PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - East African Airways VC 10 accident 1972 Addis Ababa
Old 1st Mar 2010, 20:48
  #35 (permalink)  
WHBM
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: London UK
Posts: 7,651
Likes: 0
Received 18 Likes on 15 Posts
Convair 990 :

I don't know whether the claimed Mach 0.91 speed of the Cv990 is the design speed or what it actually achieved, which was less. Failure to come up to design spec was one of the reasons behind its failure.

Looking at an American Airlines timetable for 1965, when it was in full operation alongside a large 707 fleet and the first 727s, it is apparent that on sectors where different types are scheduled there is no difference in timetable time allowed between the Convair and its Boeing counterparts. Even the 727 kept up with it on routes like New York to Chicago.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is how much times have expanded on these routes nowadays; New York to Chicago is around 2 hrs 00 min by all types (one 707 in 1 hour 57 min), whereas today in the American timetable the standard allowance is 2 hrs 40 min. What with much shorter turnround times in the old days as well, those 1965 jets were off the gate again and on their way on westward by the time current types would be arriving.
WHBM is offline