Convair CV-240

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Convair CV-240
CV240 Ruud leeuw.jpg
Convair CV-240
Type: Passenger and transport aircraft
Design country:

United StatesUnited States United States

Manufacturer:

Convair

First flight:

March 16, 1947

Commissioning:

1948

Production time:

1947 to 1958

Number of pieces:

571

The Convair CV-240 (originally Consolidated Vultee CV-240 , also known as Convair 240 and Convairliner 240 ) is a short-haul passenger aircraft made by the US aircraft manufacturer Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (from 1954 Convair ). The low-wing aircraft with retractable nose wheel landing gear was the first twin-engine line machine to have a pressurized cabin . From 1947 to 1955 Convair produced 571 machines. Following new demands from United Air Lines , the CV-240 was further developed into the Convair CV-340 in the early 1950s

construction

Convair 240 from Swissair (1954)
Convair 600 (1965)

From March 1945, Consolidated Vultee developed the Consolidated Vultee 110 for civil aviation based on a tender by American Airlines . The machine with 30 seats was not built in series because of the limited payload and the lack of a pressurized cabin. Convair then built the slightly larger CV-240 with 40 seats and a pressurized cabin with more powerful engines. The seating arrangement was 10 rows with 2 + 2 seats each and a central aisle. The new type received rectangular instead of round cabin windows. Two doors with a built-in gangway reduced the dependence on ground facilities and accelerated passenger handling.

The two 18-cylinder twin star engines of the type Pratt & Whitney R-2800 drove three-bladed controllable pitch propellers at a fixed speed ("constant speed"). The wings showed a sweep of about 4 °, the tail unit was designed conventionally. The rudder and the elevator trailing edges were made of glass fiber reinforced plastic . On March 16, 1947, the prototype took off from the Convair factory airfield in San Diego (California) for its maiden flight .

Modifications

Convair CV-300 - Conversion of CV-240 with R-2800-CB-17 engines and engine nacelles of the CV-340

Convair CV-600 - maiden flight May 20, 1965

From 1965 to 1968, 39 machines were fitted with Rolls-Royce Dart propeller turbines (Dart RDa.10 / 1, Mk.542-4 with 2223 kW / 3025 WPS power) and continued to be operated as CV-600. The first customer was Central Airlines (1949) , which operated a total of eleven aircraft. Trans-Texas Airways (from 1969 Texas International Airlines) converted 25 machines.

Civil use

Cab of a Convair CV-240

American Airlines ordered 75 machines of this type in order to use them in short-haul traffic from July 1, 1948. Soon followed Pan American Airways (20) KLM (12), Western (10), Garuda (8), Sabena (6), Continental (5), Trans Australia (5), Swissair (4), Ethiopian Airlines (3 ) as well as LOT (2) with further orders. A total of 176 machines went to airlines and other private owners. This made the guy economically successful. A CV-240 became famous for being used as a VIP machine by John F. Kennedy during his campaign.

Between 1957 and 1961 Deutsche Flugdienst GmbH (from November 1, 1961 Condor Flugdienst ) used five aircraft acquired from KLM in charter traffic (D-BELU, D-BEPE, D-BESI, D-BATA, D-BOBA). D-BELU crashed on July 31, 1960 while approaching Rimini Airport . Between September 1960 and September 1961 D-BOBA flew on loan for Lufthansa .

The CV-240s remained in use by the major airlines until around the mid-1960s, when they gave way to the emerging modern short-haul jets such as the Boeing 737 . Many machines were sold to airlines in Asia, Africa and Central and South America and were used there until the year 2000.

Military use

C-131A : The United States Air Force (USAF) also ordered the type with a large loading door in 1954 as a Convair C-131A Samaritan passenger, ambulance and cargo aircraft . With this model, which was mainly designed for the transport of the wounded, up to 27 wounded could be transported lying down or 37 injured seated. 26 of the C-131A were procured. In 1959, the USAF ordered 369 machines as a Convair T-29 trainer aircraft , which was used to train navigators, bombardiers and radar operators. At the end of the 1970s, almost all aircraft of these military variants were decommissioned. The National Guard, however, still used the C-131A or T-29 in some cases until around 1995.

USAF production

The aircraft was built as a trainer T-29 and as a passenger and ambulance aircraft C-131A.

