L,'A,'So.~' A,,\I-rE.~.~.4 provide overhead shelter for passengers entering or deplaning the aircraft. LOCALIZER AND GLIDE PATH ANTENNA The door was 36 in wide and 83 in tall. When open, it gave access to the twoS'-...........-----------= Ll\ section folding airstairs, which pivoted in the center. Both the door and the stairs were hydraulically operated. ..... DISTANCE WHIP ANTENNA (PROVISIONAL ONLY) The 240's wing was attached to the ..... RANGE WHIP ANTENNA lower fuselage amidships, and had a ~/ ADF RADIO LOOP RANGE DIPOLE ANTENNA span of91 £1, 9.09 in. The wing was comARC-I VHF ANTENNA \ posed of a center section, two outboard ANTENNAS RADIO wing panels, two wing tips, two Fowlertype flaps, two overflap sections, two Radio antenna configurations were about as numerous as Convair's customers. ailerons, and eight leading-edge sections. (Convair via Doug Scroggins) Installed at a positive dihedral angle of 4 degrees, 49 minutes, 40 seconds, the fed to supply both engines from a sin- (near the center ofthe wing), and the wing had a sweepback of 7 degrees, and gle tank. An extended range option for NACA 634-515 for the tip. Known as an incidence at the root of 4 degrees. Convair-Liner 240 owners was intro- NACA "6-series" airfoils, the first The spar structure consisted of a front duced in the fall of 1950, which con- number denotes the series (634-120), spar, located at 18 percent of the wing sisted of a wing-spar modification and the 3 denotes the minimum pressure center section chord, and the rear spar new outer wing panels that each featured at halfway (5/10) across the wing's at 55 percent. The spars were 55 £1, 4 in a 275-gallon tank. Many of the carriers chord, and the subscript 4 shows the long and 26 in deep. Located within the operating flights over water opted for lift coefficient, which is 40 percent center section spar area were two 500- this add-on, the first being Garuda above and below the design coeffigallon3 integral fuel tanks. The wing Indonesian Airlines of Jakarta. cient, while the last two numbers reptanks were large enough to allow for a The shape of the wing was taken resent the maximum thickness (20 3-percent expansion offuel (15 gallons) from three NACA shapes - NACA percent) of the chord. Thus a NACA without overflowing. Through a pump- 634-120 formed the basic root, NACA 634-120 airfoil is a high-lift airfoil and -valve system, fuel could be cross- 634-419 at the break airfoil plane that is efficient in high-speed flight.

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2 A localizer is used for non-precision instrument landing system approaches when glide slope information is not provided. 3 All fluid measurements in U.S. gallons.

24

AIRLINER TECH

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Antenna placement on Pan Am's aircraft featured an ADF loop antenna on the nose. (Pan Am, photo 27766)

Fitted to the rear of the wing were Fowler-type flaps, which extended rearward to increase the wing's area and change the wing's lifting characteristics. The Fowler flap provided the Convair twins with a tremendous increase in lift without a large aerodynamic drag penalty, each having an area of 69.72 sq ft. Outboard of the flaps, each wing carried an 18 ft, 6 inlong aileron with an area of 28.3 sq ft. The ailerons could be deflected 20 degrees up or down. The rear fuselage underfloor compartment was filled with the cabin pressurization system and air-conditioning pack. The pressurization

equipment could maintain a constant interior pressure between sea level and 6,000 ft, which was determined to be the optimum pressure altitude for passenger comfort in the aircraft. This provided a 3.75: 1 pressure differential between the cabin's interior and the air outside. Cabin air was circulated at 1 ft per second. The air-conditioning system was rated at 45,700 BTU per hour or 3.8 tons of refrigeration. The Convair-Liner tail group consisted of a vertical tail and rudder, and horizontal tail and elevators. The vertical tail was 13 ft, ll.8 in, and topped out at 26 ft, II in above the ground. The vertical tail area was 125.4 sq ft,

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

with the rudder encompassing 41 of those square feet. The rudder could be deflected 18 degrees port or starboard of the centerline, and the rudder trip tab could be moved 9 degrees either side.

Power Package: Engines, Props, Nacelles Convair Liners built for American were fitted with two Pratt &. Whitney R-2800-34 "c" series, 18-cylinder, water-injected, radial engines. Known as the "Double Wasp'~for its two rows of nine cylinders, it could produce 2,100 hp at 2,800 rpm at sea level.

25

Sabena's OO-AWp, msn 153, was fitted with dual ADF loop antennas below the main entry door. (William T Larkins collection)

Factory-fresh Continental 240-3, probably N90846, msn 95, is seen here on approach to Lindbergh Field on October 26, 1948. The approach view shows the landing gea1~ gear doors, and wing flaps to good advantage. (William T Larkins)

American Airlines' 240-0, N94263, msn 136, on approach to Willow Run, shows the aircraft's flaps, antenna layout, and gear doors. At the time of this photo, the aircraft wore the name Flagship Springfield. (William Balogh)

26

.

AIRLINER ;-- TECH

•.

~

This is a detail shot of the 240's wing fairing and window installation. (William T Larkins)

The -34 was built extensively during the war by Pratt & Whitney, as well as Ford, Chevrolet, and NashjKelvinator. The engine was flown on the military's C-46F Commando cargo carrier, the Martin PBM-SA amphibious patrol bomber, and Grumman's F7F-3N Tigercat night fighter as well as its F8F1 Bearcat fighter. Proven during millions of air miles under wartime conditions, the R-2800-34 was an exceptionally reliable engine for airline operations. American operated its fleet of R2800s with ADI (anti-detonant injection) or water/methanol injection. ADI enables the engine to be run with leaner mixtures at higher manifold pressure for increased HP. Before ADI, extremely rich fuel mixtures were used for internal cooling, which is selfdefeating, as it does not develop the optimum power output of the engine. ADI replaces the excess fuel in a rich mixture, and enables a leaner fuel-toair ratio, thereby developing greater power more efficiently. Essentially fuel and ADI are mixed with air in the carburetor and ignited in the cylinders. Then, during the combustion process, the ADI is vaporized, subsequently

The unique orange peel" cowling exposes the entire engine, making any part of the engine available for inspection or repair. Note how the exhaust stacks flow into the augmentor tube at the top of the engine accessory section. Compare the size of the mechanic and the Curtiss Electric prop blades. (American Airlines, photo 11779-A)

Pan Am's N90658, msn 24, shows the clean lines of the engine nacelles that do not have cowl flaps. (Pan Am, photo 27773)

cooling the combustion and preventing detonation in the cylinders. Detonation during combustion can cause catastrophic damage to an engine, including burned pistons and rings, as well as damaged valves and cylinders. Operating at takeoff power (2,400 brake h p 4), 1.2 gallons of 50 percent Northeast Airlines 240-13, N91237, msn 140, showing the open cooling flap, water/50 percent methyl alcohol AD! installed in lieu of cowl flaps. Eastern DC-4 behind is N88815. (William T Larkins flows per minute to each engine. collection) ADI-equipped engines were typically denoted by a "w" suffIx, thus Stromberg PR58E2 carburetor. Of in Argentina. The CA-15 engine was American's R-2800-34s were known as note, American was the only carrier to better suited to operations at hot and -34W. The -34W had a single-stage, use the Curtiss-Wright electric props, high airports, and had a modifIed two-speed supercharger with a 7.29:1 as the other carriers chose Hamilton ignition system. The remaining initial gear ratio in low blower and 9.45:1 Standard Hydromatic props, all with Convair-Liner 240 operators chose the R-2800 Double Wasp CA-18 engine. ratio in high blower. American paired a diameter of 13 ft, 1 in. 5 American's choice of the -34W The CA-18 was rated for 2,400 hp at the engine with Curtiss-Wright electric, fully feathering, reversible, three- engine was purely for economical rea- 2,800 rpm (water injected) for takeblade propellers, and fItted the sons, while FAMA elected to use the off and 1,600 hp at 2,600 rpm at engines with a downdraft Bendix R-2800-CA-15 engine for operations 14,500 ft. The engine was fItted with 4 Brake HP is net HP. It is determined from the engine's power developed within the cylinders and subtracting the estimated friction generated in operating the engine, less power required to tum pumps, magnetos, and the supercharger, which leaves the remaining l-!P to turn the propeller. (Adapted from Airplane Power With Special Reference to Engines and Altitude, General Motors, Detroit, Mich. June 1943.) 5 Curtiss-Wright 740-3C2-0 blades or Hamilton Standard 2H17H3-48R blades.

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

27

Convair 240 Initial Customers by Company Code Carrier American Airlines Sabena-Belgium Continental FAMA

Executive Config. 1 KLM Northeast Airlines Orient Airways, Ltd. Pan American Swiss Air Trans Australia Executive Config. 2 Western Airlines Central Air Transport

Code Letter A B C F

J K

N

a P S T V

W Y

Convair 240 Engine Configurations by Initial Customer

Aircraft Model 240-0 240-12 240-3 240-6 240-8 240-4 240-13 240-7 240-2 240-11 240-5 240-10 240-1 240-14

240-1 240-2 240-3 240-4 240-5 240-6 240-7 240-8 240-10 240-11 240-12 240-13 240-14

American Airlines Western Airlines Pan American Continental KLM Trans Australia FAMA

Orient Airways Executive Config. 1 Executive Config. 2 Swiss Air Sabena Northeast Airlines Central Air Transport

R-2800-34 R-2800-CB-16 R-2800-CB-16 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-15 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18 R-2800-CA-18

ALTITUDE TYPE 2 SUPERCHARGER

SIN GLE STAG E TWO SPEED, MEC HAN I( AL CL·U T( .. I

TWO -SPEED DRIVE MECHANICAL CLUTCH POWER. { FROM ENGINE

.. ~

FUEL MIXTUR.E

-----+

------;,..

--+-

TO ENGINE

This is a late-afternoon shot of the Convair-Liner's augmentor exhaust outlets. (William T Larkins)

This diagram outlines the operation of the single-stage, two-speed supercharger with mechanical clutch. (General Motors)

a PR-58E5-4 carburetor, and its twostage blower was geared at 7.29:1 (low) and 9.1:1 (high). Western and Pan Am later changed engine configurations to the R-2800-CB-16 engine for their deliveries. Each wing was fitted with a single nacelle that held the main gear when retracted, the engine firewall, the engine accessory section, and the

engine. Cowling was an "orange peel"- type, which hinged at the firewall in four sections, enabling complete access to the engine and its accessory section. Exhaust gasses were collected from each cylinder and fed into two three-pipe ejector stacks, which were routed through the nacelle via augmentor tubes. Thus, the augmentor tubes were large-diameter

28

AIRLINER TECH

~

i

..

tubes with the exhaust pipes running through them with room for air flowing over the engine to be ducted and vented at the rear of the nacelle. Essentially, they acted like suction-driven heat exchangers. Convair stated that the purpose of the augmentor tubes was to "function as an injection pump to draw cooling air across the engine and shall utilize the heat energy in the

CONVAIR

ACCESSORIES COMPARTMENT SHROUD

240 - ENGINEERING DATA

BOOK

SHROUDED AUGMENTOR DUCT CCESSORIES COMPARTMENT COOLING AIR EXIT

CARBURETOR DUCT ALTERNATE AIR FLAP

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COOLING AIR FLOW CONTROL VALVE \ _---'n~~

WING FLAP

OIL COOLER/ DUCT ENTRY

FUEL OUTLET SCREENS

ACCESSORIES COMPARTMENT CCOUNG AIR ENTRY I_ANDING GEAR DOOR

This Convair 240 nacelle side view shows exhaust ducting, augmentor tubes, and deicing air ducts. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

CONVAIR

240 - E NG1NEERING

DATA BOOK

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This nacelle plan view details various air ducts, the location of the main gear wheels, and the augmentor exhaust ducts. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

29

Pratt & Whitney's R-2800 was chosen to power the ConvaiTLiner for a number of reasons, one of which being that during the postwar years many new, surplus engines were available cheaply on the second-hand market. (Pratt & Whitney)

For operations at hot, high-altitude airports, the Convair-Liner was rated for jet-assisted take-off (JATO) operations. Ethiopian Airlines' ET- T-21, msn 1 70, lifts off from Lindbergh Field with the number one prop feathered, number two turning, and a centerline JATO bottle providing thrust. Note the B-36 bombers undergoing modification on the ramp in front of the Convair plant. (Convair via William T. Larkins)

TO -

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FUEL QUA"lltTY GAGE

22. 23. 24. 25.

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26. 27.

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16 .. FIRE WAll 17. FUEl LINE STRAINER

28. 29.

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FUEL SYSTEM

Fuel was carried in two wing tanks, and could be cross-fed from one tank to the other. (Convair via Pfankuch/Thacker)

30

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N3406, msn 6, is seen here on the ramp at Chicago, 1955. By the time the 340 was offered for sale, it was decided to permanently locate the entry door on the port, front side at the head of the passenger cabin. (Art Krieger)

CONVAIR 240-ENGINEERING DATA BOOK FIRE EXTINGUISHER SYSTEM I.ELECTRIC:'LACCESSORYCctiP'lUISCHARGELI'I£ 2. Oil COOL!::11DIS(:HARGEHOllLES }. ENGINE (JCTIWiL;lSHER Rilla

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The fire-extinguisher system covers engines, oil coolers, and accessory sections to prevent in-flight fires. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

Convair-Liner Performance Comparisons Powerplant (R-2800) Take-Off Horsepower Speed, maximum * Speed, cruise* Range, fully loaded Max. Fuel Capacity

240 CA-18 2,400 hp 347 mph 270 mph 800 miles 1,000 gal.

340 CB-16 2,400 hp 320 mph 284 mph 1,790 miles 1,550 gal.

Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) 440 CB-16 2,400 hp 309 mph 289 mph 2,069 ~iles 1,730 gal.

*Convair-Liner 240 at 16,000 feet; 340 at 18,000 feet; 440 at 20,000 feet.

32

AIRLllfERTECH :-.

•

.:;:

exhaust gases and engine cooling air for supplemental thrust." Some claimed that the augmentors provided enough thrust to translate to an additional 12 mph in top speed. Hot air was ducted off the augmentor tubes to provide cabin heating through a muff-type heat exchanger, and was also routed to the flying surface leading edges for deicing. Air used for anti-icing was vented overboard at the wing tips. The Convair-Liner's engine/nacelle/augmentor configuration eliminated the need for cowl flaps, although the nacelle was fitted with cowl doors. During takeoff, ram air was sufficient to cool the engine, and if the cowl doors were opened the amount of airflow was increased, substantially cooling the engine - potentially below optimum operating conditions.

Convair extensively tested JATO for use by airlines operating at high density altitude airports for engine out operations. The company used msn 170 (N94280) for these tests, and it was frequently photographed in its delivery colors of ET-T21, which was eventually delivered to Ethiopian Airlines on December 12, 1950. Typical

Radar installation in Convair-Liner 240s and 340s necessitated a lengthened radome, which increased the plane's fuselage length. installations called for one to four Aerojet-manufactured JATO bottles to be mounted under the wing, to the rear spar (or if in pairs, two to the front and two to the rear spar), at the fuselage centerline. Some companies, such as Esso, opted for under-wing flush mounts in the nacelles, outboard of the main gear. Caribbean Atlantic Airlines (Caribair) developed a tail-mount JATO installation for its Convair-Liner 340s operating off the many short runways in islands. JATO bottles make approximately 1,000 Ibs of thrust, which is equivalent to about 450 hp, instantaneously. Such a power boost could determine whether an obstacle at the end of the runway in an engine-out, heavily loaded condition was cleared. Typical JATO bottles for Convair operations weighed 144 Ibs, and burned off 72 Ibs of propellant. JATO bottles up to 200 Ibs were certified for use on the Convair 240.

amount of air passing through. All oil lines forward of the firewall were constructed from fire-resistant materials. Fuel was fed to the engines from the main tanks located in the wings. Using fuel booster pumps located outside of the tanks and in the lower rear area of the nacelle, the system was capable of cross-feeding. This enabled both engines to be run from a single tank, or to shift fuel from one tank to the other. Fuel-line inspection doors were located under the wing, on the outside of each nacelle. The hydraulic system was a semiopen type, which allows for sections of the system to be isolated, easing the task of checking for leaks or diagnosing trouble issues. Pressure was supplied by engine-driven and electrical pumps, which maintained 3,000 psi in the accumulator. The entire system was designed to hold 10.3 gallons of fluid; 4.8 in the reservoir with 2.5 gallons of room for Systems: Fuel, Oil, Hydraulic, foaming, and 1.3 gallons held in an and Fire emergency, electric-driven pump reservoir. Hydraulic systems included Engine oil was fed to each pow- the landing gear retract and extension, erplant from a 20.S-gallon tank locat- landing gear uplocks, flaps, winded in the starboard side of each shield wipers, brakes, and steering. nacelle. Oil temperature was regulatConvair engineers went the extra ed through a free-flow oil cooler locat- mile when it came to fire detection and ed beneath the engine, and fitted with suppression in the model 240, 340, and a controllable waste-gate to meter the 440. The firewall forward area and the

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

engine accessory area were fitted with 21 fire-detection thermocouples alone. In addition, the augmentors and wheel wells were also fitted with detectors. On the fuselage, the cockpit electrical area, forward cargo compartment, and the aft interior cargo compartment were served by the same suppression system. The main C02 fire bottles were located in the forward cargo compartment, with the reserve bottle located under the wing in the fuselage center section. In addition, fuselage compartments were provided with three portable fire extinguishers for emergencies in areas accessible to the crew. One 5-lb C02 extinguisher was located in the cockpit, and two I-quart Pyrene extinguishers were located at each end of the main cabin.

