Convair 600

Convair 600. The Convair 600 was a turboprop-powered conversion of the piston-engined Convair 240 airliner, developed by Convair in the mid-1960s. This modification program, led by Pacific Airmotive, replaced the original Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines with more powerful and efficient Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines. The aircraft was marketed to regional carriers seeking improved performance and lower operating costs on short-haul routes.

Development and design

The development of the Convair 600 was driven by the need to modernize the large existing fleet of Convair 240 and Convair 340 aircraft operated by numerous U.S. regional airlines. The conversion was engineered and certified by Pacific Airmotive under a Supplemental Type Certificate, with the first prototype flying in 1965. The key design change involved removing the original Pratt & Whitney piston engines and installing Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.10/1 turboprops, each driving a Dowty Rotol four-bladed propeller. This powerplant swap significantly increased cruise speed and climb performance while reducing vibration and maintenance requirements compared to the piston engines. The airframe, including the wings and fuselage, remained largely unchanged from the original Convair 240 design, though some systems were updated to accommodate the new engines. The Federal Aviation Administration certified the modification, paving the way for customer deliveries beginning in 1966.

Operational history

The Convair 600 entered commercial service with Mohawk Airlines in 1966, becoming the launch customer for the type. Mohawk operated several Convair 600s on its network in the Northeastern United States, utilizing them on routes connecting cities like Albany, Buffalo, and New York City. The improved performance of the turboprop engines allowed for better schedule reliability and was part of Mohawk's strategy to modernize its fleet before its merger with Allegheny Airlines. A small number of other operators, including Air California and Aerovias Sud Americana, also briefly used the type. However, the conversion program faced stiff competition from newer, purpose-built turboprop airliners like the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 and the Fokker F27 Friendship. Consequently, only twelve Convair 240 airframes were converted to the Convair 600 standard before the program was terminated.

Operators

Primary civil operators of the Convair 600 included Mohawk Airlines, which was the largest customer. Other notable operators were Air California, which used the aircraft on intrastate routes within California, and Aerovias Sud Americana in Chile. Following the merger of Mohawk Airlines into Allegheny Airlines in 1972, the Convair 600s were gradually phased out of the mainline fleet. A handful of aircraft were later sold to smaller cargo carriers and air taxi services, with some eventually being exported to operators in South America. The United States Air Force did not operate this variant, though it extensively used the original Convair C-131 Samaritan military version of the Convair 240.

Specifications (Convair 600)

General characteristics * Crew: 3 (Pilot, Co-pilot, Flight attendant) * Capacity: 40 passengers * Length: 74 ft 8 in (22.76 m) * Wingspan: 91 ft 9 in (27.97 m) * Height: 26 ft 11 in (8.20 m) * Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.10/1 turboprop engines, 2,105 shp (1,570 kW) each * Propellers: 4-bladed Dowty Rotol constant-speed propellers Performance * Maximum speed: 312 mph (502 km/h, 271 kn) * Cruise speed: 281 mph (452 km/h, 244 kn) * Range: 1,200 mi (1,900 km, 1,000 nmi) * Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,600 m) * Rate of climb: 1,850 ft/min (9.4 m/s)

Variants

The Convair 600 was the first in a series of turboprop conversions offered for the Convair 240/Convair 340/Convair 440 family. The subsequent and more successful model was the Convair 640, which featured more powerful Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.10/1 Mk 542-2 engines. Another notable variant was the Convair 580, a conversion utilizing Allison 501-D22 turboprop engines, which proved far more popular and numerous than the Convair 600. The Convair 580 was developed by Pacific Airmotive's rival, GM's Allison Engine Company, and was operated by several major airlines, including Frontier Airlines and North Central Airlines. These various conversion programs extended the operational life of the classic Convair twin-engine airframe well into the 1980s with various cargo and passenger operators worldwide.

Category:Convair aircraft Category:United States airliners 1960–1969 Category:Turboprop airliners