The following table not only contains CV-240, but also CV-340 (C-131B / C / D) and CV-440 (C-131D / E). Acceptance of the T-29 / C-131 by the USAF:

version 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 TOTAL PRICE
T-29A 25th 23             48 $ 643,273
T-29B   2 59 44         105 $ 891,816
T-29C       28 72 19th     119 $ 781,991
T-29D       7th 41 44     92 $ 994,222
C-131A         26th       26th $ 970,412
C-131B         1 35     36 $ 757,540
YC-131C         2       2 $ 2,733,609
C-131D         12 15th 6th   33 $ 638,461
C-131E             10 2 12 728,325 USD
TOTAL 25th 25th 59 79 154 113 16 2 473

A larger number were converted into VIP vans. This resulted in 10 VT-29A from T-29A and B, 14 VT-29B from AC-131A, 12 VT-29C from T-29C, 6 VT-29D from T-29D and 1 VT-29E from a VT-29B. The conversion of 18 AC-131A was made from T-29C. Of these, 4 were used for the CT-29A.

United StatesUnited States United States
United States Air Force C-131A and T-29

Duration

In May 2004 14 machines were still available, 7 of which were airworthy. 78 were lost in accidents.

Incidents

CV-240

From 1949 to early 2017, 77 CV-240s were destroyed, 70 of them in accidents (the last one in 1998). There were a total of 343 fatalities in these accidents. Examples:

  • On August 11, 1949, a Northeast Airlines Convair CV-240-13 ( aircraft registration number NC91241 ) had an accident while landing at Portland Airport . All 28 inmates survived. The aircraft was written off as a total loss. The cause was the unintentional activation of the reverse thrust prior to touchdown due to a defective locking mechanism.
  • On February 27, 1951, a Mid-Continent Airlines (N90664) Convair CV-240-2 (N90664) experienced a failure of the left propeller after taking off from Tulsa Airport , Oklahoma . By retracting the landing flaps prematurely, the plane sank again, collided with trees and slid along the ground. All 34 inmates survived. The plane burned out completely.
  • On September 2, 1951, a Pan Am Convair CV-240-2 ( N90662 ) flew so low on approach to Kingston Airport (Jamaica) that the end of the wing touched the water. The machine crashed into the harbor. All four crew members and thirty passengers survived. The aircraft was totaled.
  • On January 14, 1952, a Northeast Airlines Convair CV-240-13 ( N91238 ) touched down about 1,100 meters from the runway of New York-LaGuardia Airport in Flushing Bay. The 3 crew members and 33 passengers were rescued. The aircraft was recorded as a total loss.
  • On January 22, 1953, an American Airlines Convair CV-240 ( N94229 ) crashed into the city ​​while approaching Newark Airport, 5.5 kilometers southeast of the airport. All 23 people on board died, as well as 7 people on the ground.
  • On October 14, 1953, a Sabena CV-240-12 ( OO-AWQ ) crashed on the flight from Frankfurt to Brussels. Shortly after taking off from Frankfurt Airport , the plane crashed from a low altitude a good 2000 meters behind the end of the runway in the Kelsterbach Forest. All 44 inmates - 40 passengers and 4 crew members - were killed, including the Austrian diplomat Georg Albert von und zu Franckenstein . The aircraft's engines had lost power at takeoff due to a strong build-up of lead on the spark plugs, which resulted in misfiring. The pilots continued trying to take off despite the poor engine performance (see also the Sabena aircraft accident near Kelsterbach ) .
  • On June 19, 1954, a Convair CV-240-4 of the Swiss airline Swissair (HB-IRW) had to be ditched on the flight from Geneva to London due to lack of fuel near Folkestone , Great Britain. Of the nine inmates, three non-swimmers drowned; there were no life jackets or anything like that on board. The guilt was blamed on the pilots who had neglected to fill up with enough fuel before the flight and also did not notice during the flight that the fuel would not be enough (see also the Swissair flight accident in the English Channel ) .
  • On August 15, 1958, a Northeast Airlines Convair CV-240-2 ( N90670 ) flew into the ground 400 meters from the runway threshold of Nantucket Memorial Airport (Massachusetts) in thick fog . Of the 34 inmates, 25 were killed.
  • On January 22, 1959, an Air Jordan ( JY-ACB ) Convair CV-240-2 crashed about 22 kilometers before the destination airport Amman-Marka near Wadi as-Sir . When attempting to fly from Jerusalem to Amman under the cloud cover , the machine collided with some trees. All four crew members and six of the eleven passengers were killed.
  • On July 31, 1960 both engines of a CV-240-4 of Deutsche Flugdienst (now Condor) ( D-BELU ) failed one after the other when approaching Rimini Airport . During the subsequent emergency landing one kilometer before the start of the runway, one of the 30 passengers was killed. The four crew members survived.
  • On May 9, 1962 a Convair CV-240-0 of the Brazilian Cruzeiro do Sul (PP-CEZ) was flown into the ground on the approach to the airport of Vitoria ( Espirito Santo , Brazil). As early as 1,860 meters from the runway, the aircraft struck a eucalyptus tree and fell to the ground. Instead of having the required height of at least 150 meters, the pilots approached far too low. In this CFIT ( Controlled flight into terrain ) 23 of the 25 occupants were killed, all 3 crew members and 20 of the 22 passengers.
  • On January 15, 1963, an engine failed on a Convair CV-240-0 operated by the Brazilian Cruzeiro do Sul (PP-CEV) after taking off from São Paulo-Congonhas Airport ( Sao Paulo , Brazil). The plane crashed four kilometers south of the take-off airport in a house. Of the 45 occupants, 6 were killed, a crew member and 5 passengers. In addition, 7 people were killed on the ground.
  • On August 20, 1965, the pilots of a Convair CV-240-0 of the Brazilian Cruzeiro do Sul (PP-CFD) returned to the departure airport in Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont ( Brazil ) after an engine failed soon after take-off. When landing, the aircraft came off the runway to the left, causing the left main landing gear to collapse. All 33 occupants, 5 crew members and 28 passengers survived the total write-off.
  • On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-300 ( N55VM ), chartered by the band Lynyrd Skynyrd , crashed near Gillsburg, Mississippi, not far from the airfield in McComb, Mississippi . At the end of the flight from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, both engines failed due to a lack of fuel. A year later, a court blamed human error on the crew. The two pilots and 4 of the 24 passengers were killed, including three band members and a manager.

