I was a stewardess with NorthCentral from January 1969 through the merger to become Republic, NorthWest, and retired 2008 just as the merger with Delta. I Loved working on the 580! It was a favorite of mine! 48 passengers, 2 pilots, and me! It was like a plane full of First Class passengers!
Thank you for the wonderful comment Marcy, by today’s standards it really was first class comfort on the Convair. You operated neat routes on the Convair, places most people never can say they have been to .. like Bmidji (if I spelled it right!) .. Thief River Falls, Appleton, Wasau.. those places I stepped down and walked around the small terminal buildings on my Convair 580 flights. Really great memories and thank you for sharing yours.
On my flight to Aberdeen, SD in the mid 80's I recall the seats were particularly comfortable and the windows were large, compared to the modern jets I was flying on most of the time. Maybe you were my FA.
@marcypadrta9177 the building at 16:10 in the video, I think is the former Republic Corporate offices? After the North Central Southern Merger did you every fly with the two Flight Attendants from Southern Airways Flight 242?
Yes WOW! Bring back some Great memories from the 1960’s 70’s into the 1980’s I flew in many north central Convar 580 TP and DC-9’s all over the mid west. Thank you 🙏
I worked on the Convairs from 1971 to 2001 in Ontario. Started with the 440s then Allegheny 580s. My last 580 flight was in 2004 from YVR to YLW. I never had the privilege of flying one on Republic but did visit their maintenance/engineering group in 1978 at Minneapolis. Great bunch of guys. Thanks for the memories.
I flew in a North Central Convair 580 in 1970. It flew out of Benton Harbor/St. Joseph Michigan. My flight was to ORD. It has a fond place in my heart.
I worked for North Central/Republic/Northwest from Dec 1969 to Jan 2005 in DTW. I started as a cleaner and ended as a crew chief for a ground maintenance crew. Just wanted to say thanks for your video, it brought back a lot of great memories. In my career I flew a lot on the 580. Even a few times in the cockpit. It was a great plane. Again thanks 😊
It is my great pleasure to hear the video brings back nice career memories. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am thankful the fellow who took these images took them and his widow sent me the slides so I could make the video. And the images, history and memories can live on forever. He was a lifetime career person at NC/RC/NW in Dispatch at both DTW and MSP, you probably knew him, or of him.
thanks for this great article. My dad was a mechanic for N.C. in MSP and worked on a lot of the convairs and dc-3s. As a youngster I spent a lot of time at the msp shops in the cockpits of dc-3s and convairs when my Dad had to work some overtime on Saturdays . I also flew in a lot of both types visiting relatives in South Dakota and Chicago. His crew did the conversion of the N.C. DC3 executive plane which now resides in the Ford museum, adding Jato assist rockets and the stretched picture window. Great memories. The 580 was an absolute hot rod for short fields!
Thank you Craig for sharing the amazing memories that you have. You are very lucky that your dad worked for such a great company, and you got to experience these wonderful flights on wonderful airplanes.
I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and started work in Kansas City after college in the mid-1970s. I can vividly remember flying North Central Convair 580s to visit my parents in Fargo. The flight left Kansas City to Omaha to Sioux City to Sioux Falls to Brookings to Yankton and finally to Fargo. Six stops. If nobody was getting on or off at a stop, they would shut off the port engine and drop the mail bags out and pick up more mail. Great memories.
Long ago memories! Flew Allegany Convair 580 Dayton Ohio to Cleveland. Then to Detroit. North Central Detroit to Toronto. Circa 1969. thx for the memories!
May the ruptured duck live on in history. Good people made their airline great. I must have flown on 580's a hundred times from Hibbing to Duluth to Minneapolis and back to catch a flight to somewhere else. North Central always got us home, often holding the last flight from MSP for a late connecting passenger. For the cruddy weather where they flew their performance was amazing.
Interesting video! I grew up in Hancock Mi & traveled on Convair 440s in 70, 71, & 72. I remember leaving Vietnam & finally ending up in Hancock & the snow was almost up to the wings! Flying into Chicago, North Central gates were at the end of the concourse!
Happy you posted this. I remember seeing 440, 580 and 600 models at Burke Lakefront Airport as a teenager. I missed getting a ride in the turboprop. Given how many mid sixties conversions were done I do feel lucky to have ridden in a Delta 440, Atlanta to Savanna and back in 1968. When we went next time 1971 Delta was flying DC-9. Thanks.
Thank you for the video Henry. I have fond memories of the planes. My first flight was on a North Central/Republic 580 as a child in 1979 or 1980 from MSP to Sioux City. My dad just started working for the airline. After waiting much of the day to get on due to weather or getting bumped as non-revs (can't recall the details, was only about 8) we finally boarded a late flight. Besides my mom and my 2 younger sisters, there was only one other passenger and she slept the whole way down. The older sister (4-years old) and I ran up and down the aisle and talked to the flight attendant who was the nicest young man giving us all the soda pop and peanuts we wanted! It was like a charter flight just for us! I'll never forget it and sometimes wonder which 580 it was that I first flew. I flew the 580 many more times in the following years and still remember the sounds, the powerful thrust and the loud cabin. Thanks!
Great vlog as always! My second flight arr. in the US in Aug. 86. First I flew from LGA-DTW on RC. I remember the banner behind the counter. We are now Northwest. It was a DC-9 from LGA. We were three students on the first flight. They were met and I was told I was was flying up to Youpper country. I had no clue what he was talking about. It was the night flight to CMX. It was on the CV580s. The flight was via LAN and MQT. I think that was my one and only flight in the US with a CV580. My parents and my sister came to visit in feb 87 and they flew an ATR 42. Imagine that! I flew then from MSP-CMX and that was a SH-360. I loved that aircraft. In May I went home for 10 days. I can not remember what type of aircraft I flew then or when I flew home for good in june to Norway. When I came back in 88 I remember I flew a F-27 from air Wisconsin. It was all red! I think it was one of the last F-27 ever made. (85/86) I never heard that F-27 could not reverse the props. BU was the 2nd airline to buy the F-27. They ended up with a total of 8 planes. For them it was a game changer. Those aircraft was the reason BU could buy 5 F-28 2nd again, but first to fly rev. Flt in early march 1969. BU also bought two B-737. From 1969-73 they flew the 737, F-28, F-27 and the DC-6. mamma mia! SAS flew the CV440 from 1956-76. The Caravelle from 1959-1974. Just sayin` lol! Do you have BU F-27 out on YT? Keep up the good work! Greetings from Norway! The aircraft that the F-27 repalaced was the DH-114, The Heron. It is less than a decade between the two.
Thank you for sharing the amazing memories Torgeir. I wonder what they meant by Youpper Country! I also flew the Mesaba F27s in 1990 on similar routes between MSP and DTW, and those were my first and last F27 flights. So they were good opportunities back then. Thank you for watching my JetFlix channel and all the best from Vancouver.
