CONVAIR's CALAMITY (part 2) .... THE CV990

I'll eventually get around to "updating it further" .... and replacing all of the current imagery with better versions .... in the future and when i get time ;D

Mark C
AKL/NZ

This particular article of mine (like a few of my others too) is "desperately in need of rewriting and re-illustration", but, like is the case for me in regard to a number of things, at the moment, it'll "have to" wait

VARIG became a very hard sell in regard to its accepting the CV-990's ....



The aircraft wasn't ordered by the airline. It already operated B707-420's .... then inherited PANAIR's DC-8-33's through that airlines merger with VARIG. It never wanted the CV-990 .... and only acquired these aircraft as the result of REAL's merger with VARIG also (REAL originally ordered CV-880's but later converted its order to CV-990's). The CV-990's's "under-performance was good enough reason for the airline to try'n reject the aircraft, but, had it done so then CONVAIR/GD would have forfeited the deposits already paid by REAL, so, after a something of a Mexican Stand-Off over quite some period of time (during which both parties refused to budge .... CONVAIR/GD trying to legally "force the sale and VARIG stubbornly "refusing to accept delivery") VARIG eventually accepted the CV-990's (under similar terms as SWISSAIR) .... and as something of a Fait Accomplis situation.

The airline non-the-less flew their CV-990's for almost 10 years .... and ultimately became the only airline in the world to operate B707, CV-990, and DC-8 jetliners during the same period.

Mark C
AKL/NZ