Convair 880 Prototype

Cockpit

On display at the Delta Flight Museum is the cockpit from the prototype Convair 880 built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation in San Diego, California. The Convair 880 was used for test flights, then went into scheduled service with Trans World Airlines (TWA) from 1964 to 1973.

In 1990, the cockpit was refurbished and painted in Delta livery by Delta Technical Operations employees. It went on display at the Heritage Row Museum at Underground Atlanta, until 1997. With the closure of the Heritage Row Museum, the cockpit relocated to the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitor's Center at Underground Atlanta. In 2015, the cockpit moved to the newly renovated Delta Flight Museum.

Video

Click here to explore a 360 view of the aircraft's interior.

Built for Speed

The Convair 880, built with a narrow, short fuselage, was the fastest four-engine commercial jet until the Boeing 747.

Delta's first Convair 880 set a new coast-to-coast commercial speed record during its delivery flight from San Diego to Miami, on February 10, 1962 (3 hours, 31 minutes, 54 seconds). The next day, Delta broke its own official speed record from Chicago to Miami, with a Convair 880, which reached a top speed of 715 mph during the 1,258-mile flight, which took 1 hour, 50 minutes and 55 seconds.

World's First Service

Delta launched the world’s first Convair 880 commercial service on May 15, 1960, between Houston and New York. Delta customers could initially fly Convair 880s from New York to Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans.

In December 1965, Delta offered the first international Convair 880 service—to Caracas, Venezuela, and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Delta acquired a fleet of 17 Convair 880 aircraft from 1960-1962. The Convair 880's fuel consumption made it unprofitable to fly with the advent of the fuel crisis of the 1970s. Delta retired its last Convair 880 on January 1, 1974.