Convair-Liner Growth: Model 340 and 440 The 240 was upgraded to meet the airlines' demands for a more versatile version of the Convair-Liner. The new plane was larger, with a fuselage length of 80 ft, 2 in - 5 ft, 6 in longer than the 240's fuselage. This enabled four additional passengers to be carried, and was accomplished by inserting a 16-in fuselage plug ahead of the wing and a 38-in plug aft of it. The increase in size gave the aircraft a new empty weight of 29,372 Ibs (up from

33

The Convair 440 Metropolitan's exhaust augmentor outlet was changed from the dual circular pipes to a single, rectangular outlet as shown on Eastern Air Lines' N9313, msn 427, at Reading, Pennsylvania. (Ken Sumney)

the 240's 26,400 lbs). The wingspan was also increased from 91 ft, 9 in to 105 ft, 4 in - a 13-ft, 11-in increase (for both the 340 and later 440). The added span featured new flaps inboard of the nacelles, and enabled the aircraft to carry 1,900 gallons of fuel (up from 1,000 gallons on the 240). To power the 340, two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 CB-16 water-injected engines, rated at 2,400 hp, turned Hamilton Standard 6895A12 blades, which have a 13-ft, 6-in diameter. This power package could lift the aircraft off the runway in 4,000 ft. With the new engines came redesigned augmentor tubes, which had a different outlet angle and larger diameter. The size and power increase enabled the 340 to increase its maximum payload to 12,012 lbs. The Convair-Liner 340's landing weight was increased to 44,500 lbs. Convair developed its model 440 Metropolitan to compete against the Vickers Viscount and forthcoming Lockheed Electra turboprops. The model number change was a signal to the flying public that the aircraft had been improved. The aircraft differed from its 240 and 340 progenitors primarily in creature comforts. Structurally, additional soundproofing and window doublers were fitted (to the first eight rows) to reduce engine/propeller noise inside the cabin. To compete with the turboprops, the aircraft featured a redesigned engine cowling

34

and augmentor outlet, which was now rectangular. Additional aerodynamic clean-up included flap and aileron gap seals, and the total package resulted in an overall speed increase of 5 mph. Externally, the most distinguishable feature of the 440, when fitted, was its nose-mounted weather radar. The RCA Corp.oration's AVQ-lO (CBand, 5.5-cm wave length) was United Air Lines' choice for equipping its Convair-Liners and fleet of DC-6s. Installation of weather radar necessitated a lengthened radome, which increased the plane's fuselage length

from 79 ft, 2 in to 81 ft, 6 in. The AVQ-lO had three antenna settings for detecting storms 20, 50, or 150 nautical miles away. The entire system weighed 125 lbs. Convair took the modifications that went into the 440 and offered them as a retrofit kit to its base of 240 and 340 operators. A substantial number of aircraft, reportedly more than 100, were eventually modified. In addition to JATO, Convair engineers and five air carriers discussed adding jet pods to their 440 Metropolitans' wing tips. Avensa, Sabena, Swissair, and Spanish carriers Aviaco and Iberia were considering civilian versions of the J44 (Fairchild FT-101E) and the J69 (Continental 352-2) jet engines for operations at hot-temperature, high density altitude airports. Both engines are in' the 1,000-Ib static thrust class. Convair engineers estimated that takeoff roll would be reduced by approximately 25 percent if the jets were used. This scheme was being considered in the opening months of 1958, and the increased performance of forthcoming turboprops put an end to this idea.

Convair-Liner Size Comparisons 240 74' 8" Length 26' 11" Height 91' 9" Wingspan Wing Area, sq. ft. 817 13' 6" Wing Root Chord 4' 6" Wing Tip Chord Horizontal tail span 36' 5.5" 13' I" Propeller Diameter Tire size Main Gear 11.00x16.00 Nose gear 7.50x14.00 Fuel Capacity 1,000 (U.S. gallons) Oil Capacity 50

340 79' 2" 28' 1.64" 105' 4" 920 13' 6" 4' 6" 36' 7" 13' 6"

440 79' 2"* 28' 1.64" lOS' 4" 920 13' 6" 4' 6" 36' 7" 13' 6"

12.50x16.00 7.50x14.00

12.50x16.00 7.50x14.00

1,750 60

1,750* * 60

*81' 6" with radome **1,550 gallons with outer wing panel fuel tanks

AIRLINER TECH • ~

~

CONVAIR-LI ~R INTERIORS ne of the privileges of being an aircraft type's launch customer is that the company has a great influence in the final layout of the plane's interior. American Airlines and the Convair-Liner 240 were no different. However, Convair sales reps just couldn't say no when trying to close a deal, and the aircraft ended up being sold with four distinct main cabin interior and entrydoor location configurations. This was costly to build and difficult to manage in an assembly-line fashion, and contributed to cost overruns on the Convair-Liner 240 series. This situation would later be corrected on the 340 and 440. Convair provided the basic cockpit layout, and once the instrument positions were chosen, American set forth its specifications. The pilots sat side by side, with a jump seat situated inside the cockpit door, directly behind the pilot's pedestal. Engine and trim controls were located on the pilot's pedestal, as well as volume, tuning, and frequency selection controls for the plane's radios. Unique to the Convair-Liner series, and later widely adopted, was the aircraft's gust lock, which locked the control surfaces when parked. To set the gust lock, the pilot pulled the handle out from the instrument panel and locked it around the throttles. With the lock on, the throttles could not be advanced past idle, preventing an inadvertent take-off with the gust locks engaged. The instrument panel ahead of the pilots contained flight

O

PILOT'S COMPARTMENT

This Convair factory drawing shows the pilot's compartment of the model 240. (Convair via Doug Scroggins) CONVAIR 240 - ENGINEERING DATA BOOK CONTROL PEDESTAl.

1.

ELEVATOR TRIM TAB POSITion INDICATOR

17.

2.

WINOSHIE:LO WIPER CONTROL PilOT'S THROTTLES

18.

WATER INJECTiON SI,o/ITCH MANUAL PROP. PITCH CONTROL CARBURE:TOR ALTERNATE AIR DOOR MIXTURE CONTROL

20. 21.

3.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

9.

This illustration details the pilot's pedestal for Continental aircraft. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

10. 11 • 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

COPILOT'S THROTTLES BLOWER SHIFT SWITCHES VOLUME: CONTROL & FREQUENCY SELECTOR AOF' TUN I NG METER LANDING GEAR CONTROl FLAP CONTROL SWITCH AOF TUN I NG UN I is AILERON TRIM TAB CONTROL HYDRAULIC PRESSURE CONTROL

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

19.

22. 23.

24. 25. 26.

n.

28.

29. 30.

9.08 C 9-22-47R

AILERON TRIM TAS POSITION INDICATOR RUDDER TRIM TAB POSITION INDICATOR MANUAL COMPASS CONTROL PANEL EMERGE.NCY HYORAUL I C PUMP S....JI TCH THROTTLE WARN I NG SWI TCH RELEASE (RIGHT SIDE OF PEDESTAL) ELEVATOR TRIM TAB CONTROL ASH TRAY CONTROL GUST LOCK RUDDER TRIM TAB CONTROL RADIO POWER SWITCH RADIO TUNING AUTOMATIC PROP. F(ATHER INDICATOR LIGHT AUTOMATIC PROP. FEATHER CONTROL S\OJITCH AUTOMATIC PROP. FEATHER TEST SWITCH

35

instruments, and the center panel held the engine instruments. An overhead 9-22-47R CONTROL PEDESTAL panel controlled anti-icing functions, electrical controls, lighting, engine and oil cooling, and inverters, and had provisions for releasing flares. A crew locker was located behind the copilot. Here the flight crew could store their coats and flight and overnight bags. In addition, a meal and a beverage compartment enabled the flight crew to serve themselves on flights with only one crewmember working in the main cabin. The power distribution panel (buss box) and the propeller relays were also located in the locker. The aircraft's radio and electronic equipment was situated on racks locat18. TAB POSITION INDICATOR 1. ELEVATOR TRIM TAB POSITION INDICATOR 2. vii NO'SH I ELD WI PER CONTROl. 19. MANUAL COMPASS CONTROL PANEL 3. P I LOT I 5 THROTTLES ed on the pilot's side of the cockpit to 21. THROTTLE WARN I NG SWI TCH 4. AUTO-PILOT ENGAGI NG LEVERS ( RIGHT 5 I DE. OF PEDESTAL) 5. PROPELLER RPM the rear. Radio equipment included 6. 23. ASH TRAY 7. MI XTURE CONTROL an I8S-I transmitter/receiver, an 24. CONTROL GUST LOCK 8. COPILOT'S THROTTLES 9. BL<1I/rIER SHIFT ShI\TCHE:S 25. RUDDER TRIM TAB CONTROL audio selector panel, an LA-I 7A inter.2.6.. .w:ro-:p nor .c.ot'.J:l:~m.. .Bn~ Cf\fI.J:rH!U. h .F'.S:WiJ.E.fJlCY sn.rr.:rna: 27. WATER INJECTION SWITCH 11. AOf TUNING METER phone amplifier, and an AN/ARC-I 28. RADIO POWER SWITCH 12. LAND I NG GEAR CONTROL 29. EMERGENCY HYDRAUL I C PUMP SW ITCH 13. FLAP CONTROL SWITCH .30. LAND I NG GEAR LOCK RELEASE BUTTON 14. ADF TUNING UNITS (VHF) transmitter/receiver. Naviga15. 31. PROPELLER PITCH LIMIT LIGHTS 16. HYDRAULIC PRESSURE CONTROL .32. AUTOMATIC PROP. FEATHER INDICATOR LIGHT tion equipment installed in the rack 17. AILERON TRlM TAB POSITION INDICATOR 3.3. AUTOMATIC PROP. FEATHER CONTROL SWITCH .34. AUTOMATIC PROP. FEATHER TEST SWITCH included a pair of RC-I03 localizer This illustration details the switch and lever arrangement for Western and Orient receivers, AN/ARN-5A glide-path model 240s. (Convair via Doug Scroggins) receivers, a BC-453 range receiver, C-2 remote compass amplifier, MN-6IA marker beacon receiver, AVQ-6 radio altimeter, and an MN-62A radio compass. 9.08

CONVAIR 240 - ENGINEERING DATA BOOK

\1:)

RUDDER TRIM

22.

CARBURETOR ALTERNATE AI R DOOR CONTROL

~D...

ELEVATOR TRIM TAB CONTROL

Y!\Lll~

AILERON TRIM TAB CONTROL

--------+-+-- CREW HAT

180K-1 LOADING UNIT

___

~

C-2 REMOTE COMPASS AMPLIfiER 8C-453 RANGE RECEIVERS

SPACE PROVISIONS

Or-LY

RC-I03 LOCALIZER-ll l-rr--l~ RECEIVERS

IBS-I TRANSMITTER RECEIVER

APPROACH AMPLIFIER SPACE PROVISIONS

Interior Configurations A, B, C ..

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LA 17A SERVICE INTERPHONE AMPLIFIER

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AVQ-6 RADIO ALTIMETER

MI-32 A ISOLATION AMPLIFIER

MN62A(2)~j·

RADIO COMPASS

FLOOR

STA.

STA'. 141.5.0 109 VIEW LOOKING OUTBOARD

VIEW LOOKING AFT

RADIO AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT RACK

The radio racks were located behind the pilot's seats. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

36

AIRLINER TECH

•

I(

;,..

Launch customer American Airlines, as well as Central Air Transport, Continental Air Lines, FAMA, and Northeast Airlines, selected what became known as the "A" interior. Passengers would enter the aircraft through the integral air stairs on the forward, starboard side of the aircraft, just behind the cockpit. At the top of the stairs, passengers would face a coat closet, then turn left passing a 64-cu ft luggage rack to their left when heading toward the rear of the aircraft, and a 78-cu ft luggage rack to their right. Once past the luggage racks, passen-

J F~~~.

gers entered the main compartment with 40 seats, arranged with two seats on each side of a center aisle. Above PO"ER~ I ~ l :··~ ~ the seats was a hat rack, which ran the PANF.l ~ POWER ~~~1~leUTlON ~.: ! '\,', length of both sides of the cabin. This PILOTS!( I 11 I -- -T---- - ~ \ HOT~OOD I PILOT'S HOT FOOD- t----...;:-----1---~·l co:iL~6gKER has, over the years, grown to become LOAD LIQUID f: LIQUID CARRIER I CENTER CARRIER ' I I today's overhead bins. Under the hat I ILOAO CEN.TER PANELS_ ~ i ! \ . \ rack, each passenger was provided PILOTS FOOO MAIN I with an individual reading light as :~;l~ri~- . Ea~'::;:RJE~Y PilOT'S FOOD r ' ; - _PROPELLER'RELAY BOX well as a fresh-air outlet. At the rear I EO~~~~,:::"Y::: oeSERVE"R'Sof the aircraft, on the starboard side, OBSERVEb 5 SEAT--t: I was the lavatory, and on the port side _ (STOW,I EO) I_' (/ the galley. Inside the galley was a serBAGS i BAGS / vice door, which also doubled as an I // added emergency exit. VIEW LOOKING i ;1 ----j~ OF "FLOOR VIEW LOOKING FORWARD. srA '09-f1 O~~B~~DR~ f II I Western Airlines, Trans-Australia Airlines, and Orient Airways elected to purchase the "B" interior, albeit with Here are two views of the crew locker area, on the left, looking toward the starboard some minor differences. The "B" inte- wall from the inside, and on the right, looking forward from the main cabin. The rior removed the integral air stairs locker was located on the bulkhead aft of the radio racks. (Convair via from the starboard front of the air- Pfankuch/Thacker) craft and replaced that door with a cargo/service door. The main cabin CONVAIR 240 - EI-!>I/HRII-lG DATA BOOK 4.0301 AC entrance was moved to the rear of the 12-19-47R STOWAGE COMPARTMENT DOOR TO PILOT'S aircraft, with the stairs folding down COMPARTMENT COAT ROOM from underneath the tail. The center STEWARDESS LIGHT aisle in this configuration continued the length of the cabin to the cockpit. Western and Trans-Australia did away with the crew locker and coat closet, and increased the size of the luggage rack and moved it forward on the aircraft's port side. The space that became available when the luggage rack was moved forward was reconfigured to become the cabin's buffet area. The starboard-side luggage rack was reduced, and a closed rack for meal trays was installed. The passenger cabin remained the same as the "A"-model interiors. The rear of the cabin was LIGHTS reconfigured to accommodate the cenFOLDING LUGGAGE RACKS ter aisle leading to the boarding stairs. OFF OFF OFF OFF The lavatory was narrowed and reduced MAIN ENTRANCE STAIRWAY in size, the galley was changed into a "stewardess" station, and the former DtSTR 'UTION

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This illustration details the entry and integral airstair configuration for American and Continental 240s. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

DOOR

ENTR. COMPT

DOOR

UNDER CLEAR UNPRESS. SIGNAL LOCKED c

RANCE COMPARTMENT SWITCH PANEL

ENTRANCE COMPARTMENT

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

37

T I

Size of the main entrance door and airstair allowed for placement of the carrier's corporate logo. Baggage racks just inside the main door enabled travelers to carry on their own bags rather than check them at the gate. Note the dual-wheel tricycle landing gear and paddle-blade propellers. (American Airlines, photo 11882-C)

American Airlines flew its first Convair-Liners to all of its stations for employee orientation. Notice how the main entry door provides some shelter from the elements. (American Airlines, photo 11783)

38

AIRLINER TECH

•

II:

~

rear cargo compartment was now opened for coat and bag storage. Orient Airw,,-ys aircraft differed from the other "B" interiors in that the forward, starboard-side luggage rack was removed and a radio operator's station added. Sabena and Swissair purchased the "c" interior configuration. Pan Am and KLM's aircraft differed slightly, while Sabena and Swissair's interiors were identical. The "c" interior was without an integral boarding stair either in the front or under the tail of the aircraft, and the external accessonly cargo compartment at the rear of the aircraft was reinstalled in this model. Sans integral boarding door, the "c" interior had its main passenger entrance on the port side, just ahead of the tail. Entering from the rear of the aircraft, passengers encountered a coat doset to their right (aft),

CONVAIR 240

ENGI~ERING

When compared to today's sardine cans, the ConvairLiners seats were truly a luxury. Imagine a seat that reclined 36 degrees that didn't put your head in the lap of the person behind you. (Convair via Pfankuch/Thacker)

DATA BOOK

1<-------44.79 - - - - - - - - 1

/t="ro~t:=---...19'50

+-+---------r

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PASSENGER SEAT

and passed the flight attendant's folddown seat and the lavatory as they turned up the center aisle to take their seats. Passing the main cabin when walking forward, buffets were set on both sides of the aisle. Forward of the buffets on both sides were luggage racks, followed by a cargo door on the starboard side. Radio racks on both sides of the aisle led to the cockpit. The Pan American World Airways and KLM Royal Dutch Airways "D" interiors differed from the "e" in that the forward cargo door was moved to the left side of the aircraft. The coat closet at the main entrance was cut in half and a pair of 20-person life rafts was stored in that space. Between the coat closet and the lavatory, a drinking-water fountain and sink were also installed. Forward of the main cabin on the KLM aircraft, two buffets were situated on each side of the aisle. On the port-side buffet, KLM made room for a flight attendant station, and behind it, against the outer wall, a luggage rack was installed that also held a lO-person life raft. Just past the buffets was the cockpit door. Behind the door, KLM made provisions for a radio operator. In addi-

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The buffet and lavatory were located across from each other in many of the aircraft interior configurations. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

39

tion, KLM aircraft had provisions for a flight engineer seated between the pilots, behind the pilot pedestal. Pan Am's aircraft differed from the KLM only from the buffet area forward. One large buffet was set on the starboard side of the aircraft, which faced the flight-attendant station and the buffet refrigerators. The lO-person life raft was moved over the radio racks and the luggage area behind the flight attendant station was enlarged. The area on the KLM aircraft where the radio operator sat was, on the Pan Am aircraft, converted to luggage space, although it could be converted back for use by the radio operator if necessary.

CONVAIR 240-ENGINEERING DATA BOOK

IMDIVIOUALREAOJICGllGIITS AND FRESH AIR OliTlETS

Passenger Comfort

In what became known as the 'A" interior arrangement, passengers entered through the main door located at the right front of the fuselage. (Convair via Pfankuch/Thacker)

In an effort to bring maximum comfort to its passengers, Convair tested a variety of seat-bottom cush-

CONVAIR 240 - ENGINEERING DATA BOOK LUGGAGE

BUffET

EMERGENCY EXIT ALSO USED AS SERVICE DOOR OH TRANS-AUSTRALIA

TYPICAL SECTION

RADIO EQUIPM'NT \

GENERAL

EMERGtHCY [),ITS

ARRANGEMENT

Western, Trans-Australia Airlines, and Orient Airways purchased the "B" interior with airstairs located under the tail at the rear of the cabin. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

40

AIRLINER TECH

__

i

~

ions. The company developed what it CONVAIR 240 - ENGINEERING DATA BOOK called the "Dynamic Cycler," a machine that simulated passenger sitting and standing and the resulting wear on the seat cushion. Using a mold of a person's buttocks, which was weighted from between 125 and 160, the faux derrieres were impressed into the bottoms of two, dual-passenger seats in 10 sets of 10,000 impressions each. The company tested a spring-type bottom seat, and one made from Fiberglas as well. The Fiberglas seat flattened about one-half inch during the first 10,000 cycles, but retained its shape through the end of the test. The spring-type cushions did not fare as well, and the Fiberglas cushion was selected. The dual passenger seats were 44.79 in wide, which gave each pas- Swissair and Sabena purchased the "c" interior configuration that did not have the senger 18.17 in for their lower hal£ and integral airstair. (Convair via Pfankuch/Thacker)

CONVAIR 240 - ENGINEERING

DATA BOOK DRINKING WATER

1 - 10 MAN' LIFE RAN & LUGGAGE

o

o

Pan Am and KLM's "D" interior configuration had the forward cargo door moved to the port side of the aircraft, and provisions for life raft(s) and luggage was added. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

41

COtNf,IR '1.1,0 - '•. ljINEmlr~G DATA BOOK

CONVAIR 240-ENGINEERING DATA BOOK

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Convair-Liners were fitted with two different aft cargo compartments, which basically varied in how the compartments were accessed. In the top diagram - applicable to Pan Am, Continental, KLM, and FAMA aircraft - a door through the lavatory provided access. In American, Central Air Transport, Northeast, Sabena, and executive interior aircraft, the door was reduced to an access panel. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

19.5 in of shoulder room. In the full, upright position, the seat backs were tilted 7 degrees and the backs could be fully reclined to a 36-degree angle. A single lavatory was provided for the cabin's 40 passengers and crew of three. Roomy by today's standards, the lavatory featured large mirrors, a plug for your electric razor, an ashtray, and linen hand towels. Located next to the lavatory, the galley was small yet efficient. The flight-attendant control panel and phone were located on the exterior wall (when looking aft). Beverage urns were located at eye level above a small work area, and pre-prepared hot meals were held in warming ovens to

42

fSCAP£ ROf'[US(llO!
Emergency escape routes gave passengers seven egress options in the main cabin and two through the cockpit, while aircraft equipped with the under-tail airstail' added two additional exits. (Convair via Doug Scroggins)

the lower left. Crushed ice was held in a drawer to the right of the meal tray carriers. In addition, a flightattendant seat was situated on the interior wall, which separated the lavatory from the restroom. One other flight-attendant seat was located at the coat closet by the main entry door.

