1 min readBy Christian P. Martin
The 1960s Jetliner Program That Bankrupted Convair Still Sits Parked In California's High Desert
The Convair 880 and 990 challenged Boeing and Douglas with speed, but fuel costs and limited sales doomed the program. A handful survive at Mojave.
The Mojave Air & Space Port is more than a resting place for forgotten aircraft. Among the hundreds of planes that have passed through its dry California desert environment are the remnants of a failed idea in American aviation: a high-speed, narrow-body, fuel-hungry first-generation jetliner that General Dynamics ultimately lost millions of dollars pursuing.
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About this article
- Length
- 54 words · 1 min read
- Published
- October 3, 2026
- Byline
- Christian P. Martin
- Source
- Simple Flying