stringtranslate.com

Convair CV-240 family

The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroads as a commercial airliner, and had a long development cycle that produced various civil and military variants. Though reduced in numbers by attrition, various forms of the "Convairliners" continue to fly in the 21st century.

Design and development

The design began with a requirement by American Airlines for an airliner to replace its Douglas DC-3s. Convair's original design, the unpressurised Model 110, was a twin-engine, low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, with 30 seats. It was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines. It had a tricycle landing gear, and a ventral airstair for passenger boarding.[5] The prototype Model 110, registration NX90653, first flew on July 8, 1946.[5] By this time, American Airlines had changed the requirements to include pressurization and deemed the design too small. Convair used the first prototype for 240 series development work before it had the plane broken up in 1947.[6]

A 1949-built Convair 240 of Swissair at Manchester, England, in March 1950

To meet the requirements of airlines for a pressurized airliner, Convair produced a revised design—the Model 240. This had a longer but thinner fuselage than the Model 110, accommodating 40 passengers in the first pressurized, twin-engined airliner.[1] The 240 first flew on March 16, 1947.[7]

The Model 240 was followed by the Model 340, which had a longer fuselage, longer-span wings, and more powerful engines. The 340 first flew on October 5, 1951.[8] In 1954, in an attempt to compete with turboprop-powered airliners such as the Vickers Viscount, Convair produced the Model 440 Metropolitan, with more streamlined cowlings, new engine exhausts, and better cabin soundproofing.[9] As the "Super 240" evolved into the CV-340 and CV-440, the design reached the limit of piston-engine performance, and future development centered on conversion to turboprop power.[4]

Operational history

Two Convair 580s of the Aspen, Colorado-based Aspen Airways at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, US in 1986

Convair delivered the first production Convairliner to American on February 29, 1948.[7] They delivered a total of 75 to American—and another 50 to Western Airlines, Continental Airlines, Pan American Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Swissair, Sabena, and Trans Australia Airlines.[10] A CV-240 was the first private aircraft used in a United States presidential campaign. In 1960, John F. Kennedy used a CV-240 named Caroline (after his daughter) during his campaign. This aircraft is now preserved in the National Air and Space Museum.

After aborted negotiations with TWA and Eastern for "Super 240" orders, Convair temporarily halted 240 series production. In response to a United inquiry, Convair redesigned the Super 240, calling it the CV-340. United ordered 55, and more US orders came from Braniff, Continental, Delta, Northeast, and National. Other orders came from abroad, and the CV-340 was popular in South America. The CV-340 earned a reputation for reliability and profitability, and was developed into the CV-440 Metropolitan, the final piston-engined variant of the Convairliners.[4] Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter, the major remaining operator of this model, currently holds the type certificate for this aircraft. Used price for a Convair 240 in 1960 was around £40,000.[11]

Variants

Data from: General Dynamics Aircraft and their predecessors[4]

