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| Convair 880 |
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| Fact Sheet |
| Aircraft Make & Model: |
Convair 880 |
| MTOW: |
92 tons |
| Range: |
2,600 miles |
| Speed: |
586 mph |
| Seats: |
84 passengers (all first class) |
| Length: |
129 ft. |
| Wingspan: |
120 ft. |
| Height: |
36 ft. |
| Engines: |
4 General Electric CJ-805-3B |
| HP or Thrust: |
11,200 hp |
| No. flown by DL: |
17 |
| Routes flown: |
Initial routes: New York-Atlanta/New Orleans/Houston; later other medium-haul routes |
| First delivery: |
February 10, 1960 |
| First scheduled service: |
May 15, 1960 (world's first CV-880 service, Houston-New York) |
| Reason acquired: |
Fastest subsonic commercial jet. |
| Last retirement: |
January 1974 |
| Reason disposed: |
Replaced with more fuel efficient Boeing 727-200s. |
Fast Jetting
On February 10, 1962, Delta's first Convair 880 sets a new commercial speed record during its delivery flight between San Diego, California and Miami, Florida, (3 hours, 31 minutes, 54 seconds).
On February 11, 1962, Delta broke its own official speed record from Chicago to Miami, with a Convair 880, which reached a top speed of 715 miles an hour during the 1,258-mile flight, which took 1 hour, 50 minutes and 55 seconds.
 Miss San Diego Leona McCurdy christened Delta's first Convair 880 "Delta Queen," with a bottle of water from various rivers throughout the Delta system, 1960.
Retirement
Delta's remaining Convair 880s were sold to The Boeing Aircraft Company from November 1973 to January 1974.
Pics & Video
- YouTube: Delta Convair 880 film Introduction to a Champion, 1960, Part 1 of 2 – watch »
- YouTube: Delta Convair 880 film Introduction to a Champion, 1960, Part 2 of 2 – watch »
- Delta Blog: Speed and Beauty – See a beautiful Delta 880 brochure. – read more »
- Elvis Presley Fan Site: News clippings and photos of Presley's private jet The Lisa Marie, a former Delta Convair 880. – read more »
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