Wow! That single engine takeoff was very impressive.

My dad was a Crew Chief on T29s and C131s for his last 10 years in the USAF before he retired in 1973.

Flew 340 440 for North Central Airlines for 1 1/2 years. We had a take off from Detroit Metro Airport on a warm summer day, Runway 3 L Take off weight was just under 48000 lbs. Captain feathered engine at 300 ft AGL, took us six to eight miles to climb to sufficient altitude to turn back to airport. North Central aircraft 305. It was a great plane quiet in cockpit. Big improvement over DC 3. I then flew Turbo Prop Convair 580 for 11 years both seats. This was a fabulous plane great power however noisy. They were built like tanks check out their accident survivability. Flying with Cessna 150 stuck in side etc. Convair new how to build them. Is always neat to see a 580 now and then.

Was privileged to have flown as both a Dropmaster then Avionicman on the C-131 Samaritan for the Coast Guard. They were all 240 A models and weren’t pressurized. Known as the “Thunderpig” I have only good memories flying SAR, pollution patrols and many other events, especially during the Marilito Boat Lift.

As a grade school student in the early ‘50’s, I recall making several trips in Delta CV440’s. This was about the time that Delta was making the transition from DC-3’s for short haul runs. I still recall the difference in the deck angle between the two airplanes on takeoff. The Convair was most impressive. I still have some old tickets that show one way child’s fare between KSHV and KJAN as a princely $14.00!

My first airplane flight was in December of 1971 aboard a corporate CV-340 configured with sofas, chairs, tables, lamps, etc., from Atlanta/Hartsfield to Jacksonville FL and return. Solid as a rock, even as we flew through a thunderstorm.

Straightforward & detailed I am still used to this kind of diction. My brain is still wired for this era...

440 was not a turboprop. I remember when my dad, Capt. Willis L. Petrie, Chief Pilot at Allegheny Airlines, was involved with the problems Allegheny was having with the Napier turboprop conversions which Allegheny called a 540. The Napier conversion was never successful. Allegheny then successfully introduced the Convair 580 using Allison turboprop engines.

Convair made great planes and put a lot of thought into innovations that improved comfort and reliability. The regulated airline industry up to 1978 made many buisiness case models reach their potential for most aircraft. Deregulation drew an ugly line in the sand that killed incentives as capital investment dollars dried up. This same economic trend creeped over to other industries as deregulation took many competitors out of their industries while acheiving a short-lived benefit for consumers.

Stumbled uppon this video...which very interesting had the H-19 helicopter at the end. I had an opportunity to fly this for Naviator training at James Connoly AFB, Waco, Texas, then after 1000+ hours in the HH43B, a chance to fly it for two more years in "MissionSupport" at McGuire AFB.. configured in airliner mode. Great bird, great assignment.. !

bin vor ca.50 Jahren mit der Swissair cv.440 von Basel nach Amsterdam geflogen,war ein sehr angenehmer Flug

That was great!

Makes me want to build the old HAWK kit

seen many of these at Tinker afb about to be scrapped so sorry, when I saw this ,way later.

I took 2 flights out of Langley to Andrews for a ride (hop ).

Un avio muy utilizado en mi país, que aun se niega a morir

' helped maintain several EC-131's at Pacific Missile Test Center, NAS Point Mugu, they were Chaff Queens. Good rugged analog avionics. Flew as passenger in North Central Airlines 240's several times Chicago O'Hare to GRR, and turboprop model 440. Roomier than Viscounts.

Old dependable workhorse.

It was one of the THREE Elizabeth NJ plane crashes!!!!

Miami Airlines Curtis Commando, American Airlines Convair, National Airlines DC-6.

Fine As A Porcupine!!!!!!! I've flown in both civil and military versions.

This is the plane that Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed in in the 70s, right?

Im pretty sure that single engine takeoff wasn't anywhere near gross weight.