Civil variants

Convair 340 of KLM landing at Manchester Airport in 1954
Convair 440 Metropolitan of Lufthansa at Copenhagen Airport in 1968
Convair 580 operated by the Australian arm of New Zealand airline Pionair. This example was converted from a CV-340
Convair 640F freighter of Kitty Hawk Aircargo converted with Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines
Convair Model 110
Unpressurized prototype with seats for 30 passengers. 89 ft (27.13 m) wingspan, 71 ft (21.64 m) length, powered by two 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-SC13G engines. One built.[5]
Convair CV-240
Initial production version, with seats for 40 passengers in a pressurised fuselage. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney 2,400 hp (1,800 kW) R-2800 engines.[12] 176 built (excluding military derivatives).[13]
Convair CV-240-21 Turboliner
Turboprop-powered conversion fitted with Allison T38 engines. It became the first turboprop airliner to fly in the United States (on December 29, 1950), but problems with the engines resulted in development being terminated. Used as a test bed before being converted back to piston power.[14]
Convair CV-300
A conversion from a Convair CV-240 with two R-2800 CB-17 engines and nacelles as used on the CV-340.[15]
Convair CV-340
Built for United Airlines and other operators including KLM, the CV-340 was a CV-240 lengthened to hold an additional four seats. The wingspan was extended for better performance at higher altitudes. The CV-340 replaced the DC-3 in United service. The airline flew 52 340s for 16 years without a fatality. KLM operated the type from early 1953 until mid-1963. Many CV-340 aircraft were converted to CV-440 standard.[16]
Convair CV-440 Metropolitan
CV-340 with improved soundproofing and an option for weather radar. Maximum weight rose to 49,700 lbs. An optional increase from 44 to 52 passengers was facilitated by the replacement of the carry-on luggage area with two more rows of seats, marked by the addition of an extra cabin window. This option was taken up by several airlines including Swissair, Lufthansa and SAS.[16] Finnair operated the type from 1956 until 1980.
Convair CV-540
Conversion from a Convair CV-340 aircraft with two Napier Eland turboprop engines in place of the piston engines. Six aircraft were converted by Napier for Allegheny Airlines.[17] Cost for the conversions was £160,000 per-aircraft. 12 built as new-builds by Canadair for RCAF as CC-109 in 1960 for £436,000 per-aircraft. First flight February 9, 1955.[18] When Rolls-Royce purchased Napier, the Eland program was terminated, and the Allegheny aircraft were converted back to piston power, but were later converted to Convair 580s with Allison turbo props.
Convair CV-580
Conversion from Convair CV-340 (Allison Prop-Jet Convair 340) or CV-440 aircraft with two Allison 501 D13D/H turboprop engines with four-blade propellers, in place of piston engines with three-blade propellers, an enlarged vertical fin and modified horizontal stabilizers. The conversions were performed by Pacific Airmotive on behalf of the Allison Engine Company.[17] Cost of the conversions was around £175,000 per aircraft and took 60 days.[11] The CV-580 served with the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986), Allegheny Airlines, and North Central Airlines for many years and was also the first aircraft type operated by American Eagle on behalf of American Airlines in code sharing feeder service. General Motors Air Transport (GMATs) also used CV-580's on their internal air shuttle operation which ran between Detroit Metro Airport, Dayton,OH, Anderson, IN and other locations as needed.
Convair CV-580 Airtanker
Firefighting airtanker conversions with retardant tanks and dropping systems.
Convair CV-600
Conversion from a Convair 240 aircraft with Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines with four-blade propellers, in place of piston engines with three-blade propellers. CV-600 conversions were performed by Convair.[17] The CV-600 first flew with Central Airlines on 30 November 1965 and also served with Trans-Texas Airways (TTa) and successor Texas International Airlines for many years. The CV-600 aircraft that flew with Air Metro Airways was configured as a 40-passenger airliner. In 2012 the last Convair CV-600 (Rhoades Aviation) went out of service.[19]
Convair CV-640
Conversion from a Convair CV-340 or -440 with Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines with four-blade propellers, in place of piston engines with three-blade propellers. The conversions were performed by Convair.[17] In 2012, a total of seven Convair CV-640 aircraft remained in airline service, with Rhoades Aviation (one) and C&M Airways (six).[19]
Convair CV-5800
KF Cargo Convair CV-5800

A stretched Convair CV-5800 of IFL Group with this aircraft being developed by Kelowna Flightcraft (now KF Aerospace) in Canada

Conversion from former US Navy C-131F Samaritans by Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. (KF Aerospace since 2015) in Canada. The CV-5800 is a C-131F Samaritan stretched by 16 ft 7 in (4,98 m)[20] with the Samaritan's original tail unit rather than the enlarged tail of the CV-580. These conversions also have a new freight door, digital avionics with EFIS and Allison 501-D22G engines in place of the original R-2800 engines. The prototype of this conversion first flew on February 11, 1992; the type certificate was issued on December 11, 1993.[21] A total of six aircraft were converted (construction numbers 276 to 279, 309, 343) and mostly used by Contract Air Cargo (later IFL Group); one aircraft later operated by Air Freight NZ was then returned to KF Aerospace for operation in their own fleet.[22][23]
Allison Turbine ATF 580S Turbo Flagship
Stretched Convairliner conversion.[24]