I was a young CFI / airtaxi pilot and loved watching the North Central 580's, affectionately call the Blue Goose, at Benton Harbor, Michigan. After a bird strike on takeoff the aircraft leveled at tree tops and continue straight west out over Lake Michigan then did a shallow left turn returning to land on runway 27. The captain was a small gent with his long sleaves rolled up and his cap setting on the back of his head, calmly called company for alternative transportation for the passengers which was usually a bus ride to Chicago O'Hare. The young first officer was all a twitter nervously reassuring the passengers who were by far less rattled than he was. The North Central agent let me sit in the flight deck on several different 580's and I was amazed at how antiquated the Nav/Comm's were. One actually had an old Narco coffee grinder radio which had a small crank to tune in the receiver. I could go on with lots of stories but I'll leave it at what a wonderful aircraft the 580 was to fly and watch.
This video is great, Henry. Brings back countless memories. My dad started working for North Central before I was born. The DC-3s you mentioned were still in service at the beginning of his employment, but were quickly becoming rarer sights. He stayed with them through the Republic and NWA days, retiring after 40 years. As a kid I would beg Dad to take me to our small regional airport so we could watch planes. Just what he wanted to do on his days off. Still, sometimes he would indulge me, and then I would always hope to see a 580 take off. The other planes were cool, but that prop-driven Convair really grabbed my attention. It was different in ways that are important to a kid. It had more visible moving parts. It made a whirring sound distinct from the piercing whine of the jetliners. You could make a visual and aural connection between the machinery and the resulting motion. I was disappointed when in the early 80's my dad told me they were going to be taken out of service. I see from your video and the other comments that the plane has a special appeal for many of us "kids". Good to know!
Hi Chris, Thank you for sharing your fantastic Convair 580 memories. Looking back from 2021 my 1980s memories were from a different era. Going back to the earlier part of your Dad’s time that was again a different era from the 1980s. The Convairs lasted from the 1950s to late 1980s with NC RC NW and it is really amazing.
Really enjoyed this, Henry. I grew up in North Central Territory. Lived south of Battle Creek, MI and then on the approach to 27 at BTL. Many views of the 580s and also DC9s. Then NCA consolidated their service at Kalamazoo due to larger passenger boardings and the fact that the towns are about 20 miles apart. I flew on a 580 from AZO to DTW with a stop at JXN on Christmas Eve of 1972. A bouncy arrival at Jackson and a smooth one at Detroit. I was able to speak to the crew and asked who was flying at JXN. Both pilots pointed at the other one. Ha, Ha! On to Tampa on a Delta 727. Returned after visiting Grandpa in Sarasota via Delta DC10 to DTW and then Air Wisconsin DHC6 Twin Otter to BTL. That trip was at a ground speed about equal to the traffic on I-94. We rolled one stripe on 23 at BTL and turned off at the 1st taxiway. A very rough ride, but still fun!
Wow what a fantastic memory of your Christmas 1972 flights down to Florida. Those were good old days. You managed a great variety of airlines and types for this trip. Thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful memories😃😃👍👍✈️✈️
Great job Henry! As a kid in Milwaukee, I used to write the airlines' schedule in a blackboard in my bedroom and plane spot off the second story sun porch. By knowing the type of equipment and adding or subtracting 10 minutes, I could identify the destination or origin. There was a beacon in Lake Park close to my house, which they could line up for the main north-south runway. Not surprisingly, I worked in the travel business after college in the 70's and 80's. While living in Chicago, managing a travel agency, outside of O'Hare, I booked a round trip to MSP, with a four-stop Convair return via Central WI, Green Bay, Manitowoc, and Milwaukee. What a thrill. I did the same on an Ozark F27 from Omaha to Ohare with five stops. Those where the days of great flying. It's my understanding that unlike some conversions, the 340s and 440s were designed to be fitted ultimately with turboprops. My bias, but the Allisons look much smarter than the Darts on the Convair 600s. Also, the mallard duck logo was called "Herman, The Ruptured Duck" and was beloved by passengers throughout the Northwoods Territory. Again, great job.
Thank you for these amazing memories Michael, I just loved reading this. I did not know that Convair built the planes with future engine upgrades in mind. Yes, the Convers 580s looked like real powerful machines with those huge Allison engines on them more so than the slim Rolls-Royce starts with the Convers 600 series you are lucky to have lived in a great location for flying on and observing great Airliners. Thank you for your great comments and I’m glad you enjoyed my video.
@@JetFlix Henry, were you ever able to fly on the Electra? It was like a Convair 540 on steroids! LOL I flew it from Chicago to Milwaukee and Washington DC to New York. Twice the passengers and twice the engines, but it felt like 3 times the speed. It handled like a fighter plane and was extremely popular with pilots. Although I got to fly on many propliners, propjets and jets, I missed out on the Caravelle, probably the most graceful airliner ever built. Keep up the good work!
Great stuff! I lived about a mile from the airport in La Crosse WI, and almost directly under the approach to the main runway, growing up as a kid in the late 60’s to early 1980’s. If the wind was northerly, the approach from MSP would take the planes - either the 580 or the DC-9 - on an eastern heading over the Mississippi, where you could begin to see them as a tiny speck. Then, about 3-4 miles out, the planes would make a sharp 90-degree turn to line up with runway 36. I never got tired of watching them come in, only a few hundred feet up, and they would be on the ground, propellers beating the air madly, less than 10 seconds after they flew over the house. Flew the 580 on North Central as a kid once in 1972, stopping in Madison on the way back from Baltimore via Chicago, and then several times on Northwest while in college or as a young adult in the mid-late 80’s, always connecting from MSP on the way home from Detroit or Philly. Those quick hops had maybe 20 minutes of air time. If I remember correctly, Northwest then replaced the 580 with the much smaller regional turboprops that you used to see all over, having since been replaced by regional jets today.
I dispatched Convairs for Republic along side Rick Wargo. I too went to UND. My first route qual started on a 580 into IWD at about 6 am from MSP. It was snowing as we transported 48 pax into/thru Ironwood, Mi. As we slid down the runway in IWD, the captain remarked - sometimes the Convair has 48 passengers, sometimes the Convair has 51. (Crew of 3). This morning it had 52 as I was in the cockpit jumpseat between the radio racks. I was nice and warm while the Capt and F/O had blankets draped across their laps.
Wow, thank you so much for this amazing comment. I really appreciate it. It’s always good to hear from a fellow UND alumni. I was in the aviation program there between 1993 and 1997. John Odegard was the head of the aviation program at the time. It’s wonderful that you got to work with the Republic CV580s up close and personal. Wonderful memories you have.
