MATS Convair CV-990 "Swing-Tail" Jet Freighter - 1960

Video from the channel Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture about Convair 990 Coronado, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:35. Language: English. Video type: Archive footage.

A Convair film presenting the "swing-tail" jet military freighter proposed to the United States Air Force. It derives from the Convair 600 and looks similar to the 880. It gives its dimensions: 139 ft 2 in long, 39 ft 4 in high and 120 ft wingspan (about 42.4, 12 and 36.6 m). It then goes through the structural test program. A wing lower-surface splice withstood 400,000 cycles, equivalent to more than 20 years of service, and the flap tracks passed a similar test. A cabin section was submerged in water and pressurized to 9.6 psi (about 0.66 bar) for 50,000 cycles. Windows made of a new plastic were also tested, along with a full-scale partial wing to verify the fuel system between sea level and 40,000 ft (about 12,200 m). The film ends on the assembly lines, with automatic riveters, the wing curing oven, and a complete fuselage destined for underwater pressure testing to destruction.

The title dates the film to 1960. The narration places the start of the 880 and 600 development in 1956 and speaks of three years of testing. It was filmed at Convair's research center and Plant 1 in San Diego and at a Thompson Products test facility in California.

The military version was to carry 150 soldiers with their equipment, or 60 stretchers and 15 seated wounded. As a freighter, it would carry 50,000 lb (about 22.7 t) over 3,500 nautical miles, or 20,000 lb over 5,000. According to the film, the production 600, with its swing tail and cargo floor, would meet the Air Force's requirements.