F-0654 Video: Convair 880 Golden Arrow Progress Report

Video from the channel San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives about Convair 880, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 7:14. Language: English. Video type: Archive footage.

This Convair film presents the structural tests of the Convair 880. Of the four aircraft assigned to testing, three were flying and one was dedicated to ground tests. On the structural test rig, that aircraft was twisted and flexed to simulate hard landings, lateral gusts over the engines and pylons, and recovery from a steep dive. Up to 32,000 pounds were applied to the tail fin. The wings were flexed up to six feet under loads of up to 160,000 pounds, and the nose withstood more than 43,000. These are maximum design loads, and the aircraft was designed to withstand one and a half times those values without serious structural failure.

This is one of the manufacturer's progress reports. It was filmed during the test program, when the 880 was already in series production for the airlines.

A fuselage with wing stubs was submerged in a tank measuring 110 by 20 feet, holding nearly 400,000 gallons of water. The fatigue test, lasting more than a year, was meant to simulate more than 20 years of service. Each one-minute cycle equated to one flight hour, with pressurization from 0 to 8.6 psi and loads from 1.22 to 1.85 g. About 5,000 cycles were completed per week, and divers inspected the fuselage daily. According to the film, it was the most extensive fatigue test carried out in the United States up to that time on a fuselage and wing together. Its results would be used to draw up the airlines' inspection manuals.