Thanks Henry! A very enjoyable half hour indeed! The Convair is a marvelous aircraft. Matter of fact, my first ever flight was on a Convair of United Airlines. In 1958, with my Mom, my brother and I flew from Vancouver to Seattle, with a scheduled stop in Bellingham! We were on our way to Los Angeles. We took a United DC6 from Seattle to LA on a milk run. I absolutely loved it, sitting just behind the wing. We flew SEA-PDX-OAK-SFO-LAX. Anyway, my second and last Convair flight was in the winter of 1970 on Finnair from Helsinki to Jyvaskyla, in central Finland. A friend and I had arrived from Malaga on an overnight flight on the DC8-62 (all Finnair DC8-62 were combi aircraft, and it was an all Y charter configuration of 186Y. I can't remember if the Finnair Convair was a 580 convert at the time, but I don't think so. I am just going by the fact that I would have remembered the engine sound. 51 years ago! Anyway, I really enjoyed your history of the Convairs of North Central/Republic/Northwest!!! Cheers, Carl
Hi Carl, as alwaysI love reading your comments and fabulous travel memories. How fantastic you flew United Airlines milkerun services from Vancouver down to Los Angeles. It was such a different era back then. The Finnair would have been a Convair 440, that is what they operated up until the late 1970s I think. Flying the United Convair 340 from YVR to Belligham then Seattle is amazing. To think they offered that flight back then. That was probably the last time we had direct sked airline flights between Vancouver and Bellingham WA!!
My pleasure, it seems quite a few people like us had memorable flights on these Convair 580s. It is hard to believe they were retired in the late 80s which is now over 30 years ago.
Hi, thank you for the great video here you posted regarding the Convair 580. I really enjoyed the slide shots of this magnificent airplane. It certainly was a tough and robust machine, especially when the conversions were readily available to change them from 340s or 440s to 580 status. This sort of thing did save the airlines a lot of money I would've thought whereas they didn't need to spend money on entirely newer aircraft. The Allison D-12 turboprops gave it that extra push through the sky and powerful engines they were!! These remind me of the military C-130 Hercules and the Lockheed L-188 Electra. Lots of memories with North Central and Republic too. You mentioned the Fokker F-27 also in this video. That was a great airplane as well, but I can understand some of the drawbacks regarding the F-27, but still here in the US, it had some success with some feeder airlines. Thank you once again for some great information!! I always loved both these type of airplanes: The Convair CV-580 and the F-27.
My pleasure, Dan I’m so glad you enjoyed this little video that I put together with my memories of my flights on the Republic CV580s thank you very much for sharing your wonderful comments and memories as well.
As a minor traveling alone In the 1970’s I yearly flew on North Central 580s as connecting flights from Chicago O’Hare to Grand Rapids, MI to visit family. It was interesting to transition from a modern jetliner for the long cross county from the west coast to the old 580s for the short connecting flight to my final destination. Even as a young person, one could feel as if you were stepping back in time boarding the Convair airframe. The built-in stairway was fun to watch unfold and climb. I loved the feeling of power and thrust when those big Allisons spooled up on the take-off roll. My experience with the 580 did not begin with North Central though. My first flight in an airplane in the 1960’s was on a Frontier 580 from Durango, CO to Denver at the age of four. I distinctly remember standing behind the waist high (to an adult) cyclone fence at the La Plata County airport covering my ears from the howling roar of 580 as it taxied in to a stop just a few yards away. It was both terrifying and magical sound which I can still hear ringing in my mind. I am sure my experiences with the Convair 580 sparked my lifelong fascination with aircraft and aviation. Which has led to my becoming a private pilot and owner of a small two-seat 1947 Luscombe taildragger. I have based it on a grass for 23 years. Now, my teenage son has his pilot license and is flying it on his own. He’s flying our vintage aircraft and has ridden in a B-17 and P-51 Mustang, but I do wish he could have experienced the magnificent 580 as I did. The was nothing else like it and never will be again. ❤️
Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories of the Convair 580. It is true that it’s not possible in 2023 to get a passenger flight I Convair 580 so your son unfortunately cannot have that same experience that you experienced many decades ago.
I was hired by North Central in Feb 1977, worked them all at DTW, prior to that I was at Wright Airlines at DET that had Convair 440's 1972-1977. My airline career continued until 2018 when I retired from Delta. The North Central days were the best.
Fantastic Gary that you have so much time on the North Central 580s. I only have my handful of passenger flight memories. When you think about the 580 was quite a thirsty machine. Basically half a Hercules to carry 50 pax. It was a product of the Nixon pre oil crunch era. I loved the sounds of the corkscrew engines as it flew overhead fading into the distance. By the way I collect airline slides so if you or anyone has an aircraft slide collection for sale please let me know. And thank you for commenting my video.
My first flight on an airliner was on a North Central Convair 580 in 1973 (ORD TO MKE and back, $34.00). My employment with the C&NW Railroad in the 1980s gave me numerous opportunities to fly on Republic and later Northwest CV 580s to cities such as Des Moines, Minneapolis, Eau Claire and Duluth. Once had an aborted takeoff on one at MSP. Last flew on a 580 in Northwest livery in 1988 just a couple of weeks before they were all retired. Very informative presentation on this airliner from North Central to Northwest. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your similarly fond memories of this great fleet of Convair liners. You had some really nice flights on them by the sound of it. It was a nice big roomy airliner from a bygone era. Kind of like a Pontiac Parisien of the Skies, lots of room with a big heavy ride, powered by a lot cheaper gas than today. It is essentially half a C-130 Hercules .. an over powered chariot for 50 passengers.
@@JetFlix Those twin Allison turbo-props did indeed make the 580 "an over powered chariot," And yes, very roomy like my '53 Hudson Super Wasp. Your schooling at UND reminds me of my college years at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (I was a Radio & TV broadcast major). SIU-C has an aviation maintenance/management school. During my years there in the late 1970s, the school used a former United Airlines, Vickers Viscount for the aviation students to work on and gain experience. It was eventually broken up and now the school uses a former UAL 737-200.
I enjoyed my years in Grand Forks at the UND aviation management program between 1983 and 1987. Almost 40 years ago. I have not been back to Grand Forks since and I am long due a visit. Being in Convair country was part of the UND appeal and I did many weekend road trips to Minneapolis to visit the airport and soak up the Convair 580 action. I used to visit the hangar and they always let my spend time in the hangar and on maintenance ramp to take slides. It was a different era back them.
Nice presentation Henry. I remember flying on 580's as a kid in the 70's. My last flight being somewhere in the mid 2000's on a machine owned by Hydro Quebec
I guess the last passenger carrying Convairs were in Canada and in New Zealand. They did some enthusiast flights with Nolonor out of Montreal maybe 10 or 15 years ago that I did hear about. My last Convair flight would’ve been in 1996 or 97 on Cypress Airlines when they were subbing for Air BC during the pilot strike. I flew on the Cypress Convair 580 from Vancouver to Kelowna to Calgary and that was my last Convair flight.
My dad was a SAC B-52 instructor-pilot from 1956-63 stationed at Castle AFB outside of Merced,Ca.He would often have to go on TDY to various SAC bases for training purposes.Merced was serviced by United with flights to San Francisco and LA were he would transfer to the flight needed to get to his destination.They used Convairs for those runs through the valley.Like you I fell in love with the Convairs.What was nice about the Convairs was big seats and big windows.flew on a Frontier 580 and a Texas International 600 and to this day just love watching the folding airstairs!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful story and memory. Sadly I think the era of passenger Convair 580 flying is over. In the late 1980s and early 1990s I got more Convair flight with Time Air here in Vancouver on their Convair 580s and 640s. Such a comfortable way to fly. Similar door config as a Lockheed Electra. Wonderful memories indeed.
