F-0638 Convair 880 First Flight
Video from the channel San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives about Convair 880, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 4:57. Language: English. Video type: Archive footage.
A Convair film on the preparation and first flight of the 880. The first aircraft rolled off the assembly line complete on 15 December 1958, two weeks ahead of schedule, and went through systems checks, landing gear cycling, verification of its 10,770-gallon fuel capacity, initial tests of its four General Electric CJ805-3 engines, vibration trials and taxi runs up to 70 knots.
According to the archive description, the film is dated 27 January 1959, the same day as the first flight. Beforehand, the Federal Aviation Agency had granted the aircraft an experimental airworthiness certificate. The narrator announced speeds of 615 mph, altitudes of up to 40,000 feet and deliveries starting in early spring 1960.