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HISTORICAL FLASHBACK
The Convair Hot Rods
Garuda Indonesia Airlines CV990
By Geoffrey Thomas
o story best illustrates attempt to enter the jet age jet than the 707 for medi-
the progress of tech- in the late 1950s with the um-haul routes for Trans
N nology in aviation than four-engine CV880 and CV990 World Airlines.
that of the increase in reliabil- as a follow-on to its success-
ity and power of the jet engine ful twin-engine piston CV240,
plus fuel burn reduction and CV340 and CV440 family was The story, or rather the fiasco
its impact on the success of a disaster due mainly to the that followed, saw US$425
aircraft designs such as the advancement of the jet engine. million written off in 1961 – the
Convair jets of the 1960s. biggest corporate loss in avi-
The project was also bedev- ation history, according to the
San Diego-based Convair, a illed by its sponsor Howard January 1962 issue of Fortune
division of General Dynamics Hughes who wanted a smaller magazine.
ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2023 | 33