In Case of an Emergency Passengers could egress the cabin using one of nine escape routes on American, Continental, Northeast, and Central Air Transport aircraft. Pan American and KLM aircraft had one additional exit through the service door on the port side, directly across

AIHLINEHTECH ...

~;

9b

from the main cabin door. Both pilot windows were included in the total. Passengers could also leave through the main door, one of four over-wing exits, an exit located on the starboard side in the eighth row of seats, and through the aft service door. Escape ropes were provided at the aft service door; however, KLM, Pan Am, Sabena, and Swiss Air all had escape ladders installed at this station.

Lessons Learned and Other Mods When it came to selling the 340 ($600,000 each in 1952) and later the 440, Convair steered away from

attempting to please every air carrier. The company settled on a forward main cabin door and 44 seats, and that was the choice offered. Standardization was the key, not only for aircraft manufacturing, but also for aircraft turn-arounds and ground-equipment positioning at terminal gates. The interior had passengers enter using the integral air stair on the port side, behind the cockpit. A cargo compartment was located directly across from the entrance, and was externally accessible. As passengers turned right toward the main cabin, they passed a luggage rack, which was located on the port side of the plane. Passing through the main cabin door, passengers were given a choice of 44 seats. At the rear of the cabin was the lavatory on the aircraft's starboard side and the galley on the port. Behind the lavatory and galley, accessible only from the outside, was the aft cargo compartment. By 1952, airline miles were averaging 4.5 cents per seat per mile. Convair, ahead of its time, began offering an all-coach-class interior for its 340 that would seat between 52 and 60 people depending upon configuration. The seating increase was accomplished by removing either the forward or the aft baggage compartment, or both. The company figured that on a 600-mile trip, New York to Chicago for example, the aircraft would only have to be 44.5 percent full (about 27 passengers) to break even. On a higher-cost, shorter haul of 200 miles, only 31 passengers would be required to break even. In September 1952, the company was pushing a "convertible" ConvairLiner 340 that could be reconfigured from the standard 44-seat interior to as many as 56 seats, or if range was an issue, as few as 30 seats. The company made arrangements to build the planes in standard configuration, and then deliver them to Garret Corpora-

Advertisement for AiResearch Aviation's Convair modifications, one of which retrofitted the integral airstair into aircraft originally equipped with "G" and "D" interiors. (Dan O'Hara collection)

tion's AiResearch Division where the convertible modification kits would be installeq. Another Convair-Liner modification that actually came to fruition was Pacific Airmotive Corporation's aftermarket integral air stair. The company, based at the Burbank Airport in Southern California, began offering the modification to the operators of the 40 or so ConvairLiner 240s built without an integral

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

air stair. Pacific Airmotive performed the first modification to 240-12 (N27C, msn 157) an ex-Sabena aircraft owned by the Murray Corp. of America of Detroit, Michigan. The new stairway - 200 lbs lighter than Convair's stock installation - was located at the rear door, port side, and could be opened or closed from both inside and outside the cabin. N27C's modification was completed in October 1957.

43

240, 340, AND 440

INfiiJAL

DELIVERY CUSTOMERS

Seen on the Convair factory ramp at San Diego on October 24, 1948, NX90849, msn 1, was the first Convair-Liner to fly. The inaugural flight from Lindbergh Field took place on March 16, 1947. Note the absence of titles on the bare metal fuselage and the Convair company logo. (William T Larkins)

onvair estimated that it took 75,000 man-hours to assemble a Model 240 Convair-Liner. From the end of the assembly building, Convair-Liners were flight tested and subsequently delivered to the customer. Aircraft were not delivered in the order of their manufacturer's serial number, although the msn and model number are indicators of the general time period for delivery.

C

Domestic Carriers American Airlines, headquartered at La Guardia Field, New York, operated more Convair-Liners than any other airline in the world, and its initial large order for 75 Model 240-0s assured Convair of a production line. The company took delivery of 240-0 msn 20, N94211 on February 23,

44

1948, and christened the plane Flag- N44825; 440-94 msn 439 N44829; ship Tulsa. This was followed by the 440-62 msn 368 N44828; and 440delivery of msn 40 (N94211) on Feb- 49 msn 490 N827AA. These aircraft ruary 28, and four more (msn 6 were out of the fleet by 1982, thus N94203, msn 31 N94218, msn 33 ending a more than 35-year associaN94219, and msn 36 N94220) by the tion between American Airlines and end of the month. The Model 240 was the Convair .iner. Braniff ,'_,rways of Dallas, Texas, granted Type Certificate 793 (officially filed on July 12, 1948), and entered sold off its DC-3 fleet and beginning commercial service on June 1. Amer- in mid 1952 acquired 20 Model 340ican bought four additional 240-6s 32s. Later, in 1956, six 440-32s were from a canceled delivery to the leas- added. An additional six 340-32s ing company Air Fleets. Eight of Amer- came from a canceled Mid-Contiican's 240s were lost between 1949 nent contract. and 1959. Continental Airlines, headquarIn the spring of 1977, American tered in Denver, Colorado, acquired Airlines acquired five Convair 440 five 240-3s (msn 73 N90844, msn 94 Metropolitans for use in the N90845, msn 95 N90846, msn 96 Caribbean by Antilles Air Boats. The N90847, and msn 97 N90848). aircraft were acquired from a variety These aircraft were operated until of companies and were: 440-62 msn sold to Canadian Pacific beginning 349 N44826; 440-80 msn 404 in December 1952. Continental sold T

.

AIRLINERTECH ..

•.

;

~

the 240s off in order to upgrade to the 340-35, of which seven were bought. Deliveries of the 340s began in October 1952, and three 440-35s were added to the fleet in February and March 1956. These aircraft were operated until sold off beginning in 1958 to acquire turboprop-powered Vickers Viscounts. Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta Airlines placed an order for 10 Model 340-38 Convair-Liners in June 1951. The new, pressurized Model 340s would replace many of the carrier's American Airlines added msn 101 to its fleet in August 1950. Originally delivered to unpressurized DC-3s and DC-4s. Howard S. Vanderbilt as an executive-configured 240-10 on January 26, 1949, When Delta merged with ailing ChicaAmerican converted the aircraft to a 40-seat interior. The aircraft was christened go & Southern Air Lines on May 1, Flagship Valley of the Sun, and flew with the carrier until April 1961. (William T 1953, Chicago & Southern brought Larkins collection) with it 10 Model 340s it had previously purchased. Two years later, in November 1955, Delta bought eight 440 Metropolitans, with deliveries scheduled through late 1956 and into the spring of 1957. Subsequently in 1956 and '57, Delta retrofitted its existing 340 fleet to 440 configuration. The company sold seven of its modified 340s to North Central Airlines between 1960 and '62, and had disposed of the remaining 340/440s by the end of 1970. Eastern Air Lines of New York replaced its entire DC-3 fleet with 40Braniff 340-32 N3422, msn 71, taxies in at Chicago-Midway in early 1955. (Art seat Martin 404s, the first of 60 planes Kreiger) arriving on October 21, 1951. Sixyears later, to supplement the 404s, Eastern ordered 20 440-86 Metropolitans. Aircraft deliveries began in April 1957, and the fleet flew accident free until the type was phased out beginning in April 1970. In the mid 1950s, Hawaiian Airlines of Honolulu, Hawaii, carried more than 70 percent of the people flying among the six populated islands. Hawaiian Airlines began operations in 1929 as Inter-Island Airways, a subsidiary of Inter-Island N3422 was lost as the plane landed at Chicago-Midwayan July 17, 1955. The tail Steam Navigation Co.; and became a was sheared off, and the fuselage came to rest inverted between the runways. (Art separate company in 1950. The air carrier's competition came from Kreiger)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

45

Aloha Airlines, which was launched in 1946. As Aloha made inroads, Hawaiian Airlines looked for every competBRANIFF itive advantage to keep and gain passengers, and that included the acquisition of five new Model 340-36s ordered in February 1951. Hawaiian Airlines' 340s had a fuel capacity of 1,700 gallons, enabling them to make the delivery flight from the West Coast to Honolulu without the addition of auxiliary fuel tanks. These 340s were later upgraded to 440 standards. To .... -~. supplement the modified 340s, the In the fall of 1967, Braniff 340-32 N3428, msn 99, and its lone flight attendant company later acquired eight used welcomes to the fleet Douglas DC-8-62 N1803, msn 45895, and its cabin crew of 440s to supplement its fleet in the five. By September 1968, N3428 had been sold overseas, and the piston-powered, mid 1960s. In March 1965, Hawaiian announced a $5.6 million deal with medium-range airliner was on the decline. (Braniff via N. Veronico collection) General Dynamics to begin conversion of six 340s to Rolls-Royce Dart power, and the acquisition of a Dartpowered 340 already converted. Both the piston- and turboprop-powered Hawaiian aircraft could be seen at air~1_ .1 _. ?ps ports from Hilo on the big island in the south to Lihue on Kauai in the north. Hawaiian phased out the type in 1974. Mohawk Airlines of Utica, New York, operated two dozen used Convair 240s that it had acquired from American, Civil Air Transport, NorthFactory-fresh N90846, msn 95, is seen here on the ramp at Lindbergh Field on east, Ozark, and Swissair. Mohawk's October 24, 1948. The Convair-Liner was delivered to Continental three days later. Convair service began on June 1, 1955. The airline began "Golden Met(William T Larkins) ropolitan" service in December 1958 with the arrival of the first of five factory-fresh 440-54s (msn 463 N4405, msn 483 N4401, msn 484 N4402, msn 486 N4403, and msn 487 N4404). Subsequently, in April, May, and June 1964, Mohawk acquired three 340-48s from KLM (msn 114, 121, and 122), which had been upgraded to 440 standards. Mohawk's route system stretched from Boston to Detroit, Pittsburgh to Plattsburgh, and New York to Toronto. In 1963, Mohawk embarked 1.2 million pas340-38 N4818C, msn 124, is seen here at Midway Airport on November 12, 1960. sengers, flew 251 million revenue-pas(Leo Kohn via David W Lucabaugh collection) senger miles and reported a net ~-

-

~.

~~ ...

46

AIRLINER TECH --. --

Delta merged with Chicago & Southern Air Lines on May 1, 1953. The new carrier, known as Delta-C&S, became Delta Air Lines again in September 1955. Delta's acquisition of C&S enabled it to pick up routes stretching from Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis through Memphis, Houston, New Orleans, and out into the Caribbean including Havana, San Juan, and Caracas. Convair-Liner 340-48, N4809C, msn 95, taxies out at St. Louis on September 1, 1953. (Doug Olson)

income of $475,000 on net operating revenue of $1.251 million. The carrier phased out its 240s in favor of the BAC One-Eleven jet by 1967, and flew its 440s until the summer of 1971. National Airlines of Miami, Florida, purchased six new 340-47s in 1953 and four 440-47s in June 1956. The carrier later acquired four ex-Pan Am 340s. The aircraft flew the company's entire route system from Miami to New York and west as far as Oakland. The first hijacking in the United States occurred on May 1, 1961. Antuilo Ortiz Ramirez boarded National Flight NA337 from Miami to Key West, operated by a 440 Metropolitan, and demanded that the crew fly him to Cuba. No one was hurt in the incident and the aircraft returned the following day. National used its 240s as trade-ins against the purchase of Lockheed Electras beginning in 1960, and its 440s were sold to North Central beginning in February 1963. Northeast Airlines purchased five factory-new 240-13s, two of which (msn 161 and 162) wore the same registration number: N9124l. Only three months after delivery, msn 161, N91241, crashed while landing at Portland, Maine. Both props went

Hawaiian 340-36 N5506K, msn 24 is seen here at Honolulu in March 1954. This aircraft was later converted to 580 configuration. (Chalmers Johnson)

N440S

Mohawk took delivery of 440-75, msn 463, on December 21, 1958. The aircraft was given a black and gold paint scheme and christened Air Chief Hiawatha. (Leo Kahn)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

47

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National's N8414H, msn 116, was delivered on September 30, 1953. The plane is seen at La Guardia in 1953. National traded the aircraft in to Lockheed for 188 Electras in 1960. (William Steeneck)

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Northeast registered 240-13, msn 162, with N91241 to replace msn 161, which wore the same "N" number. Msn 161 crashed on August 11, 1949 at Portland, Maine. Msn 162 was delivered to the carrier on September 9, 1949, and is seen at La Guardia in the summer of 1953. (William Steeneck)

into reverse when the pilots closed the 34 N90659, msn 65 N90665, msn 67 throttles as they flared for landing. N90666, and msn 90 N90670. These The aircraft hit hard, catching fire, but aircraft, except msn 90 which crashed none of the 28 passengers and crew on approach to Nantucket, Massawas severely injured. Msn 162 took up chusetts, on August 15, 1958, flew the previous aircraft's registration and with Northeast until being sold to the served with the carrier until sold to Brazilian carrier Varig in 1959. Mohawk Airlines in the fall of 1955. Pan American World Airways of Northeast also purchased two 240-11s Miami, Florida, purchased 20 new ordered by Swissair. The aircraft, msn 240-2s, which were delivered to the 140 N91237 and msn 158 N91238, carrier between June and December were delivered in February and April 1948. The following year, the carrier 1949, respectively. Four ex-Pan Am acquired four Model 340-54s. The aircraft were acquired in the early company's Convair fleet was operated months of 1954. They included msn primarily on its Caribbean routes,

48

AIRLllfERTECH .:

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with msn 49 N90662 being destroyed in a crash on approach to Kingston, Jamaica, on September 2, 1951. Pan Am began selling off its 240s and 340s in 1954, and had completely phased out the type by 1957. The carrier's aircraft were sold to Mid Continent, Northeast, National, and Varig. United Airlines of San Francisco, California, passed on the opportunity to buy Model 240s, and elected to purchase Martin 303s instead. When Martin's 202 and subsequently the 303's wing had to be redesigned, United could not afford to wait, and sought negotiations with Convair. The company originally ordered 35 Convair 340-31s at a cost of $16.5 million on February 20, 1951. Subsequently, the airline became the second-largest operator of the Convair-Liner when it added 15 more 340-31s to its order for a total of 50 aircraft (N73102 through N73151). United was then offered five more aircraft from the canceled Pioneer Airlines order (N73152 through N73156), which the company agreed to purchase. When United's pilots traveled to San Diego to fly the 340, they returned a report favorable to the aircraft with a few safety concerns: the taxi light obstructed the pilot's view at high angles of attack, the fuel strain-

Northeast Convair-Liner N91239, msn 159, gives away its interior configuration showing the open aft service door. It is seen here on the ramp at La Guardia on May 19, 1949. (William Steeneck)

Northeast Airlines' N91238, msn 158, was delivered to the carrier on April 15, 1949, and served until the aircraft was destroyed on January 14, 1952, when the aircraft crashed into Flushing Bay, New York. (William Balogh)

Pan Am's 240-2 N90658, msn 24, entered service with the carrier on April 30, 1948. In October 1954, the aircraft was sold to Varig and registered PP-VCP. The plane served until Varig phased out the type in 1970. (Pan Am, photo no. 54528)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

er was located in the main gear well (an obvious fire hazard if a tire blows out), protection for the Dural oil tank also located in the main gear wells, an ill-placed mixture control lever which could lead to a pilot inadvertently cutting off the fuel mixture, and cabin emergency exits that were too complex and took the average passenger four to six minutes to open. After the fixes were made, United's aircraft cost $573,000 each. The Convair-Liners were more economical to operate than the DC3s they replaced. They were faster, and could carry more cargo, and a 340 only half full of passengers produced more revenue than a DC-3 with every seat filled. United sold off a number of its Convair-Liners in the 1960-61 timeframe. Many were subsequently converted to turboprop power and flown well into the 1980s. Western Airlines of Los Angeles, California, had anticipated a tremendous boom in postwar commercial air travel. Based on this perceived need, the company placed orders for $12 million worth of new aircraft with Douglas and Convair. Western believed it could fill the seats on 20 new Convair 240-1s; however, the postwar boom never materialized, and the airline was then forced to can-

49

cel half of its order. The company's first, new 240-1 msn 17 N8404H was delivered to the carrier on June 16, 1948. Two of the airline's aircraft were involved in crashes (msn 37 N8407H on February 26, 1954, and msn 22 N8405H on February 13, 1958). N8406H was involved in a bizarre incident on July 27, 1957. En route from Rochester, Minnesota to Los Angeles, a bomb was detonated in the aft lavatory at 10,000 feet between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Passenger Saul Binstock, in an attempt to leave his wife $125,000 worth of life insurance benefits he'd recently purchased, detonated four sticks of dynamite that blew him overboard. Binstock was the only fatality, and the aircraft was returned to service. By 1958 the first of the Convairs had been sold to raise money to purchase turboprop Lockheed 188 Electras. The last two 240s in Western's fleet were sold to North Japan Airlines in 1961.

