Convair 990 Coronado
The Convair 880 had been somewhat disappointing in service: compared to the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, it was smaller, and if it was significantly faster, it also was not as fuel efficient. American Airlines was interested in the 880's speed, however, and requested Convair design an upgraded version that could fly nonstop from Los Angeles to New York at high speed, with more passengers than the 880. Convair, hoping this might spur more sales, began work on what would become the Convair 990. It would first fly in 1961.
As per American's request, the 990 was stretched to accomodate up to 121 passengers--still significantly less than the 707 or DC-8. Convair made up for it by making the 990 still faster: the aircraft was further streamlined, and four large shock bodies were added to the wing behind the engines, reducing drag still further. The inboard shock bodies also carried additional fuel. During a flight test in 1961, a 990 reached Mach 0.97 in a dive, setting an airliner speed record, and Convair theorized that it might even reach the speed of sound in certain conditions (though this would not be advisable with passengers aboard).
Unfortunately for Convair, American Airlines was not impressed: the 990 was faster, but this was not as important to the airline as passenger capacity and fuel consumption. Whatever time was saved in the air was lost by refueling the 990 on the ground. The order was reduced to a mere 37 aircraft, and Convair would be forced to take a massive loss of revenue that almost destroyed the company. It would never again produce an airliner.
Though the Convair 990 was not a success, it was not without its fans. American sold off its 990s in 1967, but several went on to longer careers with Swissair and Spantax; it was Swissair that gave the 990 its unofficial name of Coronado. All but four of the 990s were withdrawn from service when Spantax grounded its fleet in the mid-1980s; those four would fly with NASA until the late 1990s as testbeds. Of the 37 990s produced, only four survived, and only two are on public display; pieces of two more exist as well.
This 990 was originally delivered to American Airlines in 1962 as N5617, the 29th 990 built. It flew with American between 1962 and 1968, when it was sold to Modern Air Transport, which used it as a charter aircraft. In 1975, it was acquired by NASA and reregistered as N710NA and later N810NA. N810NA's original purpose was to test the brake systems and tires for the Space Shuttle program, using the same tires as the Shuttle. N810NA would land at various runways, including the Shuttle Landing Field at the Kennedy Space Center and the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB, at the same velocity as the Shuttle to test how well the tires could handle the shock of landing. It was used for other systems testing as well. NASA would retire N810NA in the late 1990s, and as one of the last 990s in the world, was placed on display as a gate guard at Mojave Air and Spaceport.
I was looking forward to seeing this aircraft, but for some reason, I was under the impression this was an 880. It wasn't until I saw the shock bodies that I realized it was indeed a 990. It was a pleasant surprise, as I'd never seen a 990 before. N810NA is well-maintained and in excellent condition; the only addition to its markings from its NASA days are the Mojave Air and Spaceport marking on the forward fuselage.
Convair 990 Coronado
The Convair 880 had been somewhat disappointing in service: compared to the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, it was smaller, and if it was significantly faster, it also was not as fuel efficient. American Airlines was interested in the 880's speed, however, and requested Convair design an upgraded version that could fly nonstop from Los Angeles to New York at high speed, with more passengers than the 880. Convair, hoping this might spur more sales, began work on what would become the Convair 990. It would first fly in 1961.
As per American's request, the 990 was stretched to accomodate up to 121 passengers--still significantly less than the 707 or DC-8. Convair made up for it by making the 990 still faster: the aircraft was further streamlined, and four large shock bodies were added to the wing behind the engines, reducing drag still further. The inboard shock bodies also carried additional fuel. During a flight test in 1961, a 990 reached Mach 0.97 in a dive, setting an airliner speed record, and Convair theorized that it might even reach the speed of sound in certain conditions (though this would not be advisable with passengers aboard).
Unfortunately for Convair, American Airlines was not impressed: the 990 was faster, but this was not as important to the airline as passenger capacity and fuel consumption. Whatever time was saved in the air was lost by refueling the 990 on the ground. The order was reduced to a mere 37 aircraft, and Convair would be forced to take a massive loss of revenue that almost destroyed the company. It would never again produce an airliner.
Though the Convair 990 was not a success, it was not without its fans. American sold off its 990s in 1967, but several went on to longer careers with Swissair and Spantax; it was Swissair that gave the 990 its unofficial name of Coronado. All but four of the 990s were withdrawn from service when Spantax grounded its fleet in the mid-1980s; those four would fly with NASA until the late 1990s as testbeds. Of the 37 990s produced, only four survived, and only two are on public display; pieces of two more exist as well.
This 990 was originally delivered to American Airlines in 1962 as N5617, the 29th 990 built. It flew with American between 1962 and 1968, when it was sold to Modern Air Transport, which used it as a charter aircraft. In 1975, it was acquired by NASA and reregistered as N710NA and later N810NA. N810NA's original purpose was to test the brake systems and tires for the Space Shuttle program, using the same tires as the Shuttle. N810NA would land at various runways, including the Shuttle Landing Field at the Kennedy Space Center and the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB, at the same velocity as the Shuttle to test how well the tires could handle the shock of landing. It was used for other systems testing as well. NASA would retire N810NA in the late 1990s, and as one of the last 990s in the world, was placed on display as a gate guard at Mojave Air and Spaceport.
I was looking forward to seeing this aircraft, but for some reason, I was under the impression this was an 880. It wasn't until I saw the shock bodies that I realized it was indeed a 990. It was a pleasant surprise, as I'd never seen a 990 before. N810NA is well-maintained and in excellent condition; the only addition to its markings from its NASA days are the Mojave Air and Spaceport marking on the forward fuselage.