The Convair 880 was a narrow body, medium-range, commercial aircraft that was built by the Convair aircraft division of General Dynamics in San Diego, California. Its maiden flight was on January 27, 1959, with 65 aircraft subsequently delivered by Convair from 1959-1962. The Convair 880 served with a number of airlines over the years, including Trans-World Airlines, (TWA) Northeast Airlines, and Delta Airlines. The Convair was planned to be a competitor of Boeing’s 707 and Douglas’s DC-8 commercial aircraft. While smaller than either of these two and holding less passengers, the aircraft was significantly faster, with a top speed of 615 mph. Unfortunately for Convair, because of the five abreast seating of the 880, (versus six for the competition) higher price tag, and operating costs, the Convair 880 could not adequately compete. Production of the 880 shut down after just three short years, and the Convair 880’s last revenue flight was on June 15, 1974 from Chicago, Illinois to Kansas City, Missouri. Of the 65 Convair 880 aircraft that were built, sadly, only six examples survive, the Museum’s being the only one on display on the west coast.
Built in San Diego in 1960, the Museum’s Convair 880 was initially delivered to Northeast Airlines in 1960. This particular Convair 880 (Serial #23) set two speed records during its lifetime, one in 1960 from San Diego, California to Boston, Massachusetts in 4 hours, 17 minutes, and another in 1962 from La Guardia Airport (New York City) to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1 hour, 43 minutes (a record that still stands to this day!) The aircraft was then sold to TWA (Trans-World Airlines) in August 1963 and flown until June of 1974 when the airplane was officially retired from service and moved to the Mojave, California airport in September 1980 where the aircraft was sold and then resold until Warner Brother’s pictures purchased the aircraft in 1990. Warner Brothers would go on to utilize the airplane in one of its films, “The Rookie,” starring Clint Eastwood & Charlie Sheen. In 1998, the aircraft was purchased by Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation who saved the aircraft from almost certain demolition. Because of his love and passion for aviation, Doug Scroggins' goal was a full-scale restoration of the Convair 880. After many years working on the airplane, and because of the financial burden of such a restoration, Doug Scroggins was forced to dismantle the rear section of the aircraft, but actively worked to preserve a 43-foot section of the forward fuselage for use as a museum exhibit, so that the Convair 880 could still be seen and its fascinating history could be told for generations to come!
We are proud to partner with Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation Mockup & Effects to bring you this iconic piece of history from the dawn of the jet age.