INTRODUCTION TO A CHAMPION showcases Delta Airlines’ new aircraft, the Convair 880. Although the aircraft was successful for Delta, it proved a commercial failure and only 65 were built between 1959 and 1962.
The Convair 880 was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller and faster, a niche that failed to create demand. When it was first introduced some aviation circles claimed that at 615 mph (990 km/h) it was the fastest jet transport in the world. After the aircraft failed to sell enough units, General Dynamics eventually withdrew from the airliner market after considering the 880 project a failure. The Convair 990 was a stretched and faster variant of the 880.
The design entered service with Delta Air Lines in May 1960, slightly modified as the 880-22m, having newer version 805-3B engines. 880s were flown by Cathay Pacific, Delta, Japan, Northeast, Swissair, TWA and VIASA.
As they left commercial service, many 880s were bought by American Jet Industries for various uses. One example was converted to freighter use in 1974, and flew until 1982 with various companies. Another was used to train FAA flight examiners until it was destroyed by a minor explosion in the cargo hold in 1995. Most of the remaining examples were scrapped by 2000.
Delta Air Lines operated 17 Convair 880s between early 1960 and early 1974.
This film contains terrific footage of the Convair 880 and air travel in the 1960s, including lounge service (people play cards at the 6:30 mark), stewardesses in uniform (6:40), food service (7:40), Royal Jet service with champagne (at 10:45), and more. The Chicago O’Hare Airport is seen at the 9:20 mark. The Convair factory is seen at the 3:15 mark, and construction of airframes is seen.
At the 4:31 mark, aircraft N8802E is seen. This was the first aircraft delivered to Delta on 10 February 1960. Delta Air Lines’ Chief Pilot, Captain Thomas Prioleau Ball, made the delivery flight of Delta’s first jet airliner, Ship 902, a Convair 880 named Delta Queen, FAA registration N8802E, from San Diego, California to Miami, Florida, setting a United States national speed record over a commercial airline route. The elapsed time was 3 hours, 31 minutes, 54 seconds, averaging 641.77 miles per hour (1,032.83 kilometers per hour) over 2,266 miles (3,647 kilometers).
Convair 880-22-M N8802E, Delta Queen, (c/n 7) remained in service with Delta Air Lines until 1973 when it was sold to Boeing as part of exchange for an order of new Boeing 727-200 airliners. It was then sold to Transexecutive Aviation in 1974 and reregistered as N55NW. In 1976, the 880 flew as a charter airliner for Bahama World. It was then converted to a cargo freighter operating in the Caribbean. In 1979 the Convair was transferred to Groth Air Service, Inc., Castalia, Iowa, and assigned a new FAA registration, N880SR. The record-setting airliner was damaged beyond repair in a fire at Licenciado Benito Juarez International Airport, Mexico City, in May 1983.
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