Ex-TWA Convair CV-880 Departing From Mojave

I am one of the lead guys who tried to save this plane for over a year. However, the airport where it was stored for so long finally said it had to go. Before we sold it for scrap in early 2008, I saved many items from the plane. A few rows of seats, the wheels and tires, the over wing doors, all the items from the cockpit and the best part, I kept the entire engine number 4, the one those two guys are leaning on in this video. It's still in my storage yard today. The entire cockpit nose section of ship 3 has been restored and is on display at the NJ Aviation Hall Of Fame. I took film of this plane being cut up for scrap and it's sad. We tried to save the plane. We really tried....

Brings back memories! My first flight was in 1964 on a Continental Convair 880. I was 7 years old and the stewardess put wings on my chest, and the captain let me go into the cockpit inflight. I was hooked on aviation; building model airplanes; joined the Civil Air Patrol when I was old enough; then a career in the USAF.

Now that my friends, is a sight no avid aviation enthusiast will tire of seeing. A proper aircraft with a heck of a lot of smoke coming out of it. Simply stunning

Spewing fumes and all-sorts out the back of all four engines like it was powered by diesel… and I absolutely LOVE IT

Checked out as a TWA captain on the 880 in 1968. Thanks for the memory!

EscapeforMankind The point of this video is to showcase a classic jetliner that was a revolutionary part of commercial aviation history. The CV-880 stands for everything that was 1960's era jet transportation. It was beyond fast, burned a ton of fuel (which wasn't a big deal considering fuel prices in those days), sleek, comfortable and yes...very noisy & smoky. If you say that you appreciate state of the art airliners, you might want to acknowledge the role that this beautiful aircraft played in getting us to where we are today. 

The red TWA signature crest had faded in harsh conditions out in MHV, so we painted the "sashes" with fresh red in honor of her departure.

@MVR326, General Electric CJ-805 aka the J79 turbojet. The same type of engine that was used on the F-104 Starfighter, F-4 Phantom II, A-5 Vigilante and the B-58 Hustler.

I've watched this video many times over the years and I love it more each time. I was a plane spotter before I was 10 and I clearly remember when the CV-880 and CV-990 Coronado were in regular service during the 1960s. They were smokiest jets made. However, back then it was a character trait that wasn't frowned upon like it would be today. I miss those days when plane spotting provided a lot more variety then it does now.

Such a beautiful airplane. Still has one of the sleekest cockpit "cabs" of any jetliner, ever.

Outstanding, love the smoke trails,the sound.Those 880s were screamers!

They were pretty fast compared to the other early airliners . I can't imagine how much work was put into making this airframe airworthy for it's last journey .

Beautiful airplane! Just imagine, you roll into the airport in your ride, you already have tail fins left and right in the parking lot. You head inside, nobody's getting patted down unless it's a stewardess and the pilot's involved, everybody's dressed up to fly, dressed in style. You board on the air gate or if the day is nice, there are stairs. Leg room, too. You blast off like that, engines smoking like George Burns in Havana, & have a legitimate in flight meal. With a Martini. Yeah, buddy.

Wow. The amount of smoke that produces is both amazing and beautiful

I appreciate the comment and the compliment! We've got a ton of classic / rare airliner footage that will slowly be unveiled. Ryan

Reminds me of the B-52. I can't imagine leaving the ground in that antique. Since it flys, wash it off, repaint and polish it and put it on display.

I grew up in San Diego and my dad used to take me down to Lindbergh field to watch the planes take off and land. Since the Convair plant on the airport was the final assembly point for these beauties, we saw quite a few of them sitting on the line, awaiting delivery. This would be have been in the early 60s. Great to see at least one still flying..

My dad was a flight engineer for Delta on the 880, just prior to 1970. I got my first airplane ride on an 880, from Chicago to Atlanta. My dad said that the 880 used the same GE J-79 engines the B-58 Hustler used, albeit without an afterburner. I followed the story of how people were trying over the years to resurrect an 880 -- I'm glad they got it accomplished.

I would like to know more about the effort to get this aircraft flying again. Sitting in the desert for almost 20 years and then makes a transcontinental flight.

Probably the only Convair to leave Mojave the same way it arrived.