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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0922.PDF
68 Airliners of the World FLIGHT, 6 July 1956 GOLDE ARROW CONVAIR, DIVISION OF GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP., SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA FOR some years the Convair Division of General DynamicsCorporation have been wondering what the future holds forthem in the commercial-aviation business. They have now had to abandon many important fields to competitors and theirexisting production of Metropolitans (page 35) cannot reasonably be expected to extend into 1958.At present they have put all their eggs into the medium-range jet basket with a design looking rather like a scaled-down DC-8, with thedesignation Convair Golden Arrow. Studies have led Convair to a rather larger size of aeroplane than the equivalent medium-rangeprojects at Boeing and Douglas. This partly results from the choice of engine—and it is also owing to the use of this powerplant that thedesign was not offered to operators a year earlier, before Lockheed began to sell Electras. The engine is the General Electric CJ-805turbojet of 10,500-11,000 lb thrust. This is a derated commercial variant of the military J79, a single-shaft, high-compression enginewith variable stator blades; it is an attractive proposition by virtue of its high thrust and light weight. General Electric are strenuously pursuinga redesign policy on the military J79 which should result in an engine acceptable to commercial operators. The airframe structure is quite advanced in concept, and detail designhas already reached a late stage. The fuselage is formed from two principal radii merging gently with each other, the basic cross-sectionover the outer skin being 149in high by 138in wide. There are three main spanwise webs in the wing, with integral tanks housing a totalof 8,992 gal (70,000 lb) fuel. Multi-section area-increasing flaps are provided extending right out to very small ailerons at the wing tips,which are supplemented by spoilers (for use as speed brakes or for lateral control) ahead of the flap. A conventional bogie undercarriage isfitted and an unusual feature is the notching of the elevators to allow for rudder movement. Although the wing-loading is by no means highConvair are investigating applications of flap-blowing and boundary- layer control. A typical seating plan is shown below. In this form the width ofeach double seat-unit is 50in, so that the central gangway has a width of no less than 28in. With five-abreast seating (45.1in twins and 64.4intriples) the gangway shrinks to 18.5in, but up to 113 passengers can be carried without reducing the seat-pitch. Windows are elliptical, one per frame, one on each side forming a large emergency exit. Main entrancesare to port, fore and aft, with service doors or emergency exits opposite. All are outward-opening plug-type structures, the main doors beingapproximately 72in high. An optional addition at the forward main door is a novel design of integral stairway which folds into a pressurebox under the floor and has no effect on the arrangement above the floor. Door sills are at 9ft 7in. Under the floor are large freight holdsahead of and behind the wing. Each compartment is served by a plug door on the starboard side; the interior height of each hold is 48in andthe total capacity of both, 850 cu ft. The design cabin pressure differential is 7.5 lb/sq in (8,000ft at 35,000ft).The first large order which allowed Convair to go ahead was placed by Howard Hughes, on behalf of T.W.A. For Hughes, Convair renamedthe machine—it had originally been designated Skylark 600—and agreed to consider the use of gold anodized skin. Apart from T.W.A.'s 30,Delta have bought 10 and other operators are well advanced in discus- sion. Development is jointly the responsibility of Convair, G.E. and theHughes Tool company; the prototype is to fly in 1959 and deliveries are to start in 1960, at £1.07m without spares (one CJ-805, £44,600). CONVAIR GOLDEN ARROW Four General Electric CJ-805 Turbojet* Dimensions: Span, 118ft 4in; length, 124ft 2in; height, 37ft 7in; basic wing area, 2,000 sq ft; root chord, 27ft O^in; sweep at 0.3 chord, 35 deg; thickness/chord ratio, 11 per cent (root), 9 per cent (break), 7 per cent (tip); track, 19ft 6in; powerplant distance from centre-line, 22ft 3in (inboard), 35ft 6in (outboard). Weights: Empty, 78,100 Ib; basic operating weight (with crew), 81,000 Ib; payload, 21,700 Ib comprising 13,200 Ib passengers (80) and 8,500 Ib freight (850 cu ft); structural design payload, 25,000 Ib; take-off weight less fuel, 102,700 Ib; zero-fuel weight, 110,000 Ib; landing weight, 123,500 Ib; maximum weight, 178,500 Ib. Performance (estimated): Field length for take-off (see p. 10), 8,400ft; take-off distance to 50ft at 140 000 Ib ujino 1.2Vs, 5,100ft; climb at max. climb power at 110,000 Ib, 33,OOOft in 12 min (note: height moy be deliberately restricted according to cruise procedure adopted); cruising performance, max. cruise power at 140,000 Ib, 479 kt t.a.s. at 170,000 Ib at 35,000ft at 0.044 n.a.m./lb or 540 kt at same weight at 15,000ft at 0.023 n.a.m./lb or 503 kt at 35,OOOft at 120,000 Ib at 0.045 n.a.m./lb; range with "ramp weight" of 140,000 Ib and 34,000 Ib fuel (including 1,625 Ib for manoeuvre and take-off, 875 Ib for reaching climb speed with no distance made good, climb to 25,000ft at max climb power, cruise at 25,000ft at max. cruise power, descent, zero wind, 10,000 Ib reserve fuel), 675 n.m, (778 st.m.)- design limit of Vc/Mc, 37S kt e.a.s or Math 0.89; landing field length, 5,350ft. Payload/range (below) based on lOflOO Ib reserve fuel (for 260 n.m. at 25,000ft plus 45 min hold at 15flOOft); d.o.c. curves are based on seven-year (upper curve) and ten-year depreciation; the seating plan shows a standard 80-passenger configuration. 24 22O 2OQ 18 ^ rf 4OO 8OO 1.2OO 1.6OO 2,000 24OO 2.8OO 3.TOO 3.6OO STAGE - LENGTH (si m) SERVICE DOOR- EMERGENCY EXIT BUFFET- FOOD TOILET. 24O Uj22O |:2OO Z I4O UJ O 120 1OO \ \ \ \ I \ SERVICE DOOR - EMERGENCY EXIT BUFFET-LIQUIDS TOILET FLIGHT DECK / CARRY-ON LUGGAGE MAIN ENTRANCE - FORWARD 1 LOUNGE STEWARDESS SEAT COATS CARRY-ON LUGGAGE STEWARDESS SEAT MAIN ENTRANCE-AFT
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