Remember this airline and North Central on their "milk runs" between Rapid City,SD,SouxFalls SD and other stops in between.Concluded in Minneapolis.Then I caught flights going to Wash DC.These prop plane were so FUN to ride!!!The engine start ups,shutdowns,take offs and the sight seeing over the Badlands.To an airplane fan flying was like riding behind a steam loco for train fans!I like BOTH!!!Then those lovely Conair 580 and Lockheed Electras(Western airlines) were replaced with 737.
Great nostalgic video about one of my favorite aircraft. I flew on North Central / Republic 580s a couple times as a kid/teenager in the 1970's. Always from Benton Harbor, MI to O'hare and back. The memories that stand out for me are the terrific takeoff acceleration, that I would say is unmatched by any other airplane I've flown on, other than maybe a DHC Dash 8-400. The other thing I remember is the Dzus fasteners rattling around on the engine cowling. The Convairs would always fly overhead at the beach when taking off to the west from Benton Harbor. What a great sound! Later I worked at National Waterlift Controls (now Parker Aerospace), and two employees there were involved in the 1978 crash of a 580 at the Kalamazoo, MI airport. Both survived, one had a broken hip I believe.
I went to college in Gunnison Colorado, elev 7000, Frontier had a daily flight of 580s. It was a treat to watch them get in and out regardless of weather and altitude.
I remember flying on those in the 1970's and 80's. I flew from International Falls to Minneapolis when I would come home on leave while serving in the Air Force.
Growing up in Topeka, KS in the 1950s, our sky was full of DC-3s, 340s and 440s of Continental, TWA and Central Airlines from the municipal airport (and RB-47s and KC-97s from nearby Forbes AFB). I loved the Convairs, especially due to their narrow wing profiles. In those days the Convairs looked modern and swift. Finally got a ride on a Central 540 in 1966 from MKC to Little Rock on the way to my first duty station at NAS Jacksonville, FL. I can confirm the former FA's comment that every seat was like 1st class with our FA sitting and joking with a gaggle of salesmen on the flight. She even came over and sat with me for awhile, which was a real thrill for me.
I started working on my aviation ratings here in Flint Michigan in June of 1972...Can't remember how many times I was number 2 following a North Central Convair on a mile final for 27..Thanks for the memories Henry..Jim Sharp...
Wow, like me a decade later getting my Private Pilot license at UND in Grand Forks. I had the Convair in my traffic pattern at Bmidgi a few times and that was neat!
For me my association with the Republic Convair 580s was tied to my time at the Center for Aerospace Studies at UND in Grand Forks between 1983 and 1987.
Back in the 60s I spect two weeks in Petoskey and had to get back to Flint for football season. I could have taken Greyhound but decided to take a Blue Goose. It was such a fun flight. We stopped at Alpena and Tri Cities. Got a great tour of lower Mich! It took about four hours as opposed to 9 on a bus. What a great video!
My good friend Allen has provided me with the following fabulous comments on my video which I think are worth sharing: Loved the presentation on the North Central Airlines/Republic Airlines/Northwest Airlines Convair 580s! Originally, the entire Northwest Airlines fleet was to be sold to Air Resorts in Carlsbad, CA. That never materialized and only three aircraft made their way to California, N968N, N969N, and N7743U. Me and a friend flew to San Diego regularly to "visit" the aircraft at Carlsbad McClellan-Palomar Airport. We spent a lot of time with these aircraft and they all had the blue interior with the blue curtains. Air Resorts would only serve Tucson from San Diego, however did have a few flights into the old PHX Terminal 3 North Concourse. They parked at the American Airlines first gate closest to the terminal parking garage on the east side. Air Resorts also would have charters to PHX from time to time. We were there when N7743U was taken to the Carlsbad McClellan-Palomar Airport "hill" for scrapping. The "hill" is where Air Resorts parked their aircraft and some were scrapped, others parted out. They loaded the fuselage of N7743U and trucked it away. N968N and N969N, once Air Resorts shut down, were converted to freighters at Hamilton Aviation, Tucson International Airport. Remember, N968N and N969N had Canadian Armed Forces military careers:) The last flight of the Northwest Airlines Convair 580 fleet was highlighted in "Top Duck", a wonderful video tape (Northwest Convair Retirement Committee, 1988) at the time and now on DVD from the Northwest History Center. I had heard about the tape from a Northwest Airlines flight attendant and still to this day have my original copy in the original box! I'm surprised that Republic Airlines did not cooperate for the article you wrote in Propliners. I have that issue and still use it for research purposes! The North Central Airlines Convair 580s flew up to YWG and every time we visited the Winnipeg Zoo (near the airport), I would look up as they landed! Another note about Air Resorts is that they stylized the red logo on the tail to look like "Herman" the duck. We certainly got to know these three Convairs and during the 1990s is was like a second home:) One last note, the only time I saw a Northwest Airlines Convair 580 in "full scheme" was a graphic on the seating chart brochure that Northwest distributed for the aircraft - looked good.
This is an outstanding video, Henry. I so appreciate your taking the time to put this together. I loved the meticulous detail of the history of each aircraft and especially knowing the location of the parked Convair 580s. I am 61 years old and remember watching the Convairs at my home airport of EVV. My Dad would take me out on Sunday afternoons and early evenings to watch the planes. Oh what a thrill it was!! Although we were close to NC routes, we were never served by them. However, I recall in vivid detail the arrivals and departures of Lake Central Airline's Convair 580s, after 1968, Allegheny Airlines. I can still smell the kerosene of the prop wash as they would turn out from the chain link fenced gates at our, then Dress Memorial Airport, now Evansville Regional Airport. We also had Delta Airlines Convair 340s, one of which did a belly landing on a flight from Chicago in 1968 due to engine failure. For a small airport, we had great airline viewing and aircraft variety. In the 60s and 70s we were served by Eastern, Delta, and Allegheny. I did get to take my first Convair flight as a travel agent on Aspen Airways between DEN and COS in the mid 80s, returning on a JC (Rocky Mtn Airways) DH7. My second Convair 580 flight was aboard Continental Express between DEN and Jackson Hole, WY., also in the mid 80s. They were a fantastic aircraft, and yes, I was enthralled with them just like you. Thank you so very much for all you do to promote commercial aviation history. It is so appreciated!!