United's 340-31 N73138, msn 89, Mainliner Boise, seen here at York, Pennsylvania, in June 1959. This aircraft passed to Lake Central in 1961, and was later converted to 580 turboprop configuration. (Dick Herman via David W Lucabaugh collection)

South American Operators Convair-Liner sales outside the United States were modestly successful by 1950s standards, with more than 150 240, 340, and 440s sold. Five Latin and South American carri-

Coming across the fence at Oakland in 1949 is Western Air Lines' N8407H, msn 37. This aircraft crashed during bad weather near Wright, Wyoming, on February 26, 1954. (William T. Larkins)

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Western's N8405H, msn 22, shows the rear airstair as the flight attendant collects the manifest prior to departure from San Francisco in June 1952. This aircraft was lost on February 13, 1958, after departing Palm Springs, California. (William T. Larkins)

50

AIRLINER TECH ..

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ers bought the type, beginning Flota Aerea Mercante Argentina (FAMA), the country's flag carrier for long-haul domestic and international flights. Although FAMA placed the order, the aircraft were slated to be operated by Zonas Oeste y Norte Aerolineas Argentinas, S.M. (ZONDA). In 1949, ZONDA flew 38.1 million revenuepassenger miles, and was the largest carrier in Argentina. ZONDA, FAMA, Aeroposta Argentina, S.M. and Aviacion del Litoral Fluvial Argentino, S.M. were nationalized by the govWestern's 240-1 NC8403H, msn 12, is wearing the team colors of the San Francisco ernment on May 3, 1949, and the 4gers on both the tail and the nose. Note the rear airstairs. (William T Larkins) resulting carrier was named Aerolineas Argentinas. Five Convair 240-6s were acquired (msn 35 LV-ADM, msn 50 LV-AND, msn 62 LV- ADO, msn 72 LV-ADP, and msn 77 LV-ADQ) with deliveries beginning in December 1948 and were completed by the , end of February 1949. The aircraft / N24927 ~ entered service flying from Santiago de Chile to Cordoba and Mandoza. LV-ADM and LV-ADP both crashed while in Aerolineas Argentinas service, and the remainder of the fleet flew until sold to Lineas Aereas Paraguayas in 1962. Avensa (Aerovias Venezolanas) of Caracas, Venezuela, purchased two Convair's "Prototype Executive'! aircraft, N24927, is seen here parked at San 340-57s from the factory (msn 139 Francisco on October 29, 1949. After its life as a Convair demonstrator, msn 29 was YV-C-EVA and msn 164 YV-C-EVI) and acquired two 340-62s (msn 236 sold to Howard Hughes' Hughes Tool Co. in July 1956. (Chalmers Johnson) \

Aeronaves de Mexico's 340-31 XA-KIL, msn 142, seen here at Mexico City in March 1957. (Villasenor via William T Larkins collection)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

51

YV-C-EVH and msn 237 YV-C-EVf ), and one 440-62 (msn 446 YV-C-EVJ), which had been ordered by Brazilian carrier Real S.A. Transportes Aereos and was not delivered. Additionally, Avensa acquired a number of used Convair-Liners, including a number of ex-KLM aircraft. The fleet was upgraded to turboprop power and operated into the mid 1990s. In all, the company operated 18 Convairs of various models. Cruzeiro (Servicos Aereos Cruzeiro do SuI) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, took delivery of four new 34059s in 1954 (msn 159 PP-CDW, msn 166 PP-CDY, msn 167 PP-CDZ, and msn 175 PP-CEA). Four years later, the company supplemented its fleet with the addition of four 440-59s (msn 466 PP-CEN, msn 467 PP-CEO, msn 493 PP-CEP, and msn 494 PP- Alitalia took delivery of I-DOGI, msn 63, in April 1953. This aircraft was one of CER) and one 440-0 (msn 471 PP- three ordered by J;J0rtheast, but when it came time to take delivery, the airline did CFE). Also in the early months of not have the funds. They were sold to Airfleets, a subsidiary of Convair, which resold 1958, the company purchased 10 240- them to Alitalia. The Italian carrier later upgraded the aircraft to 440 configuration. Os from American Airlines. Cruzeiro's In this photo, I-DOGI is at Idlewilde on May 1, 1953. (William Steeneck)

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Ansett Airlines' VH-BZE, msn 171, is seen here on the ramp at Essendon, Australia, in June 1955. Four years later, the aircraft was sold to Hawaiian Airlines. (Ed Coates)

52

AIRLINER TECH

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Central Air Transport Corp. took delivery of msn 129, XT-606, on February 28, 1949. Note the manufacturer's serial number painted on the nose and just ahead of the horizontal stabilizer. These markings were removed prior to delivery. After a six-year overseas career, XT-606 was acquired by Mohawk in June 1955 and christened Air Chief Seneca. (Warren Bodie)

fleet soldiered on into the late 1960s before being sold off to purchase new, turboprop YS-lls. REAL (Redes Estaduais Aereas, Ltda./S.A. Transportes Aereos) of Sao Paulo, Brazil, ordered six 340-62s (msn 189 PP-YRA, msn 191 PP-YRB, msn 195 PP-YRC, msn 196 PP-YRD, msn 199 PP-YRE, and msn 200 PP-YRF), which were delivered beginning in July 1954. The company then acquired 13 new 440-62s, with the first aircraft on the order (msn 333 PP-YRG) arriving on June 23, 1956. The carrier lost only two aircraft, 440-62, msn456, PP-AQE, which crashed during the delivery flight on approach to Montevideo, Uruguay, on September 18, 1957, and one of the original delivery 340-62s, Convair 440-98 Metropolitan msn 432 was delivered to Karmumiiki Airways (Kar- PP-YRB, which crashed on approach to Air) on June 17, 1954. The aircraft is seen at Paris in June 1963. After a series of Rio de Janeiro on June 24, 1960. REAL owners, this aircraft passed to Salair and was reregistered N357SA. The plane merged with Varig in August 1961. crashed shortly after take-off from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on Latin American carrier LACSA June 27, 1995. (fMC Cradidge) (Lineas Aereas Costarricenses), based

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

53

Convair-Liner 240-6, LV-AD?, msn 72, was purchased by the Argentine government and delivered in FAMA (Flote Aerea Mercante Argentina) markings. LV-ADP is seen on the Lindbergh Field ramp on October 24, 1948. The plane was subsequently delivered to the carrier on February 27, 1949. In Argentina, the aircraft was operated by the national airline Aerolineas Argentinas, and was christened Chacabuco. Sold to Lineas Aereas Paraguayas (LAP) in 1962, the Convair-Liner crashed on approach to Buenos Aires on May 26, 1967. (William T. Larkins)

in San Jose, Costa Rica, began operations on December 1, 1955. LACSA acquired two new Convair 340-54s from Pan Am (msn 160 TI-10l5C and msn 176 TI-10l6C) for operations between San Juan and San Jose. The carrier leased 340-31 (msn 17 upgraded to 440 configuration) in September 1960 and registered the aircraft TI-10l 8C. The lease lasted only two months, and the 340/440s were out of the fleet by September 1962. A decade later, needing additional capacity, LACSA bought two 340-68s (ex-Lufthansa, msn 210 and 213 both upgraded to 440 standards) and registered the aircraft TI-1091 C (later TI-LRG) and TI-1092C (later TI-LRH) respectively. LACSA sold both aircraft by June 1977.

European Carriers One of the largest European operators of the 240, and later the 340, was KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, based at Amsterdam, Holland. KLM bought a dozen 240-4s to replace DC-3s on its short-haul route system. One 240-4

54

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Finnair/Aero OY took delivery of 340-40, msn 73, on May 15, 1953. The aircraft is seen on the ramp at London in 1955. (fMC Cradidge)

(msn 125 PH-TEl) was lost on May 25, 1953, while climbing out of Schipol Airport, Amsterdam. Beginning in September 1953, KLM took delivery of the first of 13 new 340-48s (msns 104, 113, 114, 119, 120, 121, 122, 133, 134, 135, 143, 144, and 184). The entire fleet was upgraded to 440 configuration and operated through 1964. Aero O/Y (Finnish Airlines/ Finnair) bought three 340-40s from

AIRLIlfERTECH

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Convair with deliveries in January and May 1953. All three (msn 40 OH-LRA, msn 73 OH-LRB, and msn 75 OHLRC) were upgraded to 440 configuration in 1956. That same year, the company agreed to buy three 440-40s (msn 317 OH-LRD, msn 400 OH-LRE, and msn 447 OH-LRF). OH-LRD was the first factory-built 440 delivered to a European customer, arriving in Helsinki on February 29, 1956. In

Caruda's 340-49 PK-CCP, msn 192, in August 1954 is being loaded for the over-water trip to its base of operations in Indonesia. (William Steeneck)

Iberia's 440-0 EC-APY; msn 488, had a nearly 13-year career with the carrier. The plane is seen at London in 1962. (fMC Cradidge)

March 1961, Finnair acquired 340-41, msn 63, from Alitalia, and registered the aircraft OH-LRG. Three years later, the carrier bought Kar-Air O/Y's two 440-98s (msn 432 OH-VKM and msn 497 OH-VKN), which were also factory delivered. The German flag carrier Lufthansa (Aktiengesellschaft fur Luftverkehrsbedarf) of Hamburg, Germany, acquired four 340-68s (msn 198 D-

ACAD, msn 210 D-ACEF, msn 211 DAClG, and msn 213 D-ACOH) between August and October 1954. Beginning in March 1957, the carrier added five 440-88s (msn 408 DAcrB, msn 409 D-ACUM, msn 448 D-ACYL, msn 451 D-ACAP, and msn 460 DACEX). The carrier later acquired seven more 440s, and the fleet carried passengers until June 1968 when Boeing 737s replaced the Convair twins.

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

SABENA (Belgian Airlines) of Brussels, Belgium, bought six new 240-12s and twelve 440-12s. One Sabena 240 had a freak accident in 1954 when a steward went to check a door that, prior to takeoff, had shown a green light. Once the aircraft became airborne, a cockpit warning light showed the door ajar. When the steward went to check the door he was sucked out of the plane. The 240s flew from 1949 to 1956 when the dozen new 440s came on line. The 440-12 order was valued at $9 million, and the aircraft were delivered with 44-seat interiors with removable bulkheads in the forward cabin to enable an interior configuration change to 52 seats. Sabena flew the aircraft until 1968. Swissair (Swiss Air Lines), Zurich, Switzerland, was a very early purchaser, acquiring four 240-11s as DC3 replacements. Four ex-KLM 240s were acquired beginning in 1953. The carrier later ordered twelve 440-11s to replace the 240s, taking delivery of the first aircraft in 1956~ The company flew the 440s until 1966 when they began to sell off the aircraft.

55

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Jugoslovenski Aerotransport's 340-58 YU-ADA, msn 162, was delivered on March 25, 1954, and crashed two years later on approach to Munich, West Germany, on December 22, 1956. (fMG Gradidge)

In the Mediterranean Sea region of Europe, both Alitalia and Iberia operated Convair twins. Alitalia, the Italian flag carrier, acquired four 34041s that had originally been ordered by Northeast (msn 63 I-DOGI, msn 87 I-DOGO, msn 102 I-DOGU, and msn 112 I-DUGA) beginning in April 1953. All were brought up to 440 standards in 1956. Subsequently, Alitalia bought two 440-81s (msn 392 IDOVA and msn 407 I-DOVE), which were delivered in January and February 1957, respectively. The Convair twins were completely phased out by 1961, with the 340s being sold off and the 440s going to the Italian Air Force. During the first week of February 1956, Iberia (Lineas Aereas de Espana, SA) of Madrid, Spain, announced that it would acquire five 440s for its domestic and regional routes. All five were delivered in a little more than a 30-day span from February 27 (msn 401 EC-WMS) to April I, 1957 (msn 405 EC-WMV). Msn 488 EC-APYand msn 495 EC-APZ, both 440-0s, were acquired from Convair in October 1959. When Varig phased out the type in early 1962, Iberia acquired nine additional aircraft. The aircraft flew for another dozen years before Iberia sold off its Convair twins in the mid 1970s.

56

Jugoslovenski Aerotransport's 440-58 YU-ADD, msn 398, seen on its delivery flight at Idlewilde on March 2, 1957. (William Steeneck)

Seen on October 24, 1948, at Lindbergh Field, KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines ConvairLiner 240-4, msn 112, PH-TEF, is less than two weeks from delivery. The aircraft was christened Frans Hals. Note the Flying Dutchman schooner logo in the cheatline ahead of the horizontal stabilizer. (William T Larkins)

AIRLINER TECH ...

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Garuda Indonesian Airlines' 340-49 PK-GCL, msn 172, flew its entire career in the islands. The aircraft was delivered in May 1954 and retired in 1972. (William Steeneck)

Asia and the Pacific

KLM's 240-4 PH-TEE, msn 111, was christened Jan Steen shortly after its November 1948 delivery. The aircraft is seen in May 1952. (AI Jackson)

Lufthansa 340-68 D-ACAD, msn 198, seen here at New York in December 1954, four months after delivery from Convair. (William Steeneck)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

The first Convair-Liner operator in the Asia/Pacific region was Trans-Australia Airlines of Melbourne, Australia. The company ordered five 240-5s (msn 32 VH-TAO, msn 42 CH-TAP, msn 64 VH-TAQ, msn 92 VH-TAR, and msn 93 VH-TAS), which were delivered between August and December 1948. The 240s were flown until 1956 when Trans Arabian Airlines acquired VH-TAQ, and Pakistan International Airlines bought VH-TAP and -TAS. The remaining two aircraft were sold stateside in November 1959. The second Australian operator of the type was Ansett Airways of Melbourne, Australia, which bought one new 340-51 (msn 171 VH-BZE) from Convair when a private customer failed to take delivery of the aircraft. The company purchased another 340 (340-32 msn 110 VH-BZD) from Braniff in June 1954, and leased a third 340 (340-36 msn 33 VH-BZG) from Hawaiian in 1956 to supplement its fleet. Four new 440-97s (rnsn 449 VH-BZN, msn 458 VH-BZH, rnsn 459 VH-BZI, and rnsn 465 VH-BZM) began -arriving in September 1957. In June 1962, the 440-97s were sold to Allegheny Airlines.

57

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N90839, msn 75, in company colors at San Diego in July 1949. Note that the right rear cargo door was not built into this aircraft. This aircraft was subsequently sold to Orient Airways and registered AP-AEF (Warren Bodie)

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Factory-fresh 240-7, AP-AEH, msn 52, on the Lindbergh Field ramp in late spring 1949. This aircraft was built with the undertail airstairs like those of Western Air Lines. Orient Airways took delivery of the aircraft on June 29, 1949. In 1955, Orient Airways merged with Pakistan International Airlines. On May 15, 1958, AP-AEH crashed after takeoff from Palam Airport, New Delhi. (Warren Bodie)

The largest Convair twin operator in the region was Garuda Indonesian Airways of Djakarta, Indonesia, which operated all three models. The company first bought eight 240-23s to replace its DC-3s, with the fleet being delivered in September and October 1950. Two 240s were lost to crashes, and the remainder were sold off in two lots, one in 1960 to private parties in the United States, and the other in 1964 to General Dynam-

58

ics for conversion to CV-600s. Eight 340-49s expanded the Garuda fleet beginning in May 1954, and the company further acquired three 44049s in January and February 1958. The Convair 340s and 440s were gone by 1972. All Nippon Airways of Tokyo bought two 440-89s (msn 440 JA5053 and msn 441 JA5055), which were delivered in October 1957. In May 1961, the carrier supplemented

AIRLINER .; .TECH...

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its fleet with a pair of 340-62s (msn 199 JA5083 and msn 200 JA5085) that had been retrofitted to 440 standards by General Dynamics. All four aircraft were sold off in 1965 with the converted 340s going to Linjeflyg in Stockholm, and the 440s going back to General Dynamics, which converted them to CV-640 configuration. Philippine Airlines of Manila placed an order for six 340-42s. Finan-

£42-_tl-C3~

• Philippine Airlines 340-42 PI-C342, msn 97, wears the Route of the Orient Star title above the main entry door. The aircraft is seen at Oakland on May 3, 1959, on its return stateside. (Lawrence Smalley)

Sabena 440-12 OO-SCI, msn 328, was delivered on lune 13, 1956, and is seen two days later at New York during its delivery flight. The plane was sold to Aviaco in 1969, and passed to the Bolivian Air Force in 1973. The plane crashed northeast of La Paz, Bolivia, on October 27, 1975. (William Steeneck)

cial concerns caused the airline to cancel three of its delivery positions (one having been assigned - msn 96). Of the three aircraft that the carrier did take delivery of in March and June 1953, two (msn 55 PI-C340 and msn 79 PI-C341) were sold to Braniff by April 1955. The third 340-42 (msn 97 PI-C342) was delivered in November 1953, subsequently converted to 440 standards, and then sold to Linjeflyg in 1960.

