Spantax had some modifications done to the burner cans of the Coronado's CJ805-23B engines, resulting in a significant - but not total - reduction in smoke.
Sometime in the early 1960s I was a passenger on a Swissair Coronado - HB-ICE - going Lagos to Geneva non-stop. My previous experience of takeoffs at LOS had been on BOAC Boeing 707s via Kano, so I was aware that this takeoff was going to be somewhat more lengthy. Cor, I'll say so! It went on for ever until we rotated ... and then not a lot seemed to happen, except palm trees started whipping past the wingtips. Eventually, positive rate of climb was established, and we were on our way.
In a Shell Aviation magazine of the time, the Swissair Coronado fleet captain described it as "A rather 'hot' aeroplane, challenging in some of its handling aspects, but very rewarding to fly." He was answering the query about the need for nosewheel braking.