Hello Duane, thank you for sharing your wonderful heartfelt Convair liner memories, just wonderful! The Convairs mean a lot to me too because of the personal connection. I saw my very first Republic Convair 580 when I did a cross country flight from GFK to Bimidji when I was getting my pilot license in Fall of 83 or 84. I planned the flight as I knew the Convair was scheduled to be on her turn around. I took a 35mm slide but the trip and image are burned in my memory forever. Only someonle like you can appreciate how planes and places can intersect and make a major life memory. Stay well and safe travels always Duane👍👍😃😃✈️✈️
@@JetFlix Thank you, Henry, safe travels to you as well. Wow, GFK to Bimidji...I would have loved that trip. I used to dream of those "exotic" Convair destinations in the North Central timetables. I wonder if you got to experience it during winter operations. I have purchased many of your DVDs in the past, I loved the Aerolineas Argentinas trip to Ushuaia, one of my favorites, also the MALEV Hungarian Airlines TU-134, 154 videos. I did get to travel to Argentina in 2011, flew into AEP Aeroparque, wonderful airport!! I flew LAN Argentina from Iguassu Falls, was hoping for Aerolineas, but the tour booked the air instead of me. I was in Budapest, Hungary, twice 2018 and 2019, and got to tour the Aeropark adjacent to the BUD Ferihegy Airport, now Franz Liszt. WOW, that is a wonderful place to spend some airliner time. Met a former MALEV pilot there who let me put on this captains jacket and took pictures in the cockpit. I'll never forget it!! Thanks again....Duane
Fantastic stuff Duane. I got my private pilot license between September and the following Spring so most of my flights were in super cold clear blue skies. They should have called the Dakotas “Big Sky Country”. My visit to Bimiji was in October I think. A big blue sky day, but before first snowfall.
I worked for the original Frontier airlines based in Denver. We have a bunch of Convair 580's. They are the aircraft that I flew on as a kid that sparked my interest in an aviation career. We referred to the planes as "Mountain Masters" as we flew them to several mountain airports in the Colorado high country. Such a spectacular plane. Those were the good ol' days of aviation. Thanks for the video. It was absolutely excellent!
Thank you so much, amazing your association with the Frontier Convairs. If you have any movies, videos or old 35mm aircraft slides please let me know as I am always looking for such source material for videos I can make and share.
I once rode a Frontier 580 from DFW to OKC. In the 70s Frontier flew to many smaller cities in Oklahoma, like Stillwater, McAlester, Enid and Ponca City, as well as Paris, Texas.
Nice video. I flew on one from MSP to Aberdeen and back in the late 80's. It has NW Airlines livery by then. It was one of the most memorable flights of my life and I have flown 10,000 times or more.
In hundreds of years historians will be amazed we flew on these lumbering gas powered giants relatively short distances. In the big picture, these Convairs existed for just a blink of the eye in the history of transportation. So your flight was truly special.
I grew up in the Detroit area during the 60's and 70's. I flew on a number of Convair 580's out of Detroit for Traverse City to visit my Grandparents. My family were huge aviation buffs and we'd often spend Friday and Saturday evenings up on the outdoor observation deck at Detroit Metro above the Delta and TWA Concourse. At that time...the observation deck gave you a perfect view of aircraft taking off on 21R - 3L, which at that time was the runway primarily used before the airport expansion. North Central/Republic flew a lot of 580's in and out of Detroit at that time.
Thank you for sharing your amazing memories about the good all days at Detroit. The only time I went to Detroit was on my Northwest Convair 580 flights.
I flew on a Convair 580 in January 1986 from Detroit Metro to Houghton, Michigan and back again. The plane was operated by Simmons aviation. What was interesting for me was that each zeus fastener on the engine cowling was marked with a paint pen and I watched several of the fasteners back off ever so slightly. Unfortunately that was my only time on the 580 because following year we flew ATR 42's and Shorts 360's.
In 1972 while in High School I would go to O’Hare airports observation deck . There I loved to watch the North Central 580’s come and go and Ozark had there FH 227’s to watch as well. I loved the sounds of the turboprop engines start up . Very different from the DC 9 jet engines . Thanks for your informative videos
Down in New Mexico we had Frontier Airlines. I flew in their 440's back in the very early 60's. Then, 580's to Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Denver, Lincoln, NE and SEATAC out west. Nice documentary! Well done!
Thank you so much, Rocketman. I appreciate the comment and thank you for sharing your very nice memories of the Frontier Airlines Convairs back in the 1960s. You were living in good times.
My dad was a pilot for Wisconsin Air and the Chief Pilot for North Central. He retired just before the merger to become Republic. As chief Pilot he would be part of the investigation of crashed. Once he was investigating the crash of a 580 that happened December 27, 1968. I remember him playing the voice recording of the crash over and over again in our kitchen, The claim was that the 580 stalled out which caused the crash. My dad, who had his doubts, proved that this plane would never stall and demonstrated that it could practically fly like a helicopter and yet never stall. He loved the Convair 580. His report indicated that the pilot was disoriented which caused the crash. Despite this the FAA called in mechanical failure.
Fascinating stuff and thank you so much for sharing that with us Gregory. You Dad was front row center in the North Central Convair 580 operation. It was a great time to be where he was with his career, although the accidents were unfortunate. There were a few that I think I pointed out in my video.
Why, when I was 5 year old boy, I got too board my first plane, a NC DC3. In addition were the Super Connie, Lockheed Electra, DC6,7 Convair 580, Convair 880, DC8,9, 707, 727 over the 60's and 70's. I flew a lot less when an adult, but there were 737, 757, and various other. The Convair 580 had huge, 4 bladed props. That plane was a definite improvement over the DC3. It was the best pterodactyl driven plane of all pterodactyl driven planes. Of course, the Super Connie was cool. Looking out the window of a piston plane, looking at the puffs of smoke and flames out of the exhausts, hearing the engine come to life were an experience I'll never forget.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories of these great airliners back in the day. Sadly they are no more, and it’s not possible to have a passenger flight on one of these in the year 2024, but at least we have our memories.
I was a North Central passenger on 580's into Green Bay Wi in the mid 70's , flying from Milwaukee. I remember wine and cheese baskets served as the inflight snack for a while. I also remember on one flight an air leak whistling around the rear door seal and a crew member stuffing napkins in the gap to stop the whistle. Good times.
Yes indeed the Convair 580s is an absolutely beautiful machine and I was so happy to be able to fly on it back then. They are now pretty much relegated to cargo work here in Canada so no chance of getting a ride in 2023.
I flew the Convair 580 from MSP to DSM in the fall of 87. Originally due to fly DC 9, but it was over booked. I always want to fly the 440, but the 580 interior was close enough. I was lucky enough to fly in 1967 the Martin 404. Both the Convair and the Martin were quite a like both were my favorite twins.
You are very lucky Thomas to have the Convair 580 in your logbook. You were basically flying a two engine Hercules .. what an overpowered aircraft .. a pilot’s dream come true.
Always loved the 580. Allegheny Airlines was the ones I saw all the time in my younger days. Got my first jump seat ride in a Allegheny 580 from Newark to Providence, then back to Newark. Those were the days. Didn’t pay a dime. Later in life I saw many other 580’s including cargo.
Magic Richard! I flew jump seat on both the Time Air Convair 640 and 580. A friend of mine who is quite tall almost broke his knee cap in the Convair jump seat. The landinggear up lever was activated by the pilot rather violently right into his knee cap somehow. He spent years in therapy as a result of this injury. So best be under 6 ft tall if you ride a Convair jump seat.