Africa and the Near East Ethiopi~n Airlines, headquartered at Addis Ababa, took delivery of two 240-25s (msn 168 ET-T-20 and msn 170 ET-T-21). Being flown in Ethiopia's high density altitude environment, the aircraft were fitted with jet-assisted take-off (JATO) bottles and were extensively photographed at the factory undergoing such tests. The carrier acquired an ex-Sabena aircraft

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

(msn 38 ET-T-22) in 1956, which it subsequently sold in 1960. The original two aircraft flew until sold to Central Airlines in the fall of 1964. Orient Airways of Karachi, Pakistan, purchased three new 240-7s (msn 52 AP-AEH, msn 75 AP-AEF, and msn 82 AP-AEG), with deliveries beginning in April 1949. AP-AEG crashed at Kalahasalrar, India, on March 14, 1953. -Orient Airways merged with Pakistan International

59

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Sabena took delivery of 240-12, msn 153, OO-AWp, on March 19, 1949. The plane is seen on the ramp at London in October 1955. Sabena subsequently sold the aircraft to LOT-Polish Airlines in October 1957. (JMG Gradidge)

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Scandinavian Airlines System 440-75 LN-KLB, msn 320, Ivar Viking was delivered on March 23, 1956. The aircraft rests at Idlewilde on March 26, 1956. The craft was sold to Linjeflyg and reregistered SE-CCX in 1968. By the end of 1977, the aircraft had been withdrawn from service and used for fire practice at Stockholm. (William Steeneck)

AiIWays in March 1955, and the fol- Airline Cancellations lowing year acquired two additional Convair 240s from Trans Australia As with all airliner production, Airlines (msn 42 AP-AHO, ex VH- there were canceled orders. The first TAP, and msn 93 AP-AHS, ex VH- and most dramatic was that of Trans TAS). Two years after the merger, on World Airlines. Model 240-22 was May 15, 1958, AP-AEH crashed after assigned to TWA, but Howard Hughtake off from Palam, New Delhi. Pak- es and TWA could not wait for delivistan International AiIWays flew the ery following the large American Convair-Liners until 1960 when the Airlines order. So they turned to the aircraft were used as trade for new Martin Aircraft Company and Fokker F-27s. arranged a very special contract

60

AIRLINER j--.TECH

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whereby TWA could lease 13 quickly modified 202s for them to operate until their order for 40 Martin 404s could be delivered. Delivery of the first 202A was in August 1950, with delivery of the first TWA 404 in February 1952. Another serious blow to Convair occurred when SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) canceled an order for 203 Model 440s. SAS had previously ordered Boeing Stratocruisers only to

This aircraft was originally ordered by the u.s. Air Force but delivered as a 340-68, msn 219, to Saudi Arabian Airlines on May 13, 1955. It was registered HZ-AAZ, and is seen at New York on May 16, 1955. On July 8, 1968, the aircraft crashed near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. (William Steeneck)

Swiss Air Lines took delivery of 240-11, msn 134, HB-IRY, on February 28, 1949, and christened the plane Nuenburg. The aircraft is seen at London in May 1954. Two years later, Mohawk acquired Swissair's fleet, and msn 134 became N1019C Air Chief Narragansett. (fMC Cradidge)

sell its delivery poslt!ons to British Overseas Airways Corp. (BOAC) as the aircraft were moving down the assembly line. Although Boeing did not lose any money in the deal, SAS's decision to go with Douglas-built DC-7s was a blow to the company. Subsequently, SAS settled on operating an all-Douglas fleet. Other carriers made smaller cancellations, in the range of two to 10 aircraft. Those companies included Aerolineas Argentinas, LACSA, LAN Chile, Northeast, Philippine Air Lines, Pioneer Air Lines and Transcontinental SA

Competition to the PistonPowered Convair-Liners

Ready for a pre-delivery test flight, Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) 240-5, msn 93, taxies for the active at Lindbergh Field. Christened RMA James Cook and registered VH-TAS, the aircraft was flown from October 1948 until TAA sold it to Pakistan International Airways in July 1956. (Hank Arnold)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

The Model 240/340/440's life as a short-haul airliner with first-tier air carriers was over by 1970. Turboprops and smaller jetliners built for the shorthaul market were purchased as the first-tier carriers continued to upgrade their fleets in order to reduce maintenance costs and to attract more customers. The rugged Convair-Liner was built to accept turboprop powerplants - a trend the aircraft manufacturer saw coming, and modifications to turboprop power were well underway.

61

TuRBOPROP POWER: TuRBO-LINER, )) 540, 580, 600, AND 640 s early as 1948, the robust Convair-Liner was being looked at as a platform for what, at the time, seemed like an eventuality - turboprop power. Although Convair's San Diego factory never delivered commercial turboprop-powered Convair-Liners, the new powerplant gave the design a fresh lease on life. More than 55 years after the first flight of the ConvairLiner, turboprop-powered examples of the type are still hauling cargo in the United States, and passengers in a - -.-.. J few foreign countries. =--~-= ':-'.-~._ ::-=--'-~~-.~=-;.-'=~~-~ ------The big attraction for Convair- '-:~-~=.=-=-- - Liner operators to convert their aircraft was as a cost-saving measure. The prototype Convair-Liner 240, msn 1, was reregistered N24501 in 1948 to serve However, it also became a marketing as the test bed for Allison's T-38 turboprop engines. This was the first U.S.tool through which air carriers could manufactured turboprop airliner. The "Turbo-Liner" first flew on December 29, sell safety, comfort, and the allure of 1950. (Convair via William T Larkins collection) riding on new, state-of-the art equipment. For the airlines, turboprop engines are more efficient than jet engines when operated on short- to medium-haul routes flown at altitudes below 20,000 feet. The cost savings over thirsty piston engines is substantial when spread over a fleet of 50 aircraft or more. Convair predicted that operating costs of the turboprop Convair-Liners would be 30 percent less than that of their pistonpowered brethren. In addition, new turboprop engines provided approximately a 40-percent increase in power over the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB16 engines. This enables an airline to move a greater load (increased gross The T-38 engine developed 2 hp per lb of engine weight, making an upgrade to weight) on the same size aircraft at a turboprop power an easy choice. The Turbo-Liner flew 30 mph faster than an Rlower cost. A piston engine was con- 2800-equipped Convair-Liner. (Convair via William T Larkins collection)

A

..

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62

AIRLINER TECH • ~

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This is a gas flow chart of a turboprop engine, in this case the Rolls-Royce Dart. ERSION IS THIS PROP.JET CO~~ FOR EVERYBODY I GOOD BUSIN SION OFFERS

PROP-JET CONVAIR COl\TVER,

THE ELAND

'.

-1 Reduced operattng costS

I 2: Greaty

increased block speed

3 Increased ratzge

4 ldaximum reliability

Left: Napier Engines Inc. took to the media to tout its turboprop conversion. Napier Engines was to supply turboprops to Canadair for its newbuild Convair turboprops. (N. Veronico collection) Right: Canadair, a subsidiary of Convair's parent company, General Dynamics, was given the 440 Metropolitan's tooling in the belief that there was a market for new build turboprop aircraft. The graphs in the advertisement show the advantage of turboprop power over the piston-powered 440. The Canadair-built 540 turboprop with Napier Eland turboprops was called the Cosmopolitan. (N. Veronico collection)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

63

t:==----

D. Napier & Son, Ltd., took delivery of 340-42, msn 153 (registered G-ANVP), on November 25, 1954, for use as its prototype turboprop conversion. After the structural work was completed in the United Kingdom, the aircraft was flown to PacAero Engi~eering in California for certification tests and registered N340EL. The plane is seen on PacAero Engineering's ramp at Santa Monica on September 11, 1958. Note the "Experimental" title near the forward entry door. (Tom Baxter)

sidered efficient if it developed 1 hp per lb of engine weight, the T-38 turboprop was developing 2 hp for each lb of weight - making the new engine's benefits readily apparent. The turboprop engine, which provides an increased improvement in performance, is comprised of five main assemblies: the propeller reduc-

tion gear box that turns the propeller; the compressor section; the combustion chamber; the power turbines; and the exhaust nozzle section. Essentially, air is brought into the engine through the intake and made heavier as it passes through the compressor section. The air is then routed into the combustion chamber where it is

mixed with atomized fuel and detonated. Exhaust from the combustion is then routed through the power turbines, which turn the drive -shaft that turns the propeller reduction gearbox. When the propeller gearbox is turned, the propeller rotates, producing thrust. After passing through the Continued on page 73

After turboprop certification, N340EL was leased to Allegheny Airlines in July 1959. The carrier eventually acquired the aircraft and flew it until 1963. (Bob Armstrong)

64

.AIRLINER TECH • j-. .. •

CONVAIR-LINERS IN COLOR merican Airlines was the Convair 240 launch customer, and the sale ushered into service the first pressurized twin-engine airliner of the postwar era. It was revolutionary in that it could fly above the weather while maintaining a cabin pressure around 6,000 f1. It also carried its own boarding stairs, and could turn a profit with only 20 to 25 of its 40 seats filled. The prototype Convair 240 first flew on March 16, 1947, from San Diego's Lindbergh Field. As demand increased, the 240 was lengthened, its powerplants were upgraded (the 340 and 440), and eventually turboprop power was added (540, 580, 600, and 640) to make the airliner competitive in a world of jetpowered competition. The U.S. military bought a number

A

of different Convair-Liner types, from pistons to turboprops, and a number were delivered with airliner-style configurations. The type saw service with a number of corporate users and other high-profile individuals, ranging from Esso and Union Oil to Malcolm Forbes and John F. Kennedy. Today, Convair twins can still be seen in the air, primarily turboprop model 580s hauling cargo. In addition, there is a movement afoot to return a number of ConvairLiner model 240s to their original airliner configuration and return them to the airshow circuit. Seeing a restored Convair-Liner, or a freighter still hauling cargo in today's skies, is quite a testament to an airliner design nearly 60 years old.

Key Airlines was a regional carrier based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and operated regularly schedule flights to Idaho and Nevada, and charter flights throughout the United States. The carrier lasted from 1976 to 1987. N28KA, msn 48"4, is seen with "Elkhorn of Sun Valley" titles in November 1979. This Metropolitan was originally delivered to Mohawk as 440-54 N4402 AirchiefJoseph Brant. (Nicholas A. Veronico collection)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

65

-------------

~

-=----

-

.=

NASA's N707NA was acquired from United on May 21, 1963. The 340-31, msn 3, was originally delivered to United as Mainliner Fresno on March 31, 1953. The Convair-Liner is seen at Ames Research Center in April 1972. NASA sold the airplane in 1979. (Lawrence Smalley) An Aspen 440 fires up at Rock Springs, Wyoming, on a July 1973 summer's day. Note the crowd of well-wishers and the pair of Army aviators standing next to their OH-58 watching N4819C, msn 138, coming to life. The plane was built as a 340-38 and delivered to Delta in December 1953. It was subsequently upgraded to 440 standards and flown until Delta sold the aircraft in 1969. The plane passed through a number of owners until it was acquired by Aspen on September 27, 1972. One year later, on September 30, 1973, Siena Pacific Airlines acquired the 440. On March 13, 1974, the plane crashed into the Poleta Ridge of the White Mountains, near Bishop, California, killing the Wolper Productions TV crew (32 souls) and the crew offour. (Bill Slate via Todd Hackbarth)

66

AIRLINERTECH :-.

•

~

Worldways C-FPWU, msn 10, was originally built as a 340-33 for Arabian American Oil Corp. and delivered on September 29, 1952. The plane was upgraded to 440 configuration, then later sold to Convair (General Dynamics) for turboprop conversion. In June 1966, Convair began conversion work by hanging a pair of 2,559-shp Dart R.Da 10/1 engines on the 340/440's wings. Worldways acquired the plane in May 1976, and flew it for six years. (Bill Slate via Todd Hackbarth) North Central Airlines acquired N4810C, msn 100, when Delta sold off seven of its 340/440 fleet in 1960-62. The aircraft later rolled out North Central's new paint scheme as shown here. This aircraft was upgraded to Convair 580 configuration in May 1969. On July 1, 1979, North Central and Southern Airways merged to form Republic Airlines, subsequently acquired by Northwest Airlines in January 1986 for $884 million. (Northwest Airlines)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

67

Frontier Airlines acquired N73162, msn 361, from Sabena in October 1967. Frontier upgraded the plane to 580 configuration in 1968, and operated the aircraft until August 1985. The plane passed to DHL, and had been phased out of service by 1990. (Nicholas A. Veronica collection) Ex-Frontier N73157, msn 312, was converted to 580 configuration in 1967. Sierra Pacific operated the type from 1983 to 1987 when its 580s were leased to Wings West Airlines, which returned the planes to their owners between 1988 and 1990. N73157 was stored at Marana, but was later moved to Avra Valley, Arizona, and is seen in May 1996. (Nicholas A. Veronico)

Delivered as a T-29D, serial 53-3496, in 1955, the aircraft is seen at Hamilton AFB, north of San Francisco, in May 1963. Retired in February 1975, it was acquired by Frigorifico Reyes of Bolivia and re-registered CP-1433. (William T Larkins)

68

..

AIRLINER TECH • III(

KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines purchased ConvairLiner 240-4 N707AW, msn 145, from the factory. The aircraft was then operated by Deutsche Flugdienst, Lufthansa, Condor Flugdienst, Ozark Airlines, and Mohawk Airlines, before being acquired by the United Faith Foundation. The plane made a stop in the San Francisco Bay Area in September 1974. (William T Larkins) Esso owned Convair-Liner 240-14, N100A, msn 130, for seven years. The plane is seen at San Francisco on November 17, 1955, within a year of the aircraft's acquisition from Civil Air Transport. Esso sold its 240 in 1961, and later bought Convair 580, msn 147, registering it NlOOA. (William T Larkins)

Ex-United 340-41, msn 5, eventually caught the eye of World Airways founder Ed Daly. The plucky Daly, of Irish descent, acquired the executive-configured aircraft for his personal aircraft and decorated it so. The aircraft was a fixture at Oakland Interrmtional and is seen in January 1972. (William T Larkins)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

69

Convair 340-32 N3427, msn 90, was operated by Contract Air Cargo (a subsidiary of the IFL Group), and is pictured here on the ramp at Pontiac Airport, Michigan, after hauling a load of car parts. TIre aircraft was originally delivered to Braniff in July 1953. Note the side cargo door on the aft fuselage. (Todd Hackbarth)

Under restoration at Reading, Pennsylvania is 580, msn 202, N30EG, seen o.n the ramp in June 1996. This aircraft was built as an executive-configured 340-79 and upgraded to 440 configuration. Eventually acquired by Engelhard Industries, the aircraft was converted to 580 configuration in February 1963. It is now part of the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum's airliner collection, and was photographed in June 1996. (A. Kevin Grantham) Beginning in December 1957, the Federal Aviation Administration operated this sharplooking Convair 440/C-131E. The plane was upgraded to 580 standards and reregistered N49. (FAA)

- '-

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70

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AIRLINER TECH ---

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Aspen Ailways acquired 18 Convair 580s beginning in 1972. The variety of paint schemes shows on N73132 (msn 69, exFrontier), N5818 (msn 128, exAllegheny), and N5809 (msn 17, exAllegheny). In June 1991, Aspen merged with United Air Lines feeder carrier Air Wisconsin, the "largest independently held regional carrier in the United States." These Aspen 580s are either on approach to, or ready to depa1t, San Jose, California, between January and December 1980. (All William T Larkins)

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

71

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Canadian Pacific Air Lines operated four Convair 240s, all exContinental Air Lines aircraft acquired between December 1952 and March 1953. The 240s were typically flown from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Edmonton, Alberta, to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, to Fairbanks, Alaska, to Dawson City, Yukon TelTitory, to Vancouver, and on to Prince George, British Columbia. (William T Larkins collection) .

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72

AIRLINER TECH • II:

~

This augmentor tube, exhaust gas, and heating air exchange diagram is for the Convair 340, although it is applicable to both the 240 and 440 as well. Exhaust gasses are mixed with ram air from the engine compartment and fed down the augmentor tube. As the nowmixed gasses pass down the augmentor tube, heat from the gasses is transferred to ram air flowing between the augmentor tube and the augmentor muff At midwing, exchanged air that has been heated is channeled off to service the needs of the cabin and deicing systems. Gasses traveling through the augmentor tube are expelled overboard producing thrust some claim as much as 12 mph. (United Air Lines/Norm Jukes collection)

N540Z, msn 15, seen here at Pittsburgh on April 29, 1962, in 540 configuration, fitted with Napier 504 Eland engines. This aircraft was further upgraded to 580 configuration in spring 1964. (Ken Sumney)

Msn 15, as a Convair 580 flying with Avensa as YV-C-EVS. The plane is seen on the Pacific Airmotive Corp. ramp at Burbank Airport, California, on July 13, 1964, prior to delivery to the South American carrier. (Clay Jansson) Continued from page 64

power turbine section, exhaust gasses are vented through the exhaust unit, producing additional thrust as well. To demonstrate the turboprop/ Convair match, the Allison Division of General Motors acquired the prototype Convair 240, and the two companies set about proving the concept. In late 1950, Allison Model 501 (the military version is known as the T-3 8) turboprop engines driving Aeroproducts propellers were mated to N2450, msn I, and the prototype

Convair-Liner 240 was renamed the "Turbo-Liner." This was America's first commercial transport equipped with turboprop engines. Of all the airframe manufacturers at the time, Convair was the one with the most experience in turboprop aircraft. In 1945, the company's XP-81 made the first flight of a turboprop-powered airplane in the United States. Convair followed that success with the XP5YI, which was the prototype for the R3Y Tradewind flying boat, powered by Allison XT40-A-4 engines. Little modification was done to

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

the Convair-Liner to adapt it to turboprop engines. The existing nacelle was lengthened, and minor strengthening was accomplished where it joins the wing. Due to the turboprop's efficiency, two combustion heaters were added to each nacelle to provide warm air for anti-icing and the cabin heat systems. The aircraft flew for the first time on December 29, 1950, from San Diego, with Convair pilots RC. "Bob" Loomis and Don Germeraad at the controls. Shortly after take-off, the left propeller governor failed, causing the propeller to windmill. The crew made an emergency landing at what is now Miramar Naval Air Station, just north of San Diego. The plane was repaired, and eventually turned over to Allison, who completed the tests. After 53.5 hours of flight, Allison reviewed the project's progress. They announced that the turboprop engines delivered 30 percent more power than the R-2800s, that the airplane flew 30 mph faster at 15,000 ft than the R-2800-equipped ConvairLiner 240, and that if the nacelles were reduced in size, the aircraft would be even faster. The biggest problem with the turboprop engines was in developing "foolproof" automatic prop feathering systems. When an engine was lost in flight and the