Military variants

Convair C-131 Samaritan
The CV-240/340/440 series was used by the United States Air Force for medical evacuation and VIP under this designation
Convair T-29 trainer
A trainer model of the C-131 was used to instruct navigators and radio operators
Convair R4Y Samaritan
The United States Navy used the Samaritan under this designation
Canadair CC-109 Cosmopolitan
Conversion from CV-440, with Napier Eland turboprops in place of the piston engines. The conversions were performed in Canada by Canadair. In Royal Canadian Air Force and later in Canadian Armed Forces service they were known as the CC-109 Cosmopolitan. All were re-engined in 1966 with Allison 501-D13 engines.
Canadair CL-66
Company designation for the CC-109 Eland powered variant

Operators

Civil operators

KLM Convair CV-240
A Convair 580 freighter operated by the IFL Group with this aircraft being developed by Kelowna Flightcraft (now KF Aerospace) in Canada
A Nolinor Convair 580 landing at Vancouver International Airport
An Air Chathams Convair 580 at Tuuta Airport, Chatham Islands in September 2003
Two North Central CV-580 at O'Hare Airport in 1973

Africa

Asia

Oceania

Europe

A Karair Convair Metropolitan (OH-VKN) after a mishap in landing in 1963, at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport

United States and Canada

Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America

Military operators

CV-440 operated by Luftwaffe
 Australia
 Bolivia
 Canada
 Colombia
CV-580
 Germany
 Italy
 Paraguay
 Sri Lanka
 Mexico

Other operators

National Research Council of Canada Convair-580
 Canada
 China
 United States

Accidents and incidents

Specifications (CV-240)

