After being in storage from 1973 to 1991, former TWA Convair 880 N807J is awakened again for the first time in 18 years, to begin her journey from Mojave, CA. to Atlantic City, NJ. as a fire trainer. It’s screeching and smoky engines makes for a memorable take off.
The Convair 880, and its follow-up, the 990, were designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller but faster, a niche that simply didn’t work out in the brutal economics of commercial aviation. The result was the world’s most massive corporate loss up to that time. But it was beautifully sleek, with a pointy nose and a narrow fuselage that only sat five across. The 880 flew like a fighter jet, guzzled fuel, made a racket and belched smoke for miles. Here you can enjoy those screaming CJ-805-3 GE turbojets, a civilian version of the J-79 which powered the F-104 Starfighter, F-4 Phantom, and Convair’s own B-58 Hustler. Of course, the military engines had afterburners, but from the sound and smoke of this 880, you’d think its engines did too.
Running a little rich, innit? 😉
So cool. My interest in civilian airliners is casual to the point that I never knew of this more nimble plane; certainly the antithesis to the jumbo jets I normally lust after.
fire trainer? that means it got burnt….sad, another 15 years of sitting and it might have been preserved in a museum. rarest planes in US are early jets, not WW 2 planes.
wow – how did this old lady get a permission for take-off???
Special permit from a FAA local agent who will look at service records before issue. One off flight from A-B only. See Discovery channel “aircraft repo-man” for further info.
…and dont tell me that all those old early 70s jetplanes were that smokey…
Early 70s…? Try late 50s! And, yes, those old turbojets pretty much all smoked like that, though some more than others. I used to fly in the US Navy, and the smoke F-4 Phantoms trailed from their J79 engines (at less than military power settings) made ’em easy to spot beyond normal visual range. Later J79 versions were supposed to be “smokeless” but, trust me, they still smoked.
Interesting.. I never knew that the J79 also powered the F104 and B58.
Mig 21, our F4’s Russian counterpart, were supposed to be smokeless?
The F4 had many nicknames. One of the Luftwaffe’s was Luftverteidigungsdiesel (Air-Defense Diesel), presumably because of its smoky engines. To digress, the J79 was developed at GE under the leadership of Gerhard Neumann, AKA “Herman the German,” a natural genius who had a fascinating career, including a stint as a Flying Tiger mechanic. There’s a museum in Germany dedicated to him; he emigrated in 1939 to escape the Nazis.
The F4 was described by others as “the triumph of thrust over aerodynamics” and having 3 different dihedrals. Noisy beasts; I got to see them taking off at Carswell AFB during the ’80s.
One of my most vivid childhood memories is being at an airshow at RAF St. Athan in South Wales and, at the close of the show, a flight of 5 F4 Phantoms took off simultaneously in formation.
I was stood directly behind them and the noise was indescribable although spitting, snarling, crackling, rumbling, roaring, etc. are the kind of words you would use.
But the experience was more than just noise. The ground and the whole atmosphere seemed to shake. My chest was vibrating.
Visually it was exciting too. Seeing 5 “cigarette ends” after-burners belching smoke moving away from me then rapidly disappearing at a steep climb into the low cloud above will live with me forever. It seemed that these beasts were literally burning a hole in the cloud cover and the roar of their engines persisted for quite a long time after they finally disappeared into the clouds.
My only comparable “aviation audio experience” is standing close behind a Concorde taking off at Heathrow. Pretty much the same sight and sounds as with the Phantoms but concluded with the glorious sight of the most beautiful metal bird ever built banking hard to the right and arcing away against a bright sky. Awesome in every way.
Neat ;
I know exactly where that aircraft junkyard “storage lot” is too .
No , not all were that smokey but many were .
-Nate
Now looking back, would love to have a piece of Convair. My Grandfather worked for them from the early beginning until 1980 IIRC as a flight engineer/mechanic. Maybe one day get ahold of one of the owners scrapping and ask.
Shame the 880/990 were a flop. Hopefully a few in museums, I am actually looking now.
Thanks.
Very neat .Thanks for sharing that.
In the early 80’s I had a chance to wander a bit thru the junkyard of the Confederate Air Force in Texas.
Maybe “junkyard” isn’t the correct description ,but it was a variety of run down early military jets waiting some sort of fate.
I
American turbojets of that era had dark smoke trails but not the Russian ones, any particular reason why?