I never got to fly on the Convairs, but as late as 2007 (possibly much longer) you could still make out the "NORTH CENTRAL AIRLINES" titles on that hangar in several of your slides in MSP. Sadly, the last time I was there, the hangar was gone.
That is amazing that hangar is gone. When I visited MSP in 1983/84 they let me out on tgat ramp to take slides. I even came out one night to do some night photography of the Convairs. So I know those hangars well.
Very interesting and informative Henry. I was born in 1964 so we are roughly in the same age range. I never flew on that plane but I remember the old REPUBLIC AIRLINES in the 1980’s. I have lived my entire life in Milwaukee, WI. and started visiting the airport in the mid 1980’s and remember seeing a few 580’s. We have to remember how wonderful it was to actually visit the airport without being a ticketed passenger but I digress. I look forward to more of your videos and yes I just subscribed.
Thank you very much for the nice comments, Milton I really appreciate it. And thank you so much for subscribing to my channel as well. I hope my future videos will be of interest.
My first flight ever, 1968, Lansing to Chicago (North Central). I was a teen and this was the first family vacation by air. Capital City Airport in the pre-TSA days. Later, in 1979, Detroit - Grand Rapids to visit a young woman I met at university. We got snowed in at Grand Rapids and I remember, after finally taking off, a noisy, dark, and bumpy flight back to Detroit.
What a great memory Eric it wasn’t too many years before my memories of the Republic Convair 580 when I was going to university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is funny how an aircraft can tie in interesting chapters of our life.
I have fond memories of seeing Republic Airlines fly into my childhood home airport of Central Wisconsin (actually in Mosinee, not Wausau), albeit mainly DC-9's, and it's so awesome to hear that Northwest kept using the Convairs all the way up until 1988. I would have loved to experience that, but sadly my first Northwest flight wasn't until 1995. But it's nice to think maybe one or more of the Northwest DC-9's I flew on was originally from Republic. Northwest was also responsible for my one and only 727 flight.
As a die hard avgeek in the 1980s, my main hobby back then was slide photography of airliners. I shot hundreds of rolls of Kodachrome each year and I’m still a Kodachrome slide collector of aircraft slides. I operate the worlds largest auction website for 35mm colour slides of aircraft, it’s called airlinesslides.com
I flew on a Republic Convair (Model Unknown) on November 28, 1980 from Atlanta to Anniston Alabama with a stopover at Gadsden Alabama on my way to Ft. McClellan for Basic Training. I kept a journal of my experience back then and still have the jounal today with the flight number being, "Flight 734 Republic". I also took several photos from my seat of the Right engine nacelle and prop while we sat on the tarmac at KATL and several more while in flight. For many years I had no idea what type of aircraft it was but remembered it distinctly and remember it having REPUBLIC painted on the upper fuselage with the duck in circle emblem on the vertical stab. After looking at the pictures of the engine nacelle and prop and from mempry of what the aircraft looked like I looked for old republic aircraft and was amazed to find it had to be a Convair. My pics show the black bands on the props at the hub with very squared off props and one pic I took shows two other Republic planes (One, I think a DC-9) on the tarmac between the props before they started the engines. The props and nacells are exactly like the ones in your photos complete with oil streaks coming from the hatches on the nacelle. I wish i had taken a picture of the exterier of the aircraft. A side note of this flight that i remember fondly was that I got off the plane in Gadsden thinking I was in Anniston and just as the plane was about to leave for Annistion the only baggage checker in there ask me if I was going to Annistion and I was totally confused and ask, "This aint Annistion?" She said, "No this is Gadsden". And she yelled for someone to, "Hold the plane" just like in the movies and she told me to, "Hurry up and get on the plane the pilots are waiting on you". I ran out and and ran across the tarmac just as they were pushing the stairs back to the front left door and I was as embarressed as you can get. when I entered the door, I think one of the pilots said, "We almost left you" and the female Flight Attendent said something like , "We got him back" or something and they laughed it off. I smiled but was embarressed by the whole thing considering that the only other flight I ever had before that time was, "Flight 399 Eastern Airlines 727 from Greenville- Spartanburg to Atlanta just an hour before this flight.
I've always been fascinated by this aircraft. As a child in the early '70s, I remember having my mother drive to the Muskegon county airport (MKG) on several occasions so I could look at one behind the fence (hoping to get a glimpse of a takeoff)...
Do you have any information on Convair 580 N440M, owned by Allied Chemical in early 1970`s. Used to service this plane when they would come to the White Sulphur Springs, WV airport with passengers for The Greenbrier resort.
At 2:23 is a picture of a DC-2 not a DC-3. The passenger windows on the DC-2 started at or behind the wing's leading edge while on the DC-3 they started in front of the leading edge. The cowl flaps are also different.
I flew out of Tyler, TX several times in the 1980's on American Eagle Convair 580's over to DFW. Man, were those things rattle traps! The 580's were replaced with Saab 340's, which also rattled and vibrated quite a bit, but they would get after it, for a non jet aircraft.
Those were nice to have flown the AA Eagle Convair 580s I remember them too, but never flew one. I think it was a much smaller fleet than the Republic fleet.
I’m from Miami, Florida and was surprised you have an Air Florida DC-9-15 behind you as a model. I used to fly them several times between Miami and Tampa during 1977’s
I’m glad to hear of your association with the Air Florida DC-9 but I certainly don’t own any such model so I’m not sure which model you’re referring to in my collection. I’d like to have a professional travel agent model of an Air Florida DC-9 if I could ever find one. Nonetheless, thanks for watching my video. I do appreciate it and thank you for commenting.
That was a lot of money back then I think but when you think of all the converse 580 flights, you could’ve had in hindsight it’s something that one would be proud of. Congratulations on being able to do this Air pass with Republic.
Many as I worked for the airline between 1991 and 1997 and that’s all I flew (as a pax) for 6 years of my life. Check out my NWT Air 737 videos on my channel.
@@JetFlix will do. I want a set of 1/72 decals for my 732 model. I used to see those planes at YEG and still consider that paint job one of the best on a 737.
Simply beautiful! Just two questions, if I may: What means the 3 digit number on the aircraft’s nose, since it didn’t match the tail number? Where those flights profitable, with just 10 passengers? Thanks in advance. You certainly do a fantastic job! Cheers from 🇧🇷.
Very good questions thank you for asking. The three digit number on the nose is the airline zone in-house FIN number which is how the airline references the specific airplane with their own systems. The number on the back of the airplane is the aircraft registration number which is completely different. Not all flights for all airlines are profitable they do lose money on certain routes, but they make money to compensate on other routes. So I suspect these flights with very small numbers of passengers on their own lost money, but they were necessary as they were part of the airline’s entire network system.
I flew on the 580 out of Atlanta in 1980. The 580s that was in Atlanta replaced the Southern Airways Martin 404 and Metroliner II planes on the Atlanta-Gadsden-Aniston run.
I never heard of that term Blue Goose Airlines it’s a good one. It’s amazing how many people here on TH-cam can share their memories of flying on these good old Convair 580s. Thank you for your comment I appreciate it.