3-view line drawing of the Convair 240
3-view line drawing of the Convair 240

Data from General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors.[12]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Wegg 1990, pp. 187–188.
  2. ^ Wegg 1990, pp. 222–226
  3. ^ Wegg 1990, p. 226
  4. ^ a b c d e Wegg 1990, pp. 187–199.
  5. ^ a b c Wegg 1990, p. 183.
  6. ^ Gradidge 1997, p. 10.
  7. ^ a b Wegg 1990, p. 188.
  8. ^ Wegg 1990, pp. 188–189.
  9. ^ Wegg 1990, p. 192.
  10. ^ Gradidge 1997, pp. 10–11.
  11. ^ a b Flight November 18, 1960, p. 794.
  12. ^ a b Wegg 1990, pp. 188, 199.
  13. ^ Wegg 1990, p. 189.
  14. ^ Wegg 1990, p. 194.
  15. ^ "Convair-Liner History." The American Museum of Aviation. Retrieved: October 21, 2011.
  16. ^ a b Gradidge 1997, p. 13
  17. ^ a b c d Frawley 1997, p. 86.
  18. ^ Flight November 18, 1960, p. 793.
  19. ^ a b Flight International, October 3–9, 2006.
  20. ^ aerofavourites, Convair CV-240 - CV-640 Archived 2017-01-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved: August 17, 2016.
  21. ^ Gradidge 1997, p. 39.
  22. ^ Klee, Ulrich & Bucher, Frank et al. jp airline-fleets international 2013/14. Sutton, UK, 2013, pp. 321 and 583.
  23. ^ Ruud Leeuw, ConvairLiners background information. Retrieved: August 17, 2016.
  24. ^ John W.R. Taylor, ed. (1987). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88. London: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-0850-5.
  25. ^ Archive 1992 No. 3, pp. 64–65
  26. ^ a b c Flight April 8, 1960, p. 491.
  27. ^ a b c d Flight April 8, 1960, p. 492.
  28. ^ Wragg 1969, p. 7.
  29. ^ Best Air-Britain Archive Summer 2009, p. 83
  30. ^ Best Air-Britain Archive Autumn 2009, p. 104
  31. ^ a b Bridgman 1955, p. 21
  32. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, p. 58
  33. ^ a b Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 59–60
  34. ^ Bridgman 1955, p. 26
  35. ^ "SINGAPORE PROPLINERS 1975". goodall.com.au. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  36. ^ Bridgman 1955, p. 27
  37. ^ "SOUTH EAST ASIA 1960s-1970s – INDONESIA & DUTCH NEW GUINEA". goodall.com.au. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  38. ^ "SINGAPORE and BALI 1980". goodall.com.au. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  39. ^ Bridgman 1955, p. 14
  40. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 57–558
  41. ^ a b Bridgman 1955, p. 15
  42. ^ a b Flight April 8, 1960, p. 493.
  43. ^ a b Flight April 8, 1960, p. 497.
  44. ^ Lambert 1993, p. [37].
  45. ^ a b c d Flight April 8, 1960, p. 489.
  46. ^ Hagby 1998, p. 34.
  47. ^ Wragg 1969, pp. 34–35.
  48. ^ a b Bridgman 1955, p. 25
  49. ^ Jońca, Adam (1986) Samoloty linii lotniczych 1957–1981, WKiŁ, Warsaw, ISBN 83-206-0530-X (in Polish), p.2
  50. ^ a b Bridgman 1955, p. 20
  51. ^ a b c Veronico & Larkins 2005, p. 55
  52. ^ a b c Gradidge 1997, p. 67.
  53. ^ a b Gradidge 1997, pp. 69–70.
  54. ^ Flight April 8, 1960, p. 495.
  55. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 44–45
  56. ^ a b Veronico & Larkins 2005, p. 45
  57. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 45–46, 80
  58. ^ 1977 Convair CV-240 crash
  59. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, p. 46
  60. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, p. 47
  61. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 47–48
  62. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, p. 48
  63. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 48–49
  64. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 49–50
  65. ^ Lambert 1993, p. [27].
  66. ^ Flight April 8, 1960, p. 490.
  67. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 52–53
  68. ^ Tony Eastwood, John Roach: Piston Engine Airliner Production List. The Aviation Hobby Shop, West Drayton, 2007.
  69. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, pp. 53–54
  70. ^ Veronico & Larkins 2005, p. 53
  71. ^ Wilson, Stewart (1994). Military Aircraft of Australia. Weston Creek, Australia: Aerospace Publications. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-875671-08-3.
  72. ^ Siegrist 1987, p. 175.
  73. ^ "Italian Air Force Aircraft Types". www.aeroflight.co.uk.
  74. ^ Derden, Jonathan. "Convair 580." airliners.net, April 19, 2008. Retrieved: June 7, 2011.
  75. ^ Gardy, Jennifer (2016). "Myth or Science: In the Eye of the Storm". CBC.
  76. ^ "Aircraft Campaign over Canada's Iqaluit YOPP Supersite" (PDF). PolarPredictNews. 2019.