73

.. CANADAlR 540

1 1106

a4l!i

Canadair 540 in Royal Canadian Air Force service as a model CC-109. The RCAF acquired 10 of the Napier Eland-powered transports, of which serial number 11106 is seen here at Camp Border on August 26, 1959. (Harry Tate)

~~~~O~~~lW~!!Q\

propeller allowed to windmill, the aerodynamic drag caused by the prop brought the Turbo-Liner down at 900 fpm and forced the flight crew to hold full opposite aileron and rudder. Allison flight-test engineers found that if the aircraft's speed was reduced to between 120 and 125 mph, the aircraft's sink rate was red' ::ed to 400 fpm. To remedy the situation, and to ensure faster pitch changes to the fully feathered position, Allison developed a "decoupler" to disengage the prop from the engine, and increased hydraulic pressure to the blades from 3,000 to 4,000 psi. In addition, an overspeed governor propeller control was developed as a back-up system should something go wrong with the decoupler. In April 1956, Allison removed the T-38 engines and replaced them with prototype D501 engines. The new powerplants were each rated at 3,750 hp, and a new aft nacelle and exhaust system were incorporated into the modification. The new engines flew the Turbo-Liner across the sky at 396 mph at 15,000 ft.

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William C. Wold Associates of New York handled sales of company-converted Convair 580s. This example is a converted 340 equipped with; at the time, state-of-the-art avionics and a 17passenger executive interior. (William T Larkins collection)

74

AIRLINER TECH .: • ~

Convair 580, N73125, msn 147, was acquired by Lake Central on August 31, 1967. This aircraft was built as a Convair-Liner 340-63 for Union Oil Co. of California, and originally delivered on January 31, 1954. (David W Lucabaugh)

Also, the aircraft could climb at 1,000 fpm, depending upon the load. Allison continued development work with the Turbo-Liner, making the D50l engine series extremely reliable - so much sr- that the military version was selected to power thousands of Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo lifters. By February 1959, Allison had completed its testing and sold the aircraft to Garrett AirResearch.

540: Napier-Eland Power D. Napier &. Son, Ltd., purchased a Convair-Liner 340 (msn 153) in November 1954, and registered the aircraft G-ANVP. Company engineers consulted with Convair, and were encouraged by the prospects of mating a Napier engine to the ConvairLiner airframe. The R-2800 engines were removed, and in the interest of getting the aircraft back in the air, new 3,412-shp Napier 504A Eland 6 engines were mated to the existing firewalls. The immediate weight savings was 2,200 lbs. The new engines enabled the 340 to carry a 12,880-lb

Sierra Pacific Airlines leased Convair 580 N73157 (msn 312, built originally as a 440-77) to Wings West Airlines in October 1987 for additional lift. The aircraft was returned in August the following year. (William T Larkins)

payload for more than 1,200 miles nearly 900 miles farther than was possible with piston engines. On February 9, 1956, G-ANVP took off under Eland power from the Cranfield Aerodrome, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England. In November

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

1957, msn 153 was flown to the United States to PacAero Engineering of Santa Monica, California. PacAero, acting as consulting engineers, was to obtain U.S. supplemental type certification for the conversion. Here, PacAero re-registered the aircraft to

75

Wolfe Enterprises owned N12F, msn 509, seen here on the ramp at Detroit on July 13, 1980. (William B. Slate via Todd Hackbarth)

N340EL. A supplemental type certificate (STC No. SA4-582) was granted for the modification on August 22, 1958, giving the go-ahead for sales of the Eland-powered airliner. The aircraft was named the Cosmopolitan. Canadair Ltd. of Montreal, Canada, a subsidiary of Convair's parent company General Dynamics, had acquired the production tooling and jigs to build the Convair 440 in 1959. At the time, Convair was focused on its 880 and 990 jetliner series and, although they believed there was life in the Convair-Liner series, felt that continued production would be a distraction from building the jets. In addition to new aircraft, Canadair entered into an agreement with Napier &. Sons to convert existing 240, 340, and 440s to Eland power. Allegheny Airlines was the first to take up Canadair's conversion offer. The airline leased, then bought, msn 153 from Turboprop Conversions, Inc., Napier's U.S. subsidiary. Allegheny then purchased five additional Eland-powered 340s, and ordered

76

Great Northern Airlines leased Convair 580 N580GN, msn 376, from August through December 1979. The aircraft was built as a 440-32 for Braniff in November 1956. (William B. Slate via Todd Hackbarth)

that the seating capacity be increased from 44 to 52 passengers. The Convair 340s converted to 540 configuration included msn 15 (N540Z), msn 19 (N541Z), msn 154 (N542Z), msn 168 (N543Z), and msn 161 (N544Z). The company then converted a num-

AIRLINER.TECH ..

•

..

JIM

ber of Convair-Liner 340s to 440 Metropolitan configuration. Can adair did sell 10 CL-66Bs (440s with Eland engines, military designation CC-I09) to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). All were delivered by the summer of 1961.

N440M, msn 510, was the last 440 Metropolitan built. The aircraft was ordered by the u.s. Navy, but was not accepted. The aircraft was sold to Superior Oil Co. and delivered on July 16, 1958. Allied Chemical acquired the plane in September 1961, and converted it to Convair 580 configuration in May 1965. (William B. Slate collection via Todd Hackbarth)

which was acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1962. With Napier gone, the 540 program was halted. Allegheny subsequently converted its 540s back to piston power, only to convert them to Allison 580 power a few years later.

580: Allison 501 Power

Serving as a freighter for DHL Worldwide Courier Services, Convair 580 OO-DHJ, msn 361, sits in the afternoon sun on the ramp at Mojave, California, on February 16, 1990. Built for Sabena as a 440-12 (registered OO-SCN), the aircraft passed to Frontier Airlines (N73162), then Metroflight before being traded in on as partial payment for SAAB 340 airliners. (Norm Jukes)

Canadair converted three other 440s (msn 454 CF-LMA, msn 462 CF-MKP, and msn 475 CF-LMN), two of which were leased to Quebecair in August 1960. The leased 540s were then sold

to the RCAP. Teething troubles with the Eland engine prevented the program from becoming more successful. This led to financial troubles for the English engine manufacturer,

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

Allison approached PacAero Engineering to take its planned Convair turboprop modification through the FAA process beginning in 1957. General Motors' Allison Division acquired a 340-36 (msn 33 N5507K) from Hawaiian Airlines and continued testing its 501-DB engines. Early work had been accomplished on behalf of the u.s. Air Force using 340-36, msn 91, which had originally been ordered by Hawaiian Airlines. This aircraft was converted to YC131F configuration and delivered to the service at the end of May 1954. The conversion's SOl-DB engines (military designation 'I-56) developed 3,750 shaft horsepower (shp), which necessitated an increase in the aircraft's

77

In STAGE IMPELLER

2nd ST.... GE IMPELLER

D.IL TANK

FUEL PUMP. PROPELLER CONTROLLER .... NO Oil PUMP DRIVES

Rolls-Royce Dart engine cutaway. (N. Veronico collection)

~.. .;.l:CJNVAIR

7

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The prototype Convair 600 demonstration aircraft was the modified Convair-Liner 240-5, msn 92, N240R. After modification, the plane was painted in Convair house colors with "Convair 600" titles. Note the rear, under-tail airstair hinting at this aircraft's Trans Australia Airlines heritage (ex VH-TAR). It is seen in preparation for departing Reading, Pennsylvania, on June 9, 1967. (William T. Larkins collection)

directional stability to counteract the Having completed the engineertorque. The vertical tail was extended ing and engine installation, msn 33 12 in, and the horizontal tail was (now re-registered NS100), flew for widened by 20 in on each side. The the first time on January 19, 1960. new engines turned four-blade Aero- The modification was certificated products propellers that had a diameter three months later. Frontier was the of 13 ft, 6 in. In addition, fuel capacity first airline to accept delivery of the was increased to 2,908 gallons. SOl-D13-equipped aircraft, which

78

AIRLINER TECH :-.

•

I[

later became known as the Convair 580. These aircraft were configured to seat 52 in an all-coach configuration. The SOl-D13 engines enabled the Convair 580 to take off at 53,200 lbs fully loaded. Structural upgrades to the wings and spars enabled the aircraft's fuel tanks to be expanded to

Central Airlines acquired Convair 600 N74858, msn 171, in May 1965. The carrier merged with Frontier in October 1967, and the plane was sold to Mandala-Seulawah Airlines. It was reported out of service by 1980. (Clay Jansson via David W Lucabaugh)

600 and 640: Rolls-Royce Dart Power In the early 1960s, Convair reentered the short- to medium-haul airliner market with its own turboprop conversions. The company was offering to upgrade its 240, 340, and 440s with 2,559-shp Dart R.Da 10/1 engines. So modified, Convair-Liner 240s would be re-designated Convair 600s, and up-engined 340s and 440s were to be known as Convair 640s. The cost to convert a Convair 240 was approximately $450,000, which N94246, msn 102, served as the campaign plane for Hubert H. Humphrey, and is included redesigned engine nacelles, seen at Buchanan Field, Concord, California. Note the "Humphrey: The People's new combustion cabin heaters, and Democrat" stickers on the airstair step faces and the engine nacelle detail. (William Rotol 13-ft, square tip propellers. The new power package increased the 240's T. Larkins) top speed by 50 mph and payload by 2,058 gallons, and optional tanks boprops rated at 4,000 shp. Accom- 2,850 lbs. The prototype Convair 600 could be installed between the plished by Flight Trails, Inc., two aircraft was msn 171, formerly Garuda Indonesian Airways' PK-GCA, which Convair nacelle and the fuselage for a further reportedly underwent this upgrade. The Allison turboprop was the had acquired in October 1964. The 750 gallons. In all, 170 airframes were converted to 580 configurations. most successful of the conversions plane made its first post-conversion Further upgrades to the Convair with 170 airframes having been re- flight on May 20, 1965~ Three months later, on August 580 saw the advent of the Super 580, engined. Many are still flying cargo to 20, the prototype Convair 640 took which featured Allison 50l-D22G tur- this day.

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Hawaiian Airlines' N551lK, msn 171, was acquired as a 340-51 from Ansett Airlines on April 20, 1959 (ex VH-BZE). The aircraft was upgraded to 440 configuration, and in June 1966 was modified to Convair 640 standards. N551lK is seen on the ramp at Honolulu on December 29, 1970. (William T Larkins)

to the skies. Originally delivered as a United 340-31 (msn 88), the aircraft was acquired from its second owner, Alaska Airlines. Convair 240 conversions did relatively well, with Central Airlines converting all eight of its 240s to turboprop power and buying three more conversions from Convair. Central Airlines was headquartered at Amon Carter Field, Fort Worth, Texas, and flew as far west as Denver and east to St. Louis. The company merged with Frontier Airlines in October 1967, and operated the aircraft until 1972. Convair also sold conversion kits for the model 600, of which TransTexas Airways bought 25. The carrier completed all of the conversions inhouse, and operated the type until October 1978. Only one other 600 conversion was sold, msn 32, N331 G, which was acquired by Thunderbird Airways of Medford, New Jersey. The Convair 640 conversion did not fare as well. The 340 and 440 were heavier gross-weight airplanes,

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The prototype Convair 640 was N73137, msn 88, modified from a 340-31 that was originally delivered to United Air Lines. The plane is seen at Willow Run Airport, Michigan, on August 6, 2004, 51 years after its first flight. (Roger Cain)

and the Dart engines were just a bit underpowered for the airframe. Hawaiian Airlines acquired eight, which the carrier flew until 1983. The Hawaiian fleet was acquired by Zantop of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Caribair had acquired its fleet of Convair-Liner 340s from Braniff. The

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first three aircraft went to the carrier in 1962, and five more had been acquired from Braniff by March 1966. The 340s replaced Caribair's Douglas DC-3 fleet on routes among the islands. The region is notorious for its high density altitude flying, and the carrier began converting its 340s to

Caribair and Hawaiian's decision to go with turboprop fleets hit the trade journals in April 1965. The ad touts the cost of a Dart conversion at around $450,000. (Norm Jukes collection)

Dart power (as Convair 640s) in 1965. Eventually, the entire fleet was converted and flown until 1973. On March 15 of that year, Eastern Airlines acquired the carrier and sold its Convair 640s to freight carrier Zantop, and replaced them with Douglas DC-9-31s. In all, the company sold 39 Convair 600 and 27 Convair 640 conversions or conversion kits.

Convair Dart Prototype Although they never got off the ground, Convair did pursue a number of turboprop-powered modifications to the existing 240/340/440 line. One design that progressed the farthest was the company's Model 15, announced on January 18, 1955. This aircraft was presented to American Airlines for its consideration against Lockheed's 188 Electra. Powered by four Rolls-Royce RDa.7 Dart turboprops rated at 2,000 shp for take-off, the aircraft was to seat 60 passengers. It retained the 440's wingspan, but incorporated a fuselage stretched to 97 ft, 4 in. The proposed Model 15 had a fully loaded take-off weight of 67,900 lbs and could cruise at 330 mph. By the summer of 1955, American had selected Lockheed's 188 Electra design for its new GO-passenger airliner, ending the biggest hope of seeing the aircraft enter into production. Although the Model 15 was offered to other carriers and the military, sales did not materialize. In September 1955, Eastern placed an order for 40 Electras, an order that saw Convair shelve the Model 15 idea entirely.

The potential of the Allison/Convair-Liner turboprop marriage kept Convair engineers thinking of how they could further profit from the aircraft'S basic design. On January 18, 1955, the company released detail specifications for its Model 15, a four-engine, pressurized, 60-passenger airliner. The plane was to be powered by four Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops. Convair management's attention was held by its all-jet 880 and 990 designs, and further turboprop development-was assigned to Canadair, a subsidiary of Convair's parent company General Dynamics. (Convair via Scroggins)

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AIRLINER-CONFIGU~ED MILITARY MODELS he u.s. military was a huge customer for the Convair-Liner. The success of the Convair 240 and its stability and available production line led the u.s. Air Force to order 364 T-29s. The T-29A (240-17), T-29B, and T-29C (240-27) aircraft interiors were fitted with work:Stations for 10 to 14 navigation students accompanied by four instructors. The unpressurized "N model was distinguishable by its four fuselage-top astrodomes, and was powered by a pair of R-2800-77Ws capable of 2,400 hp (take-off, sea level, water injection). The "B" had cabin pressurization, uprated -97W engines, and only three astrodomes. And the "C" model was essentially a T-29B with 2,500 hp (take-off, sea level, water injection) R-2800-99W radial engines. The AjB/C models all had a maximum gross weight of 43,175 lbs, and they carried AN/APN-9 Loran navigation systems. Three models of this military transport featured airliner-style interior configurations. Of the 364 T-29s delivered, the following were fitted with coach-class or executive-type interiors: 32 VT-29As, 76 VT-29Bs and 31 VT-29Cs. The VT-29B interior modification typically sat 29 to 32 passengers. Sample assignments for the diverse use of these staff transports included: Joint Military Advisory Group Madrid; Air Attache, New Delhi, India; 327th Fighter Group; Field Activities Group, Teheran; Air

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VT-29E Convair 240-27 (msn 302) serial number 51-5171 was a command transport with a two-star general's rank placard next to the airstair door. The aircraft was delivered in 1953 as a T-29B, and is seen at Wheeler-Sack Army Air Field, New York, in September 1960. (Robert O'Dell).

This is an artist's conception of the Convair-Liner 240 in Air Force service as the T29. (William T Larkins Collection)

The U.S. Air Force took initial delivery of T-29B (Convair 240, msn 310) serial number 51-7898 on May 12, 1953. A decade later, the aircraft was transferred to the U.S. Army as a VT-29B, subsequently registered N40CE, and given a civilian-looking paint scheme for its new service with the U..S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Convair-Liner is on the ramp at San Francisco in September 1963. In 1967 the aircraft was sold surplus to Polaris Air Transport of The Netherlands and registered LN-KLT After passing through another owner, the aircraft was scrapped in 1976. (William T Larkins).

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U.S. Air Force VC-131A (msn 258), serial number 51-5127, seen here at an airport open house at Las Vegas, Nevada, in April 1959. (Lawrence Smalley)

Air Force YC-131C Convair 340 Modified (msn 91) serial number 53-7886, turboprop staff transport for the Continental Division of the Military Air Transport Command at Andrews AFB, Washington, D. c., in May 1955. This was the original turboprop prototype, NX5511K, developed by Convair. (James Fahey)

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U.S. Air Force Convair 340-67 (msn 209) 54-2812 at San Francisco in July 1955. This VIP transport was originally built as a 340-61 for Overseas Airlines but delivered to the USAF for service with the Military Air Transport Service. (William T. Larkins)

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Navy VC-131F (msn 276) BuNo 140993 served as a staff transport for the Naval Air Reserve Unit at NAS North Island (NORIS), San Diego and is seen at Alameda in July 1979. Note the name City of Las Vegas on the aircraft's nose. (Lawrence Smalley)