Because that was the sight and smell of freedom! That’s why! **kidding**
During Korean and Vietnam war, most of our jets had prominent smoke trails, the Migs didn’t. There must be a reason for that since we had technological superiority so our smoke trails were there for a reason?
Here’s my guess: Jets, like Diesels, get dirty after much use. So why were Russians cleaner? They didn’t expect combat jets to last long in battle, therefore time between overhauls was not a design priority, so in peacetime they required more shop visits, therefore more opportunities to clean the combustion chambers.
Western owners of Russian jets often re-engine them to reduce maintenance costs.
Interesting thread on what causes smokey jet exhaust (the 880 is mentioned):
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/tech_ops/read.main/139708/
It’s a smoke crop duster.
A complete total beast; thanks for posting.
The Convairs were my favorite jets – though the last American ones introduced. Convair was always behind Boeing and Douglas. The Boeing 720 and then a few years later the 727-100 completely destroyed their viability. But seeing them at ORD or even CMH (American’s 990s) was such a treat. Look at that nose! The new Mitsubishi jet mimics the Convairs.
I flew on one only once – a TWA 880 from DEN to ORD in late 1973.
Again, it was a beast – not a wimpy Airbus 320 or such but a real loud, fast, sleek and very cool American beast. I knew it and loved it.
– constellation –
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/12/1357004/-Great-Might-Have-Beens-Convair-880
one of a number of aircraft profiles from a pilot’s point of view by “Major Kong.”
There would be incredible requirements for service necessary to fly one that’s been in storage that long. I’m surprised that they didn’t cut it up and move it by train.
The doorless Chevy LUV would be impractical anywhere but a desert, too.
The Me 262 of airliners.
Wish I’d had a chance to fly in one of these. A missed opportunity, but what a cool plane.
Fun Fact #1: The interiors, included a cool molded plastic/fiberglass lounge section, were designed by Harley Earl through his independent design practice.
Fun Fact#2: Elvis’s private jet “TCB” was an 880. As far as I know it’s still on display at Graceland.
They’re going to auction the “Lisa Marie”, probably some EP freak will buy it for really big bucks.
I can’t imagine the cost of getting one of these flight worthy to just become a fire training tool; there must be something more going on…
This is the hardest 4 engine passenger plane to ID; 707 has the antenna pointing forward on the tail. DC8 has the gill openings under the cockpit.
If I don’t see those other clues, it’s a Convair…
The distinguishing feature, as I remember, and confirmed at 6:46 in the video, is the shape of the trailing edge of the wings — they become perpendicular to the fuselage at quite some distance from the latter.
I never knew the Convair 880 had a narrower body, seating only 5 across compared to the 6-across configurations of the 707 and DC-8.
TWA Convair 880s were a common sight over my house when growing up in the 60s in Pittsburgh not far from the airport. TWA, Eastern, United, and Allegheny Airlines (which later became US Airways) had a major presence there.
The lack of PPE, clothing, and the overall appearance of this rag tag operation has me surprised and chuckling. They got the job done though and wonder how much prep work was done to get this bird airborne? Not sure if filming these planes getting prepped for takeoff is modus operandi, but I am glad the video exists and wonder how hot it was that day? Also wonder why the engine blades are not spinning and what the shirtless guy is trying to find out by leaning on the pod.
Personally I find that wearing (lightweight) BDUs and lightweight long sleeves keeps me cooler whether it be in a very humid summer climate or a dry summer climate since eventually you get soaked in your own sweat which feels cooler than short sleeves and shorts. A Boonie Hat sure is nice to keep the Bandanna in place and keep the sun off your face.
You gotta love the low-tech, high-touch methods used to check the health and function of the engines. Laying on the hands! Looks like Bubba’s Power of Healing Touch worked the time.
HA! I was thinking the same thing, John. Was he doing that to feel engine heat and/or unusual vibrations?
Reminds me of:
Wow, it almost seemed like she wasn’t going to make it into the air! Pretty smoky engines but maybe they cleared themselves after running for a bit?
If an aircraft has been sitting for a long time it is possible to get a Ferry Permit from the FAA. The permit lets you skip a lot of maintenance items so that you can just make a single flight from point A to point B.
For example the pilots can just leave the landing gear in the down position for the entire flight rather than take the chance that if they retract the gear they will not be able to extend it again.
Because no passengers are going to be aboard, and the plane is being flown with a minimum flight crew, ferry permits are issued all the time. The mechanics do the minimum repairs required to make one flight.