  77. ^ Schuettemeyer, Dirk (2018). "Measuring precipitation in the Arctic". European Space Agency Blogs. Archived from the original on 2020-10-23.
  78. ^ Thurton, David (2018). "Flying air-monitoring lab tests emissions in oilsands region". CBC.
  79. ^ Rosuck, Ethan (2019). "Meteorology students take part in aircraft icing research". 23WIFR.
  80. ^ Pearson, Marilyn (2020). "Operation ICICLE" (PDF). FAA Safety briefing.
  81. ^ Thatcher, Chris (2019). "NRC studies aircraft icing". SKIES Magazine.
  82. ^ "Scientists fly plane into winter storm to study the impact of icy conditions". 9News. 2019.
  83. ^ Brown, Anthony P.; Wolde, Mengistu; Korolev, Alexei (2016-06-13). "In-situ Wind-fields Measured by the NRC Convair during HAIC-HIWC 2015". 8th AIAA Atmospheric and Space Environments Conference. AIAA AVIATION Forum. Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi:10.2514/6.2016-4202. ISBN 978-1-62410-433-6.
  84. ^ Liggio, John; Li, Shao-Meng; Staebler, Ralf M.; Hayden, Katherine; Darlington, Andrea; Mittermeier, Richard L.; O’Brien, Jason; McLaren, Robert; Wolde, Mengistu; Worthy, Doug; Vogel, Felix (December 2019). "Measured Canadian oil sands CO2 emissions are higher than estimates made using internationally recommended methods". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 1863. Bibcode:2019NatCo..10.1863L. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09714-9. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 6478833. PMID 31015411.
  85. ^ Wolde, Mengistu; Nguyen, Cuong; Korolev, Alexei; Bastian, Matthew (2016-06-13). "Characterization of the Pilot X-band radar responses to the HIWC environment during the Cayenne HAIC-HIWC 2015 Campaign". 8th AIAA Atmospheric and Space Environments Conference. AIAA AVIATION Forum. Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi:10.2514/6.2016-4201. ISBN 978-1-62410-433-6.
  86. ^ Pazmany, Andrew L.; Wolde, Mengistu (March 2008). "A compact airborne G-band (183 GHZ) water Vapor Radiometer and retrievals of liquid cloud parameters from coincident radiometer and millimeter wave radar measurements". 2008 Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing of the Environment. Florence, Italy: IEEE. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1109/MICRAD.2008.4579473. ISBN 978-1-4244-1986-9. S2CID 25720593.
  87. ^ Baibakov, Konstantin; Wolde, Mengistu; Nguyen, Cuong; Korolev, Alexei; Heckman, Ivan (2018). Nicolae, D.; Makoto, A.; Vassilis, A.; Balis, D.; Behrendt, A.; Comeron, A.; Gibert, F.; Landulfo, E.; McCormick, M.P. (eds.). "Retrievals of ice-water content from an airborne elastic lidar in tropical convective clouds". EPJ Web of Conferences. 176: 05051. Bibcode:2018EPJWC.17605051B. doi:10.1051/epjconf/201817605051. ISSN 2100-014X.
  88. ^ Korolev, Alexei; Heckman, Ivan; Wolde, Mengistu; Ackerman, Andrew S.; Fridlind, Ann M.; Ladino, Luis A.; Lawson, R. Paul; Milbrandt, Jason; Williams, Earle (2020-02-05). "A new look at the environmental conditions favorable to secondary ice production". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 20 (3): 1391–1429. Bibcode:2020ACP....20.1391K. doi:10.5194/acp-20-1391-2020. ISSN 1680-7324.
  89. ^ Baibakov, Konstantin; LeBlanc, Samuel; Ranjbar, Keyvan; O'Neill, Norman T.; Wolde, Mengistu; Redemann, Jens; Pistone, Kristina; Li, Shao-Meng; Liggio, John; Hayden, Katherine; Chan, Tak W. (2020-12-21). "Airborne and ground-based measurements of aerosol optical depth of freshly emitted anthropogenic plumes in the Athabasca Oil Sands region". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 21 (13): 10671–10687. doi:10.5194/acp-2020-1218. S2CID 241004223.
  90. ^ "Radar Remote Sensing Pioneering Convair 580 Added To Canada Aviation And Space Museum Collection". Canadian Air and Space Museum. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  91. ^ Best Air-Britain Archive Winter 2011, pp. 158–159
  92. ^ Best Air-Britain Archive Spring 2012, p. 17
  93. ^ Smithson, Peter. "Convair C-131B (340-70) aircraft." airliners.net, October 26, 2010. Retrieved: June 7, 2011.
  94. ^ Groenendijk, Bob. "Convair 580." airliners.net, 1981. Retrieved: June 7, 2011.
  95. ^ Kempf, Steve. "Convair 580." airliners.net, December 2, 2004. Retrieved: June 7, 2011.
  96. ^ King, Royal S. "Convair 580." airliners.net, August 5, 2012 Retrieved: November 14, 2012.
  97. ^ Lockett, Brian. "Convair 580." airliners.net, February 25, 2008. Retrieved: June 7, 2011.
  98. ^ Rodriguez, Javier. "Convair 580." airliners.net, 1999. Retrieved: June 7, 2011.

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Convair CV-240.