CV-600

From the first flight in 1965 to December 2017, the Convair CV-600 suffered three total write-offs of aircraft. One of them killed eleven people.

Technical specifications

Convair C-131D Samaritan of the US Air Force
Parameter Data
crew 2 pilots, 2 flight attendants
Passengers 40 passengers
length 22.76 m
span 27.97 m
height 8.20 m
Empty mass 11,545 kg
Takeoff mass 19,283 kg
initial rate of climb 460 m / min
Cruising speed 450 km / h
Top speed 507 km / h
Service ceiling 4,880 m
Range 1,935 km
Engines Two 18-cylinder double radial engines Pratt & Whitney R-2800 CB16 18 with 1764 kW (2400 HP) each

See also

literature

  • Jennifer M. Gradidge: The Convairliners Story. Air-Britain (Historians), Tunbridge Wells 1997, ISBN 0-85130-243-2 .
  • Jochen K. Beeck: Commercial aircraft of the world 1919-2000. History - classes - types. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, 1st edition, ISBN 3-613-02008-4 .

Web links

Commons : Convair CV-240  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Wegg: General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors , Putnam Aeronautical, 1990, p. 188
  2. Gradidge 1997, pp 46-47 and 49-50.
  3. Statistical Digest of the USAF 1949, p. 164 f .; 1951, p. 158; 1952, p. 158; 1953, p. 185 f .; 1954, pp. 70 f .; 1955, p. 80 f .; 1956, p. 91 f .; 1957, p. 97 f .; 1958, p. 83 f.
  4. Statistical Digest of the USAF 1956, p. 115 ff .; 1961, p. 92 ff.
  5. ^ Accident statistics Convair CV-240 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 8, 2017.
  6. Air-Britain Archive: Casualty compendium part 50 (English), September 1993, p. 81.
  7. Accident Report CV-240 NC91241 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 26 November 2017th
  8. Accident Report CV-240 N90664 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 15 January 2018th
  9. Air-Britain Archive: Casualty compendium part 53 (English), June 1994, pp. 94/53.
  10. Accident Report CV-240 N90662 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 27 August 2017th
  11. ^ Air-Britain Archive: Casualty compendium part 53 (English), June 1994, p. 95.
  12. Accident Report CV-240 N91238 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 26 November 2017th
  13. Accident Report CV-240 N94229 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 19 August 2017th
  14. ^ Accident report CV-240 OO-AWQ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 27, 2016.
  15. ^ Accident report CV-240 HB-IRW , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 22, 2017.
  16. ^ Accident report CV-240 SP-LPB , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on October 19, 2019.
  17. Accident Report CV-240 N90670 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 26 November 2017th
  18. ^ Accident report CV-240 JY-ACB , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on May 26, 2020.
  19. ^ Accident report CV-240 D-BELU , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 27, 2016.
  20. ^ Accident report CV-240 PP-CEZ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 3, 2020.
  21. ^ Accident report CV-240 PP-CEV , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 3, 2020.
  22. ^ Accident report CV-240 PP-CFD , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 3, 2020.
  23. Accident Report CV-300 N55VM , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 8, 2017th
  24. Accident statistics Convair CV-600 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 16, 2018.