If you think the 880 is smoky, you should have seen our KC-135s on takeoff with that water injection! B-52s were pretty bad, too. Those old jet engines were the steam engines of the sky!
Convair 880 – my favorite passenger jet right alongside the 707.
When I first started at Ozark Air Lines our gate at MCI (Kansas City International Airport) was across from the TWA Maintenance Base. In 1978 the pavement there was packed with grounded Convair 880s.
The aircraft was originally commissioned by Howard Hughes, who wanted it called the “Golden Arrow,” complete with a gold anodized aluminum “skin.” Problem was, the exterior is built of sections and the anodization process was not entirely consistent so the prototype looked like a checkerboard of various golden hues.
Amazing!
What I’d really like to know are the details their mothballing techniques and whether they can be performed at home. The faith of the crew in formerly inactive hydraulic systems, fuel delivery systems and even the rubber on the tarmac defies description.
I agree with an earlier remark that having survived this long the aircraft should not be destroyed. What’s to be learned from an old airframe that’s not representative of current fleets with a generations old interior fitout? I do read the safety cards and watch the demonstrations but a large part of me doesn’t really see many aviation emergencies as survivable.
This video is in the wrong aspect ratio (h x w proportion). Everything is stretched horizontally. Really a shame since it is otherwise OK.
I thought all of these had pods on the wings to make them go faster. The one I flew in once in a short nighttime connection between Phoenix and Tucson did. It was TWA also. There were only a few people on board and I’ve never been on a flight that did such a steep takeoff with so much acceleration. I think maybe the pilot was having fun given the light load.
I used something called YouTube Downloader. Easily obtained, google it.
Then I opened it in VLC, then you can set the proper A/R.
Oh…the wing pod ones were the 990’s, longer and with revised engines, which are the fastest commercial passenger jets other than the Concorde. So I flew in a 990.
The 990 “Coronado” did in fact have the pods on the top of the wings. Only US carrier to originally order the 990 was American. 880 was ordered originally by TWA, Delta and Northeast. As for foreign carriers, original purchasers included Japan Airlines; Viasa (Venezuela); Cathay Pacific (all 880); SAS; Swissair (both 990). Other carriers eventually got one or the other as used or leased aircraft: Spantax, Air France (one and only one 990), Ports of Call Denver. I used to see the PoCD airplanes on their south side ramp at the old Denver Stapleton.
There is a book about the Convair jets by airline historian Jon Proctor. It is long out of print and for years I have been looking for/wanting to buy a copy of it.
“If I don’t see those other clues, it’s a Convair…”
The 880 & 990 did have a unique identifying feature – a ridge or tube on the top and in the center of the fuselage, towards the rear. This can be barely seen in the video but it’s there and on all Convair jets.
That ridge covers an antenna. Here it is clearly visible on a JAL 880 photographed at LAX in 1964. The other distinctive feature for spotting a Convair jet is the triangular aft cockpit windows.
Here is a 990, also at LAX, clearly showing the “pods” on top of the wings.
This plane has ‘hush kits’ installed; would have been a lot noisier without them. Look at the extreme back end of the engines, the thing with the lobes and the square windows just in from of them is the kit. It brings in some air to mix with the exhaust jet and knock the edge off the shriek.
Hard part about ID’ing a 4 engine transport is you only see them in movies or old TV shows and it’s just a couple of seconds as they take off or land. So you need to look fast…
I lived in Jedda, Saudi Arabia for a time, and our compound was about 3km from the end of the runway at the airport. There were plenty of 3rd world carriers flying in and out of there with old school turbojets. It was unnerving at first, the sound was ungodly.
Some good & smokey ones too, although the worst smoker was old Bristol Britannia Turboprop that was a regular. I was told it belonged to a Jordanian carrier.
My Grandfather worked for Convair as a flight mechanic/engineer from the early days to 1980 (if remember all the facts correctly, was only a disinterested boy when told).
Shame was destroyed, so few built and so good looking, plus important piece of jet travel history. Doubt since only one 880 and 990 in far away places ever get to see one.
If knew one was being scrapped, see about acquiring a piece for family history.
Now forget which aircraft it was, though was something which normally required a copilot as do remember that, flew into Lemberg. He happened to be the only one on the taxi way and was shocked when Howard Hughes steps out and the only one flying the aircraft and only one onboard. Hughes then demanded my Grandfather park it for him and takes off. My Grandfather was also startled by someone wearing a suit with tennis shoes and white socks. Seems so Hughes to me, being self centered, arrogant, and weirdly dressed.