@@JetFlix us folks up in the U.P. always refered to North Central as the ",Blue Goose". We had 2 air force bases up.there but regular airline planes were rare to see
dad worked north central in benton harbor aka ross field. first convair at 4 years old to grand rapids and back. dad just took us for a ride 1978~ . he ended up at kalamazoo with the swtch to republic. 1 year in milwaukee with the switch to northwest and back to kzoo till retirement. he was kind of a film/slide buff. i'll look through some things and see what i have
Hi Floyd, thank you so much for sharing these memories. They’re awesome. The Convair 580 is now a very rare airplane for passengers, I don’t think there’s any left on the planet. If you find a bunch of old slides of aircraft, please do let me know. That would be amazing.
north central/republic N8444H had a bad accident in Brainerd mn Sunday 9 January 1983. today its flying for Air Chathams ZK-CIB or it says active on the website as active. videos can be found on here of Air Chathams ZK-CIB
I am glad the aircraft was able to be rebuilt and went on to fly for another 40 years after the unfortunate accident. That is a testament to the durability of the Convair 580.
I was Captain on a Metro III (SA 227) and a couple times we departed ksfo (American Eagle) and coincidentally a Convair was departing ksjc. We were fast but that Convair outran us every time.
I’m one of the few who has worked the gate/ramp on both the 580 & the F-27. As much as I loved the F-27, it couldn’t hold a candle to the 580. You could load the thing up to the brim w/fuel, frt and people and you’d have weight to spare. The f-27? On a hot day in SLC they couldn’t even haul themselves up on a ferry flight. And that was w/water methanol injection!
I flew on these from 1998 to about 2003 every other week to and from Anchorage and a Pump Station. They retired the aircraft because of the cost of putting a cockpit door. I remember on the last fight the pilot told us the plane entered service in 1953 because it’s the same year I was born.
Was it Era Convair 580 you were flying? I flew on one in 1996 from Anchorage to Kenai it was 15 minutes air time. Flew back in an Era Dash-8. You are lucky to have all those Convair 580 flights.
@@JetFlix Yes it was. I actually flew in 580s with a company named SeaAir in Alaska in the 1980s also as a charter to and from SCC and ANC. They went out of business and we then used ERA then. I changed jobs and 10 years later I back to flying in them. I like flying in axial flow engine turboprops. I worked in P3s in the 1970s as got to flying them quite a bit going around the Med and South America.
In 1986 my 11-year-old son and I flew on a still piston powered convair liner. From Denver to Colorado springs. On startup flaming gas was dripping out of the exhaust running down the wing. My son was terrified he had only ever flown on Jets. He said Daddy is this airplane safe ? it looks really old. I told him it was a good airplane made in our hometown of San Diego.
I flew numerous Convair aircraft like these out of Albany, NY in the 50s and 60s….mostly with Mohawk Airlines. Very reliable aircraft, but perhaps a bit noisy by today’s standards.
TO THIS "JETFLIX FLIGHT" BLOGGER, MANY THANKS FOR THIS "CONVAIR 580 PROPJET'S HISTORY," AND TO Y'ALL, "CONVAIR 580 FLIGHT HISTORIANS, 'THIS COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT'S WORTH' A PASTIME!!" 🥃🌯🍫
The only time I flew in a CV 580 was on the VIP CC-109 Cosmopolitan out of Uplands Airbase (YOW). Though it was a very windy day the winds were across the runway and created visibility problems for landing. We tooled around Ottawa or really bounced around for nearly an hour waiting for the conditions to improve. Many of the air cadets aboard got sick for many of us it was just a riot flight. see here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadair_CC-109_Cosmopolitan
![WORLD'S LAST flying Convair Passenger Airplane! Air Chathams 1957 Convair CV-580 Supercut [AIRCLIPS]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BaJAV3fTYl4/mqdefault.jpg)
![WORLD'S LAST flying Convair Passenger Airplane! Air Chathams 1957 Convair CV-580 Supercut [AIRCLIPS]](/img/tr.png)
I was a stewardess with NorthCentral from January 1969 through the merger to become Republic, NorthWest, and retired 2008 just as the merger with Delta. I Loved working on the 580! It was a favorite of mine! 48 passengers, 2 pilots, and me! It was like a plane full of First Class passengers!
Thank you for the wonderful comment Marcy, by today’s standards it really was first class comfort on the Convair. You operated neat routes on the Convair, places most people never can say they have been to .. like Bmidji (if I spelled it right!) .. Thief River Falls, Appleton, Wasau.. those places I stepped down and walked around the small terminal buildings on my Convair 580 flights. Really great memories and thank you for sharing yours.
On my flight to Aberdeen, SD in the mid 80's I recall the seats were particularly comfortable and the windows were large, compared to the modern jets I was flying on most of the time. Maybe you were my FA.
@marcypadrta9177 the building at 16:10 in the video, I think is the former Republic Corporate offices? After the North Central Southern Merger did you every fly with the two Flight Attendants from Southern Airways Flight 242?
Can I have your autograph??!!
@@Mr.Mallardduck LOL!
I flew on a Convair/Allison 580 in 1982 from Memphis to Meridian MS. It was the smoothest take off and landing I have ever felt.
Yes WOW! Bring back some Great memories from the 1960’s 70’s into the 1980’s I flew in many north central Convar 580 TP and DC-9’s all over the mid west. Thank you 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it
i flew in a republic convair in 1982, it was awesome
You are very lucky to have the flight in your log book.
I worked on the Convairs from 1971 to 2001 in Ontario. Started with the 440s then Allegheny 580s. My last 580 flight was in 2004 from YVR to YLW. I never had the privilege of flying one on Republic but did visit their maintenance/engineering group in 1978 at Minneapolis. Great bunch of guys.
Thanks for the memories.
My pleasure
I was blessed to have flown on 2 Republic Airlines 580's as a kid, traveling with my grandma.
Nice memories for you✈️✈️👍👍😃😃
I flew in a North Central Convair 580 in 1970. It flew out of Benton Harbor/St. Joseph Michigan. My flight was to ORD. It has a fond place in my heart.
I worked for North Central/Republic/Northwest from Dec 1969 to Jan 2005 in DTW. I started as a cleaner and ended as a crew chief for a ground maintenance crew. Just wanted to say thanks for your video, it brought back a lot of great memories. In my career I flew a lot on the 580. Even a few times in the cockpit. It was a great plane. Again thanks 😊
It is my great pleasure to hear the video brings back nice career memories. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am thankful the fellow who took these images took them and his widow sent me the slides so I could make the video. And the images, history and memories can live on forever. He was a lifetime career person at NC/RC/NW in Dispatch at both DTW and MSP, you probably knew him, or of him.
thanks for this great article. My dad was a mechanic for N.C. in MSP and worked on a lot of the convairs and dc-3s. As a youngster I spent a lot of time at the msp shops in the cockpits of dc-3s and convairs when my Dad had to work some overtime on Saturdays . I also flew in a lot of both types visiting relatives in South Dakota and Chicago. His crew did the conversion of the N.C. DC3 executive plane which now resides in the Ford museum, adding Jato assist rockets and the stretched picture window. Great memories. The 580 was an absolute hot rod for short fields!