Force Command and Control Development Division; Civil Air Patrol Regional Command; Transport Squadrons in MATS; and many Maintenance and Supply Groups. Of the 272 T-29AjB/Cs built, 139 of them were modified to the "V" staff-transport configuration. The Air Force also acquired 92 T29Ds (240-52), which were a production military aircraft for bombardier training without the astrodomes that distinguished the earlier navigation trainers. Sixty-nine of the T-29Ds were Originally built as a piston-powered Air Force VC-131 D (msn 220) serial number later modified into executive configu- 54-2816, and delivered on December 27, 1954, the aircraft was upgraded to VC131H configuration in April 1966. The VC-131H modifications were similar to ration and designated VT-29Ds. The Air Force planned to follow other 340/440-to-580 conversions. Serial number 54-2816 served as a special the lead of the commercial airlines command plane with plaques for three-star rank on the nose and behind the pilot's and convert a number ofT-29s to tur- side window, and markings for the Presidential Flight (United States of 1"-.nerica). boprop power, and set aside the XT- Note the A-4 Skyhawks and P2V Neptune in the background on the ramp at NAS 29E designation for this model. In Alameda in May 1967. (Lawrence Smalley) the end, the aircraft was not built. A number ofT-29s were sold sur- evacuation of sick and wounded per- ated lift on the left side of the fuseplus and became airline or company sonnel. A total of 27 litters, four seat- lage behind the wing where a large executive aircraft. Four examples are: ed patients, and four attendants, or cargo door was added to the basic T-29A, N9046B, Eagles Nest Air Char- an alternate arrangement of 40 rear- 240 configuration. The C-131A was ter; VT-29B, NI48JR, Air Cargo ward-facing seats, could be installed. widely used by MATS, the Military Air Express; VT-29C, N8061Y, Aerolineas The alternate arrangements of seats Transport Service. The Convair 340 was the platdel Caribe S.A.; and VT-29D, N1021B, and litters, or a combination of both, enabled the Air Force to utilize its form for the U.S. Air Force's C-131B Danville Air Freight. The first of the U.S. Air Force C- fleet of C-131As for several types of and D models. As delivered, the "B" 131 series was actually a 240, model operations. Easy handling and model had the provision to seat 48, 240-53. C-131A "Flying Samaritans" unloading of the litters was made while the "D" had 44 airliner-style were built to provide high-speed air possible by a large hydraulically oper- seats in the main cabin. Of the 33 C-

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Navy R4Y-1 (Convair 340-71, msn 283) BuNo 141000, one of the Convair-Liners serving with Transport Squadron 30 (VR-30) at NAS Alameda, California, seen in May 1974. (William T. Larkins)

BIDs (340-67), two were YC-131D staff transports. There were other T-29 and C-131 model designations that did not have airliner-type interiors. ANACOSTIA

U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Convair-Liners Although the Navy only ordered 39 Convair-Liners direct from the factory, they also operated 16 that were transferred from the U.S. Air Force. - -- - - - - - - - - - - 1 The first Navy order was for the single Marine Corps R4Y-2 (msn 481) BuNo 145963 served as a staff transport for R4Y-1Z (340-66). The suffIx letter "z" Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps based at NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C. The stood for "Administrative," and was highly polished undersides with white top scheme features the "buzz" number 962, the Navy's equivalent to the Air the last three digits of the aircraft BuNo, under the cockpit windows. Photo on the Force's "Y" (Staff Transport), before the Department of Defense (000) ramp at MCAS El Toro, California, 1961. (Clay Jansson) changes in September 1962. This VIP transport was assigned to the Navy Department in Washington, D.C., for use by the Secretary of the Navy and his staff. The 36 R4Y-1s (340-71) were passenger/cargo versions similar to the C-131A with the left rear cargo door and an airstair passenger door on the left front side. When configured to carry passengers, the R4Y-1 could seat 44, and had a maximum gross takeStaff transport for the Secretary of the Navy, R4Y-1Z (msn 140) BuNo 140378 on off weight of 49,000 lbs. A pair of the tarmac at New Brunswick, Maine, in February 1955. The Convair-Liner was Pratt & Whitney R-28GO-52W waterbuilt as a 340-66 in anticipation of additional commercial sales and registered injected radials, developing 2,500 hp each, powered the aircraft. N8423H. (James Fahey) -~-

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Italian Air Force Convair 440-61 (msn 407) MM61899 at Paris in June 1963. The Convair-Liner was originally delivered to Alitalia Airlines on February 27, 1957, and registered I-DOVE. The Italian Air Force acquired the plane on February 23, 1961 and flew it until April 1987. (fMG Gradidge)

West German Air Force Convair 440-62 (msn 504) Code CA-033 seen in September 1966. Originally ordered by, but not delivered to, REAL as PP-YRO, the aircraft was acquired by the West German Air Force in May 1962. (fMG Gradidge)

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Royal Australian Air Force Convair 440-78 (msn 313) serial A96-313 is seen here on the ramp in Australia 1956. The RAAF operated A96-313 from April 1956 to July 1968. The aircraft passed through a couple of stateside civilian owners as N733E before it was sold to a Mexican operator and reregistered XC-DUZ in April 1969. (fames Dyson)

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Two R4Y-2s (440-71) were delivered as VIP transport aircraft with one assigned to Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The second was assigned to NAS Anacostia and NAS Naples before being assigned to Marine Air Reserve Training at Glenview and New Orleans. Both aircraft had been ordered as Air Force C131Es (340-72) and after the DoD designation change they reverted back to the Air Force style as C-131 Gs. The U.S. Coast Guard received 18 HC-131As, but these were used for search-and-rescue missions rather than as transports.

Foreign Military Service Air forces of the following countries operated military transport Convair-Liners, mainly 440s and 580s. Some were obtained from airlines such as Alitalia, Iberia, and Swissair. Countries operating the type included Australia (2), Bolivia (16), Colombia (1), Germany (6), Italy (4), Mexico (1), Paraguay (1), Peru (2), Spain (4), and Sri Lanka (1). The one exception to this list was Canada. When Convair ceased production on the 440, the tools and dies were sent to their sub-division, Canadair Ltd., with the intention of continuing to build turboprop versions of the 440. Three of these were built to 540 specifications7 as CL66Cs, which were delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force. When orders did not develop for civil sales of the CL-66C, a passengercargo version like the C-131A was produced. Only 10 CL-66Bs were delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1960, where they were given the designation and name CC-109 "Cosmopolitan." Six years later, eight were sold surplus and converted to 58 0 standard by Pacific Airmotive Corp. in Burbank, California, for sale to civilian operators.

SECOND-TIER CARRIERS

This sales announcement from William C. Wold Associates is touting the company's role in brokering the movement of a Northeast 240 to Mohawk Airlines. The company was also offering two more Convair-Liners. This 1955 sale saw one of the first original-delivery customers begin to sell off its Convair-Liner fleet. (William T. Larkins collection)

This good-looking publicity shot of North Central's fleet was taken as the DC-9 was about to enter service with the carrier. Convair-Liner 340-38, N4811 C, msn 101, joined North Central in August 1953, was upgraded to 440 standards, and converted to 580 turboprop configuration in December 1968. N4811C soldiered on through the Republic merger in 1979 and the Northwest merger/consolidation in 1986 before being parked in August 1989. After 36 years with the carrier, N4811C was sold to a new operator to begin life anew. (Northwest Airlines)

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In September 1955, Mohawk Airlines leased N91241, msn 162, from Northeast. Note how the "Mohawk" titles have been applied to the Northeast paint scheme. The aircraft is seen at La Guardia on December 7, 1955. Mohawk purchased the aircraft from Northeast and later re-registered the plane N1021 C, christening it Air Chief Adirondack. (Hal Andrews)

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Above left: Civil Air Transport Corp. had purchased six 240-14 Convair-Liners from the factory, which were delivered in 1949. By 1955, five of the aircraft had returned stateside to await new owners, and one aircraft, N8305C (ex XT-61 0, msn 131), was left with the Chinese. Two of the remaining planes went to non-airline operators, and N8302C, msn 127, in the foreground and N8300C, msn 100, and N8303C, msn 129, were sold to Mohawk Airlines. Msn 127 was registered N6632C by the carrier and christened Air Chief Nanticoke. (Joe Barry) Above right: Owned by the Dundel Corp., an aircraft brokerage and leasing firm, msn 41, N94222 was leased to Northern Express Airways, and is seen at San Diego on January 21, 1961. The aircraft was operated in these colors for less than a year. (Doug Olson)

Mid-Continent Airlines acquired N90667, msn 71, from Pan Am in March 1950. Two years later the carrier merged with Braniff (Logan Coombs)

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N90659, msn 34, was delivered to Pan Am as Clipper Cuba in April 1948. The aircraft then passed to Northeast Airlines in March 1954, and is seen on the ramp before it was sold to Varig in 1954 as PP-VCO. (Rankin)

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Msn 143 was delivered to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in February 1949. The aircraft also flew with Deutsche Flugdienst and LOT-Polish Airlines before coming back to the United States in January 1966. The plane was subsequently acquired by Empire Aircraft Club of El Paso, Texas, and was on the San Francisco ramp on July 13, 1968. (William T. Larkins)

Temple Airlines International operated N8326C, msn 112, from May 1968 to September 1968, when the bank repossessed the aircraft. The aircraft was at Oakland on August 5, 1968 for some repair work. (William T. Larkins)

Deva Airlines leased N8329C msn 110, from a private owner from July to November 1974. The plane sits at Oakland in the company of a wingless DC-3. (William T. Larkins)

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N564MA, msn 141 was owned by the Miami Aircraft Corp., which leased the aircraft to Norway's Polaris Air Transport (PAT) in September 1967. When flown in Norway, the aircraft was registered LN-KLU. The plane is seen shortly after its return stateside at Opa-Locka, Florida, on May 31, 1969. (Lawrence Smalley)

Ozark Airlines acquired msn 79 in July 1962, and registered the aircraft N2400Z. The aircraft is seen on the Lambert Field, St. Louis, ramp on May 31, 1964. Note the Ozark 240, F-27, and DC-3 as well as the TWA Connie and 707 in the background. (Lawrence Smalley)

Mason Dixon Lines operated N232MD, msn 30, from 1960 to 1967. The General stopped at San Francisco on August 12, 1962. (Doug Olson)

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Convair 240/340/440 scale model kits he real Convair 240 series first went into airline service in 1948. In the intervening 55-plus years, you'd think a pretty fair selection of model kits would have appeared. Not so. The pickings, instead, are very slim. As far as I can determine, the only injection styrene kit ever made of the 24Q/340/440 series was produced by Hawk (later to become known as Testors) in 1/126 scale as a C-131. Despite the weird box scale, it was a nice kit and built up into a very creditable model. According to The Collector's Guide For Scale Plastic Model Kits by John W. Bums (Seventh Edition), the Hawk kit was issued in two different pre-priced boxes - one for $0.50 and the other for $0.60 (inflation eventually forced a price increase). As late as 1994, the same kit was available under the Testors labet though it was no longer pre-priced. It also showed up briefly in Canada, marketed under a combination Hawk/ Testors logo. That wasn't the end of the Convair 240/C-131 injected kit. Somewhere in the 1950s, a company called Franklin and Associates (I

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know, I never heard of them either) repopped the kit, added Braniff decals, and sold it in a plain brown mailer box as a Convair-Liner. You can also find the 240/340/440 series in vacuform kits, some of them easier to find than others. Probably the best known (and most likely the best quality as well) are produced by Execuform. They offer a 240 that can be completed as either of two versions, and also a separate 340 kit. Scale is a desirable 1/72. Another vacuform company called Aeroclub Models offers three different 1/144-scale kits of the Convair 440. One is specified as being a "short nose" version with SAS Viking markings. Unfortunately, I know nothing about these kits other than what I found on the Internet. No photos, no descriptions, no other information at all. You'd think that with 1/144 airliner models becoming popular that someone would deem the 240/340/440 series worthy of a new styrene kit. We can only hope. And that, with -one exception, is it for model kits of the Convair 240/340/440 series and its many

By Richard Marmo offspring, including the C-131, T-29 and HC-131. That exception would be a large 1/50-scale paper model (25-in wingspan) of a Convair 440 from Aircraft By J.E Schreiber. You can find it listed in the catalog of Paper Models International. And before you tum your nose up at a paper model, keep in mind that a properly finished paper model can be extremely realistic. Those who lean towards diecast/collectibles are probably going to be disappointed when it comes to the Convair 240 series. The reason I say "probably" is because I haven't been able to find any die-cast models of the subject, though that doesn't mean that someone doesn't offer one. However, I haven't been able to find any in the lists of the most likely manufacturers. If you want to add a model of the Convair 240/340/440 to your collection, it can be done. All it takes is patience and persistence. It won't even break the piggy bank because most of the styrene and/or vacuform kits mentioned can be found for anywhere from $10-$25, even on eBay.

Transocean Air Lines (TALOA) leased N1018C, msn 133, from Mohawk for the 1956/1957 winter flying season. The aircraft is seen at TALOA's Oakland headquarters on November 9, 1956. (Lawrence Smalley)

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Mohawk acquired msn 127 from Civil Air Transport on May 6, 1955, and reregistered the aircraft as N6632C. The aircraft was christened Air Chief Nanticoke, and subsequently registered N1015C in 1956. The plane awaits passengers at Newark in June 1957, giving a nice view of the deployed airstairs. (Fred Freeman Jr.)

Linee Aeree Italiane (LAI) acquired 240-2, msn 84, I-Lark in April 1953. The aircraft was built for Pan Am (N90669), and also served with Mid-Continent, Braniff, Iran Air, and Air Jordan. (Logan Coombs)

Air Korea became the second carrier to operate msn 47, ex-Western Air Lines 240-1, N8408H. The aircraft shows the Westernstyle tail air stairs. The plane is seen at a Western Air Lines ramp, most likely Los Angeles, in January 1962, prior to its ferry flight across the Pacific. (Clay Jansson)

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Deutsche Flugdienst acquired ConvairLiner 240-4, msn 145, from KLM in October 1957. Deutsche Flugdienst leased the plane to both Lufthansa and Condor during 1960 and 1961. The carrier operated the aircraft until 1962 when it came stateside to join Ozark Airlines as N2402Z. (fMC Gradidge)

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Built as a Convair-Liner 240-3 for Continental, msn 96 was sold to Canadian Pacific Air Lines in March 1953. The aircraft is being run up at Vancouver, British Columbia, in October 1954. (Doug Olson)

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Convair-Liner 240-23, msn 174, was originally delivered to Garuda Indonesian Airways as PK-GCD in 1950. A decade later the plane was acquired by a stateside aircraft broker, and subsequently sold to a Mexican industrial concern and registered XBPEZ. In 1966, the plane was bought by Empresas Longoria SA (ELSA). The Convair-Liner is seen departing Long Beach, California. Note the air tanker B-17, P-51 Mustang, and DC-3 on the ramp under the Convair-Liner's tail. (Clay Jansson)

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Trans Texas Airways acquired N94279, msn 101, in April 1961. The carrier converted the Convair-Liner to CV-600 configuration in November 1966, and operated it until January 1978. (David W Lucabaugh collection)

Above left: Lake Central Airlines acquired 340-31 N73149, msn 163 in February 1961. The plane is seen at Baltimore on August 6, 1966. (David W Lucabaugh) Above right: Central Airlines 240-0 N74850, msn 74, at Kansas City, Missouri, on September 4, 1965. The aircraft was converted to Convair 600 configuration the following year. (Clay Jansson via David W Lucabaugh collection)

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Temple Airlines 240-4 N8326C, msn 112, at Oakland Airport February 12, 1969. Subsequently passing to Aero Taxi Bonanza in December 1973, the aircraft was reregistered XA-DUY. It ended up stored at Opa-Locka, Florida, in 1977. (Peter R. Keating via David W Lucabaugh collection)

n-ans Texas Airways acquired the former American Airlines Flagship Huntington and Flagship Iroquois on October 7, 1964. N94248, msn 105, was later converted to Convair 600 configuration. (Doug Olson via David W Lucabaugh collection)

Lincoln Airlines flew Convair 580 N584PL, msn 115, for a two-year stretch between May 1988 and June 1991-. The aircraft was reportedly seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and stored at Opa-Locka Airport, Florida, where it was photographed on April 10, 1992. (Norm Taylor)

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Contract Air Cargo's N7813B, msn 265, at Pontiac, Michiga~, was a former C-131B. For many former Convair twins, hauling Calgo has given the type a new lease on life. (Wayne McPherson Gomes)

Deva Airlines leased N8329G, msn 110, for four months during the late summer and early fall of 1974. The aircraft was last reported as having been broken up in Singapore in the late 19705. (Peter Berry)

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Above left: Zantop's Convair 640 N3420, msn 64, was originally delivered to Braniff as a 340-32 on April 9, 1953. The plane was converted to turboprop power in 1966. (Roger Cain] Above right: Convair 240-5 N396CG, msn 93, in the weeds at Camarillo, California, on October 3, 1996. This aircraft was owned by Faberge and the Summa Corp. as an executive aircraft in the 1970s, and was reported to have been Cary Grant's personal plane. It was put up for auction in the early 1990s, and subsequently acquired by Ed Schnepf, owner and publisher of Challenge Publications, which produces magazines such as Air Classics, and Warbirds International. (Norm Jukes]

Canada's National Research Council 580 C-FNRC, msn 473, was originally delivered to Bethlehem Steel as a 440-3 on October 31, 1957. The aircraft was converted to 580 configuration in 1965. Canada's National Research Council has been operating the aircraft since being acquired in August 1973. In the winter of 2003/2004, the 580 and NASA's DHC-6 Twin Otter were used to collect airborne ice and water· samples during storms. Data collected was used to improve aircraft safety in bad weather conditions. (National Research Council Canada]

These underwing probes aboard the NRC's Convair 580 used to The upgraded cockpit of the Convair 5800 features a mix of collect images of cloud water and ice particles. (National analog gauges and digital displays. (Norm Jukes] Research Council Canada]

CONVAIR TWINS

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Profile view of the Convair 5800 modification shows the aircraft's stretched fuselage. The cargo-hauler was modified by Kelowna Flightcraft and is seen on the ramp at the Abbotsford Airshow on August 21, 1993. (Norm Jukes)

~ .

l

N5800

...... ~

The left side cargo door of the Convair 5800 shows part of the major modifications undertaken by Kelowna Flightcraft to stretch the Convair-Liner. Typical cargo pallets and loads are presented under the tail. (Norm Jukes)

