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Frenchman colorizes rare photos of American Airlines' Convair 990

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Frenchman colorizes rare photos of American Airlines' Convair 990
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Jessica Sandral Social Media Editor | Airline Ratings

Two colorized photos of an American Airlines Convair 990 have been released by Frenchman Benoit Vienne. The images highlight the speed of what was once the world's fastest subsonic jet, built by San Diego-based Convair, a division of General Dynamics.

Original color photographs of the Convair 990 series are rare, particularly those featuring American Airlines' version. Some years ago, Airline Ratings discovered and scanned a small collection of color factory shots of CV880s and CV990s, but few included the American Airlines 990s. The black-and-white photos recently colorized by Mr. Vienne are classic shots that capture the essence of this aircraft.

Convair pursued American Airlines’ business by guaranteeing that an enhanced version of their 880 model would beat competitors on coast-to-coast flights by 45 minutes. American’s chief C.R. Smith was impressed by its speed and sought a faster jet to outpace Texas-based Braniff Airlines, which had ordered domestic 707s with larger intercontinental engines marketed as “The Jet with The Big Engines.”

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American planned to use the Convair jet for its first-class-only “Blue Streak” service while configuring its 707s for all-economy seating. They purchased 25 units from Convair; however, significant modifications to the aircraft were not disclosed to General Dynamic’s board.

Problems emerged almost immediately during test flights when the aircraft failed to meet speed and fuel efficiency guarantees despite numerous modifications. The Convair 990 required substantial fuel consumption to achieve its speed promises.

Ultimately, only 102 units (including both CV880s and CV990s) were produced before production ceased. General Dynamics incurred losses amounting to $4.16 million per plane—more than their selling price.

The possibility of further sales evaporated when Boeing introduced its three-engine 727 tri-jet in 1959, offering similar performance at lower operational costs compared to four-engine models.

AirlineRatings.com provides comprehensive information about air travel, including safety ratings from one to seven stars based on audits from aviation governing bodies and other factors. The site includes details on over 230 airlines covering various categories such as low-cost, regional, and full-service carriers.

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