Four Star Aviation's 440 N153JR msn 117, was built as a 340-38 for Delta Air Lines. The aircraft has been hauling freight in the islands for more than a decade. Note the removed rudder and open lower cowling. (Roger Cain)

A propliner enthusiast's dream: Three Convairs, three Beech

Built as a 440-78, msn 353 has been converted to carry cargo, 18s, and a pair of DC-3s still hauling freight in the Caribbean and was most recently owned by Tol Air Services. The aircraft line to the Tal Air Services ramp at San Juan, Puerto Rico. was photographed on the ramp at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 3, 2001. (Roger Cain)

98

AIRLINER TECH .: • ~

Operator

Type(s)

Operator

Type(s)

AAT Airlines Aero Cozumel Aero 0IY Finland (Finnair) Aerolineas Argentina FAMA Aerolineas California Pacifico Aerolineas Colonia Aerolineas Unidas de Oaxaca Aeronaves de Mexico Aeronorte Aeroservices Puntarenas Aerosun International Aerovia Brasil Aerovias Cariari Aerovias Caribe Mexico Aerovias Venezolanes Air Algerie Air Cambodge Air Cape South Africa Air Florida Commuter Air Inuit Canada Air Jordan Air Korea Air Maldives Air New England Air Niagara Express Canada Air Ontario Air Resorts Airline Air Texana Air Toronto Airlines of South Australia Airlines of N.S.W. Alaska Airlines Alaska Coastal Airlines Alitalia All Nippon Airways Allegheny Airlines ALM Netherlands Antilles American Airlines American Eagle American Inter-Island Ansett Airways Arawak Airlines Ariana Afghan Aspen Airways Atlantic-Gulf Airlines AVECSA AVENSA Aviacion y Commercio AVlATECA Bahama Air Ferries Bar Harbor Airlines Braniff Airways C&MAirways Cal-Sierra Airlines Cameroon Airlines Canadian Pacific Airlines Canadian West Air Carib-West Airways CARlBAIR

440 240 340 240,340 440 240 580 340 440 440 340,440 440 340 240,440 340 640 440 580 440,580 580 240 240 440 580 580 580, 640 440 440 580 440 440 240,440 240 340,440 440 340,440,540,580 440 240 580 440 340,440 440 440 240,440,580 580 580 340,440.580 440 340 240 600 340,440 440 240,340 440 240 440, 640 440 340,440,640

Caribbean United Airlines Central Air Transport CATC Central Airlines Century Airlines Chicago & Southern C&S Cia Panama de Aviacion

440 240 240,600 240,340,440,640 340 240 340 240,440 440 440 240,440 580 240 440 240,340,440 240 340,440 240,340,440 440 340,440 440 240 340,440 580 240 240 580 580 340,440 240,340 340 240 340,440,580,600 240 240,340,440 340,580 580 600 340 440,580,640 580 340,440,640 340 440 580 440 240 240 340,440 440 440 440 240,340,440 340,440 440 340,580 340 440,580 440

CMA Coastal Airlines Cochise Airlines Command Airways Commercial Air Transport Commuter Airlines Condor Flugdienst Condor Luftreederel Continental Airlines Cordova Airlines Cosmopolitan Airlines Cruzeiro do Sui Delta Air Transport Delta Airlines Delta-C&S Deutsche Flugdienst Eastern Air Lines Emissary Airways Empresas Longoria Ethiopian Airlines Evergreen International Airlines Express Airlines Finnair Flamingo Airlines Fred Olsen Flyselkap Freedom Airlines Frontier Airlines Fuji Airlines Garuda Indonesian Airlines Gem State Airlines Golden Gate Airlines Golden Pacific Airlines Great American Airways Great Lakes Airlines Great Northern Airlines Hawaiian Air Lines Highline Airways IBERIA INTAIR Interestatal de Aviacion Iranian Airways Japan Domestic Airlines JAT Yugoslavia Kar-Air 0IY Key Air Lines Khmer Akas KLM LACSA Costa Rica LAGEAfrica Lake Central Airlines LAN Chile Laredo Air Liberty Airlines

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

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Operator

Type(s)

Operator

Type(s)

Lincoln Airlines Lineas Aereas Oaxaquenas Lineas Aereas del Centro Lineas Areae Italiane Linjeflyg Lufthansa Mackey International Air Lines Mandala Martins Air Charter Mason &. Dixon Lines Metro Airlines Mid-Continent Airlines Mohawk Airlines Mohican Air Service Mountainwest Aviation Music City Airways National Airlines Nippon Airlines North Central Airlines Northeast Airlines Northern Express Airways North Japan Airlines Northeast Airlines Orient Airways Ozark Airlines Pacific Air Lines Pacific Western Airlines Pakistan International Airlines Pan American Airways Perkiomen Airways Philippine Air Lines Pied Piper International

580 440 440 240 440 340,440 440,580 340, 600 600 240 580 340 240,440 240,340 440,580 440 340 440 440,580 240 240 240 580 240 240 240 640 240 240 240 340 240

Polaris Air Transport Quebecair REAL Red Carpet Airlines Republic Air Lines Sabena SAC Servicos Aereos Cruzeira SAFAlR (South Africa) SAHSA SAS Saudi Arabian Airlines Sea Airmotive Sierra Pacific Airlines 5MB Stage Lines Standar:d Airways Sundance Air Temple Airlines Texas International Airlines Trans Australia Airlines Trans Caribbean Airlines Trans Texas Airways. Transocean Air Lines United Airlines VARIG Viking International Westates Airlines Western Airlines Wings West World Airways Worldways Airlines Wright Airlines

240 640,580 340,440 440 580 240,440 340 580 340,440,580 440 340 680 580 600 440 580 240 600 240 340 240,600 240 340 240,340,440 640 580 240 580 440 640 600, 640

This list shows the distribution of aircraft from the original owners to a second airline. Most were sold direct, but some passed through dealers and modification facilities before reaching the second airline to operate them, so this does not represent direct sales. It does, however, give an overall view of the extensive transfers of ownership. Original Owner Convair 240 Aerolineas Argentinas American Airlines Central Air Transport Corp. Ethiopian Garuda Indonesian KLM Northeast Orient Pan American Sabena Swissair

100

Second Airline Operator Lineas Aereas Paraguayas Central, Continental, Cruziero, Fuji, Mohawk, Ozark, Southeast, Trans-Texas, Civil Air Transport Central Central Deutsche Flugdienst, Swissair Mohawk Pakistan International Mid-Continent, Northeast, VARIG LOT Mohawk

Original Owner

Second Airline Operator

Trans-Australia

Guinea Airway, Pakistan Internation al. Trans Arabia North Japan Airlines

Western Convair 340 Aeronaves de Mexico Avensa Braniff Delta Hawaiian KLM Lufthansa

AIRLINER TECH

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~

Linjeflyg SAHSA Allegheny, Ansett, Caribair, Easterns, Fred Olson Fly, Frontier, Hawaiian, Mohawk Aspen, North Central Allegheny, Ansett Avensa, Aviateca, Frontier, Hawaiian, Mohawk JAT

Original Owner

Second Airline Operator

Original Owner

Second Airline Operator

National Northeast PAA/Mexicana Philippine REAL United

Allegheny, Hawaiian Alitalia LACSA, National Allegheny, Braniff All Nippon, VARIG Alaska, Allegheny, Frontier, LACSA, Lake Central

Eastern Finnair Iberia Kar-Air LACSA Lufthansa National REAL Sabena SAS Swissair VARIG

Mackey, Standard Cosmopolitan Barbados Intercontinental, LAGE o /Y, Finnair Mohawk Air Algerie, JAT Allegheny, North Central Avensa, VARIG Aviaco, Frontier Linjeflyg, Mohawk Great Lakes Iberia

Convair 440 Ansett Airlines of NSW Braniff Delta

Allegheny Allegheny Allegheny

The following list of hull losses includes crashes and aircraft that were written off due to hard landings, over- or under-runs, and other factors. Convair 240 Model 240-1 240-0 240-0 240-1 240-0 240-0 240-1 240-6 240-1 240-8 240-2 240-0 240-2 240-7 240-0 240-0 240-2 240-2 240-4 240-0 240-1 240-2 240-6 240-6 240-4 240-7 240-0 240-2 240-2

msn 3 6 8 22 23 25 27 35 37 38 39 40 49 52 53 54 55 59 61 66 70 71 72

77 78 82 88 90 103

Reg. N55VM PP-CEV NlOAV N8405H N94213 PP-CEZ JAS088 LV-ADM ,N8407H N7177B PP-VCK N94221 N90662 AP-AEH JA5098 N94229 JY-ACB N90664 HB-IRW N94234 N8410H XC-DOK ZP-CDP LV-ADQ D-BELU AP-AEG N94244 N90670 PP-VCQ

Date 10/20/77 01/15/65 04/09/77 02/13/58 03/01/58 05/09/52 OS/29/65 12/12/59 02/26/54 09/04/78 09/22/58 08/04/55 09/02/51 05/15/58 02/27/64 01/22/52 01/22/59 02/27/51 06/19/54 03/20/5'5 00/00/69 01/25/70 OS/26/67 10/16/54 07/31/60 03/14/53 01/20/54 08/15/58 12/22/62

Operator L&J Co., Gillsburg, Mississippi Cruzeiro do SuI, Jabaguara, Brazil American Velodur Metal Co., Hyannis, Maine Western Air Lines, Garnet, California American Airlines, New Haven, Conn. Cruziero do Sui, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil Japan Domestic Airlines, Obihiro, Japan Aerolineas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina Western Air Lines, Wright, Wyoming Mission Air Lift, Clewiston, Florida Varig, Brasilia, Brazil American Airlines, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri Pan Am, Kingston, Jamaica Pakistan Int'l Airlines, New Delhi, India Fuji Airlines, Oita, Japan American Airlines, Elizabeth, New Jersey Air Jordan, Dabouk, Jordan Mid-Continent Airlines, Tulsa, Oklahoma Swissair, into sea off Folkstone, England American Airlines, Springfield, Missouri Hughes Tool Co., Wyoming Federal Electricity Commission, Poza Rica, Mexico Lineas Aereas Paraguayas, Buenos Aires, Argentina Aerolineas Argentinas, Capila del Senor, Argentina Deutsche Flugdienst, Rimini, Italy Orient Airways, Kalahasahar, India American Airlines, Buffalo, New York Northeast Airlines, Nantucket, Massachusetts Varig, Brasilia, Brazil

CONVAIR TWINS

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240-0 240-0 240-0 240-0 240-0 240-4 240-14 240-12 240-0 240-0 240-0 240-0 240-12 240-12 240-12 240-13 240-13 240-13 240-24 240-23 240-23 240-23

-

104 109 115 116 117 125 127 128 139 141 142 150 154 155 157 158 159 161 167 172 174 175

N94247 N8330C N300GR N94255 N94256 PH-TEl NI015C OO-AWO N94266 N777DC PP-CFD N94273 OO-AWQ SP-LPB N270L N91238 N91239 N91241 N93218 PK-GCB N77WA PK-GCE

Convair 340/(converted to 440)/440 340-35 44 N90853 340-32 (440) 45 N3414 340-31 N73130 59 340-32 71 N3422 340-38 84 N4807C 340-38 (440) 95 N4809C 340-41 (440) 112 YU-ADL 340-48 (440) 120 CP-2142 340-47 (440) 125 N8415H 340-38 (440) N4819C 138 340-48 (440) 143 TG-ACA 340-38 152 N4820C 340-42 (440) 153 N358SA 340-59 PP-CDW 159 340-58 162 YU-ADA 340-59 166 PP-CDY 340-68B HZ-AAT 174 340-58 178 YU-ADC 340-68B 182 HZ-AAU 340-49 187 N18837 340-62 PP-YRB 191 340-62 (440) 195 SE-CCK 340-68 (440) 210 N477KW 340-68/C-131 219 HZ-AAZ 440-40 317 N137CA 440-35 CP-1489 319 440-75 325 N21DR 440-11 XA-KEH 327 440-12 328 TAM-44 440-12 CP-2212 330 440-11 335 HB-IMD 440-11 355 HB-IMF

102

01/06/57 02/15/80 OS/24/80 09/16/53 02/19/61 OS/25/53 05/14/71 12/19/53 06/22/49 04/01/78 08/20/55 03/25/59 10/14/53 04/11/58 01/17/70 01/14/52 08/22/68 08/11/49 02/16/87 02/27/62 08/03/75 08/17/62

American Airlines, Tulsa, Oklahoma William J. Evans, Port-au-Prince, Haiti Charles Clay, Spruce Creek, Florida American Airlines, Albany, New York Lyndon B. Johnson, Johnson City, Texas KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Amsterdam, The Netherlands U.S. Dept. ofInterior, Buhl, Idaho Sabena, Zurich, Switzerland American Airlines, Memphis, Tennessee Thrifty Threads, Ungula, Columbia Cruziero do SuI, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil American Airlines, Chicago, Illinois Sabena, Frankfurt, Germany LOT-Polish Airlines, Warsaw, Poland Aspen Airways, Aspen, Colorado Northeast Airlines, Flushing Bay, New York East Coast Leasing, Martinsburg, Virginia Northeast Airlines, Portland, Maine Israeli Aircraft Industries, Tel Aviv, Israel Garuda Indonesian Airways, Palembang, Indonesia Robert 1. Vaughn, Belize City, Belize Garuda Indonesian Airways, Ambon, Indonesia

03/16/54 11/29/66 12/21/62 07/17/55 03/21/78 07/14/78 02/04/61 OS/22/95 07/23/65 03/13/74 04/27/77 03/20/68 01/04/96 05/03/63 12/22/56 01/22/63 02/04/72 10/10/55 01/07/72 00/00/74 06/24/60 11/20/64 08/25/82

Continental Air Lines, Midland, Texas f\llegheny Airlines, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Frontier Airlines, Grand Island, Nebraska Braniff Airways, Chicago, Illinois Florida Aircraft Leasing Corp., Elma, Indiana Charlie Inc., South Caicos Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, Titograd, Yugoslavia Servicios Aereos Santa Anna, San Borja, Bolivia Allegheny Airlines, Montoursville, Pennsylvania Sierra Pacific Airlines, White Mountain, Bishop, California Aviateca, Guatemala City, Guatemala Delta Air Lines, Evansville, Indiana Salair, Spokane, Washington Cruzeiro do SuI, Sao Paulo, Brazil Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, Grub, Germany Cruziero do SuI, Parnaiba, Brazil Saudi Arabian Airlines, Sanaa, Yemen Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, Vienna, Austria Saudi Arabian Airlines, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Tri-9 Corp., Phnom Penh, Cambodia Real SA, Guanabara Bay, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Linjeflyg, Angelholm, Sweden National Flight Services, Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado Saudi Arabian Airlines, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Gulf and Caribbean Corp. Cap Haitien, Haiti Carga Aereo Transporta da Santa Rosa, Beni, Bolivia Island Airlines Hawaii, Pearl Harbor Channel, Oahu Aero Leon SA, Oaxaca, Mexico Bolivian Air Force, Tomontca, Bolivia CAMBA, La Paz, Bolivia Swissair, Shannon, Eire Swissair, Regensberg, Switzerland

07/08/68

03/18/95 04/20/85 01/17/82 OS/21/81 10/27/75 11/04/93 07/17/56

02/10/67

AIRLINER TECH

•

I(

~

-:-

440-12 440-38 440-62 440-75 440-80 440-11 440-11 440-86 440-86 440-86 440-11 440-98 440-86 440-62 440-40 440-88 440-62 440-0 440-59 440-62 440-59

373 378 388 395 405 413 414 415 416 425 429 432 437 443 447 448 456 464 467 468 493

TAM-46 N102US EC-ATH SE-BSU CP-1961 HP-1200 CP-1358 CP-1078 N9302 CP-924 YU-ADV N357SA CP-1008 EC-ATB CP-2256 N985 PP-AQE D-ACAT CP-961 N44828 PP-CEP

10/22/84 00/00/80 03/31/65 11/01/69 08/21/92 02/20/93 01/11/80 03/26/76 05/12/78 09/06/78 12/16/71 06/27/95 00/00/76 11/12/62 09/14/93 11/30/76 09/18/57 01/28/66 01/07/75 12/16/84 06/16/58

Bolivian Air Force, La Paz, Bolivia Farm-Kern, Colombia Iberia, into sea off Tangier, Morocco Linjeflyg, Arlanda-Stockholm, Sweden Servivcios Aereos Santa Ana, Colorado, Bolivia Cargo Panama Three, Bogota, Colombia Carga Aero Transportadora, Camiare, Beni, Bolivia San Francisco Servicio Aereos, into Pacific, near Chile Argosy Air Lines, Skippingport, Pennsylvania North East Bolivian Airways, El Desengano, Yacuma, Bolivia Pan Adria, Trieste, Italy Salair, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic San Francisco Servicios Aereos, Bolivia Iberia, Carmona, Seville, Spain Servicios Santa Ana, Coloquemarca, Bolivia OMCO Petroleum Co., Cairo, Egypt REAL SA, Montevideo, Uruguay Lufthansa, Bremen, Germany Frigorificos Movima, San Borja, Bolivia Air Resorts Airlines, Jasper, Alabama Cruziero do SuI, Curitaba, Parana, Brazil

Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580

8 23 41 46 56 79 83

N73107 N73130 9Q-CRU N582HG LN-PM 9Q-CEJ N90858

05/11/92 03/05/67 04/01/97 12/06/01 09/08/89 11/18/99 06/29/72

Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580 Convair 580

98 109 157 180 214 336 348 354 369 380 384 386 410 452

C-FICA C-GFHH YV-84C ZK-FTB HK-3666 . N73160 N5808 EC-899 N2045 N4825C N5832 N5825 N5802 N67701

09/19/91 09/27/00 OS/28/85 07/31/89 04/00/95 01/19/89 02/02/88 05/19/95 12/27/68 07/24/78 06/07/71 01/06/69 12/24/68 12/12/63

RG Aviation, Opa-Locka, Florida Lake Central Airlines, Marseilles, Ohio Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation, Tshikapa, Congo Trans Air Link, Haulover Beach, Florida Partnair, Hirtshals, Denmark Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation, Tshikapa, Congo North Central Airlines; mid-air with Air Wisconsin DHC-6 N4043B Canair Cargo, Burlington, Vermont Hydro-Quebec, La Grande, Canada AVENSA, Cabimas, Venezuela Fieldair, Auckland, New Zealand SEC Colombia, Colombia Aspen Airways, Buena Vista, Colorado Aspen Airways, Durango, Colorado Swiftair, Vitoria, Spain North Central Airlines, Chicago, Illinois North Central Airlines, Kalamazoo, Michigan Allegheny Airlines, New Haven, Connecticut Allegheny Airlines, Bradford, Pennsylvania Allegheny Airlines, Bradford, Pennsylvania Union Oil Co. of California, Midland, Texas

Convair 600 Convair 600 Convair 600

56 114

N94230 N94253

09/27/73 08/04/89

Texas International Airways, Eagleton, Arizona International Turbine Service, Augusta, Maine

Convair 640 Convair 640 Convair 640 Convair 640 Convair 640 Convair 640

9 21 31 412 440

N862FW N3408 N3411 HB-IMM CF-PWR

02/09/92 01/23/67 10/28/87 07/17/73 09/18/69

Gambcrest, Cape Skirrinng, Senegal Caribair, San Juan, Puerto Rico 5MB Stage Line, Bartlesville, Oklahoma SA de Transport Aerien, Tromso, Norway Pacific Western Airlines, Vancouver, B.c., Canada

CONVAIR TWINS

PISTON CONVAIR-LINERS PROP-JET TURBO-LINERS

103

SIGNIFJ,€WNinATES~iN'1~omiAI~brNER~H1STORY September 1945 War ends. Consolidated Vultee announces that it will build the Model 110, a low-wing, twin-engine, tricycle-gear, 30-passenger, medium-range airliner.

October 6, 1955 First flight of the 440 Metropolitan prototype, the modified 340 N8431H, msn 202. Continental was the first airline to operate the type, beginning on March 8, 1956.

July 8,1946 The sole Model 110, NX90653, flies on July 8, 1946, with Russell R. Rogers and Art Bussy at the controls.

February 9, 1956 The first Napier Eland-powered Convair 540 (340 conversion, msn 153, G-ANVP) flies from Cranfield Aerodrome, Bletchley, Buoonghamshire, England.

December 26, 1946 American Airlines agrees to buy 100 CV-240s at a cost of $18 million, the largest commercial aircraft order to date. March 16, 1947 First flight of the CV-240 Convair-Liner prototype (N90849, msn 1) at San Diego is flown by company pilots Sam Shannon and Russell Rogers. October 26, 1950 The last Convair 240 built, msn 178, is delivered to Garuda Indonesian Airways. The plane is registered PK-GCI and named Sikatan. A total of 178 Convair-Liner 240s were built. October 5, 1951 Convair 340, N340l, msn 1, makes its first flight from San Diego with company test pilot Sam Shannon in the left seat. March 28, 1952 The first airline delivery of a Convair-Liner 340 is made to United Air Lines (340-31, msn 3, N73103).

February 29, 1956 Europe's first Convair 440 Metropolitan (msn 317 OH-LRD) is delivered to Finnair in Helsinki, Finland. The aircraft flies from San Diego to Helsinki, approximately 6,960 miles, in 25 hours, 55 minutes. May 20,1965 First flight of the Convair 600 (Rolls-Royce Dart-powered ConvairLiner 240). August 20, 1965 First flight of the Convair 640 (Rolls-Royce Dart-powered 340 and 440). March 21, 1984 The first Convair Super 580 takes flight. The aircraft is powered by two Allison 501-D22G turboprops, each rated at 4,000 shp. February 11, 1992 Kelowna Flightcraft's stretched Convair 5800 prototype, N5800 msn 276, originally a Convair-Liner 340-71, makes its first flight.

ERAU-PRESCOTT LIBRARY

104

AIRLINER TECH

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World Uilr II saw a tremendous number ofadvances in aviation technology. Low-speed maneuverability, robust pressurization systems, and implementation ofthe first jet engines are just a few ofthe amazing developments made. Returning GIs, having experienced air travel to distant lands, were expected to fuel a postwar travel boom. That perceived need drove companies such as Consolidated Vultee Aircraft (Convair). to propose a new series ofmedium-range airliners, thus giving birth to the Convair-Liner and their turboprop-powered conversions - the Turbo-Liner. More than 55 years after the first flight ofthe Convair-Liner, turboprop-powered examples of the type are still hauling cargo in the United States and passengers in afew foreign countries.

second airline owners, and signifigant dates Convair-Liner history.

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Nicholas A. "Veronico is an author ofover a dozen aircraft-related books, the former editor of Airliners Magazine, and has written extensively on commercial aviation. He shares his knowledge with an in-depth look at the power that propelled the Convair twins across the skies ofthe world. A must read for any aircraft enthusiast, this book details Convair twins and explains their signifigance in airline history.

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