Thank you Craig for sharing the amazing memories that you have. You are very lucky that your dad worked for such a great company, and you got to experience these wonderful flights on wonderful airplanes.
I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and started work in Kansas City after college in the mid-1970s. I can vividly remember flying North Central Convair 580s to visit my parents in Fargo. The flight left Kansas City to Omaha to Sioux City to Sioux Falls to Brookings to Yankton and finally to Fargo. Six stops. If nobody was getting on or off at a stop, they would shut off the port engine and drop the mail bags out and pick up more mail.
Great memories.
Wow!!! Really amazing Convair 580 memories, you are so lucky to have them Jim. Never to be repeated today.
Long ago memories! Flew Allegany Convair 580 Dayton Ohio to Cleveland. Then to Detroit. North Central Detroit to Toronto.
Circa 1969. thx for the memories!
My pleasure Michael
This is awesome I need to show my dad
He was station manager for North Central at CMX for many years we flew the 580 many times thanks!
Fantastic, yes please do share with your father. Did he take many aircraft slides in decades past??
May the ruptured duck live on in history. Good people made their airline great.
I must have flown on 580's a hundred times from Hibbing to Duluth to Minneapolis and back to catch a flight to somewhere else.
North Central always got us home, often holding the last flight from MSP for a late connecting passenger. For the cruddy weather where they flew their performance was amazing.
Its hard to believe these flights ended 30 plus years ago. I am grateful for the few flights I had on them.
Interesting video! I grew up in Hancock Mi & traveled on Convair 440s in 70, 71, & 72. I remember leaving Vietnam & finally ending up in Hancock & the snow was almost up to the wings! Flying into Chicago, North Central gates were at the end of the concourse!
Happy you posted this. I remember seeing 440, 580 and 600 models at Burke Lakefront Airport as a teenager. I missed getting a ride in the turboprop. Given how many mid sixties conversions were done I do feel lucky to have ridden in a Delta 440, Atlanta to Savanna and back in 1968. When we went next time 1971 Delta was flying DC-9. Thanks.
My pleasure I’m glad you enjoyed the video and the memories that it brought back.
I remember my 1st Convair 580 flt on Allegheny in 1973,from MDT-BRADFORD-ERIE- CLEVELAND- THEN DTW,my final destination,and what a ride.
I love the Convair 580 and I am so glad I had my flights too. Cannot be done today.
Thank you for the video Henry. I have fond memories of the planes. My first flight was on a North Central/Republic 580 as a child in 1979 or 1980 from MSP to Sioux City. My dad just started working for the airline. After waiting much of the day to get on due to weather or getting bumped as non-revs (can't recall the details, was only about 8) we finally boarded a late flight. Besides my mom and my 2 younger sisters, there was only one other passenger and she slept the whole way down. The older sister (4-years old) and I ran up and down the aisle and talked to the flight attendant who was the nicest young man giving us all the soda pop and peanuts we wanted! It was like a charter flight just for us! I'll never forget it and sometimes wonder which 580 it was that I first flew. I flew the 580 many more times in the following years and still remember the sounds, the powerful thrust and the loud cabin. Thanks!
My pleasure and thank you for sharing your wonderful memories.
Great vlog as always! My second flight arr. in the US in Aug. 86. First I flew from LGA-DTW on RC. I remember the banner behind the counter. We are now Northwest. It was a DC-9 from LGA. We were three students on the first flight. They were met and I was told I was was flying up to Youpper country. I had no clue what he was talking about. It was the night flight to CMX. It was on the CV580s. The flight was via LAN and MQT. I think that was my one and only flight in the US with a CV580. My parents and my sister came to visit in feb 87 and they flew an ATR 42. Imagine that! I flew then from MSP-CMX and that was a SH-360. I loved that aircraft. In May I went home for 10 days. I can not remember what type of aircraft I flew then or when I flew home for good in june to Norway. When I came back in 88 I remember I flew a F-27 from air Wisconsin. It was all red! I think it was one of the last F-27 ever made. (85/86) I never heard that F-27 could not reverse the props. BU was the 2nd airline to buy the F-27. They ended up with a total of 8 planes. For them it was a game changer. Those aircraft was the reason BU could buy 5 F-28 2nd again, but first to fly rev. Flt in early march 1969. BU also bought two B-737. From 1969-73 they flew the 737, F-28, F-27 and the DC-6. mamma mia! SAS flew the CV440 from 1956-76. The Caravelle from 1959-1974. Just sayin` lol! Do you have BU F-27 out on YT? Keep up the good work! Greetings from Norway! The aircraft that the F-27 repalaced was the DH-114, The Heron. It is less than a decade between the two.
Thank you for sharing the amazing memories Torgeir. I wonder what they meant by Youpper Country! I also flew the Mesaba F27s in 1990 on similar routes between MSP and DTW, and those were my first and last F27 flights. So they were good opportunities back then. Thank you for watching my JetFlix channel and all the best from Vancouver.
I was a young CFI / airtaxi pilot and loved watching the North Central 580's, affectionately call the Blue Goose, at Benton Harbor, Michigan. After a bird strike on takeoff the aircraft leveled at tree tops and continue straight west out over Lake Michigan then did a shallow left turn returning to land on runway 27. The captain was a small gent with his long sleaves rolled up and his cap setting on the back of his head, calmly called company for alternative transportation for the passengers which was usually a bus ride to Chicago O'Hare.
The young first officer was all a twitter nervously reassuring the passengers who were by far less rattled than he was.
The North Central agent let me sit in the flight deck on several different 580's and I was amazed at how antiquated the Nav/Comm's were. One actually had an old Narco coffee grinder radio which had a small crank to tune in the receiver.
I could go on with lots of stories but I'll leave it at what a wonderful aircraft the 580 was to fly and watch.
Hi Don, Thank you for sharing a few of your amazing North Central Convair 580 memories. It was a different back then that is for sure.
This video is great, Henry. Brings back countless memories. My dad started working for North Central before I was born. The DC-3s you mentioned were still in service at the beginning of his employment, but were quickly becoming rarer sights. He stayed with them through the Republic and NWA days, retiring after 40 years.
As a kid I would beg Dad to take me to our small regional airport so we could watch planes. Just what he wanted to do on his days off. Still, sometimes he would indulge me, and then I would always hope to see a 580 take off. The other planes were cool, but that prop-driven Convair really grabbed my attention. It was different in ways that are important to a kid. It had more visible moving parts. It made a whirring sound distinct from the piercing whine of the jetliners. You could make a visual and aural connection between the machinery and the resulting motion. I was disappointed when in the early 80's my dad told me they were going to be taken out of service.
I see from your video and the other comments that the plane has a special appeal for many of us "kids". Good to know!
Hi Chris, Thank you for sharing your fantastic Convair 580 memories. Looking back from 2021 my 1980s memories were from a different era. Going back to the earlier part of your Dad’s time that was again a different era from the 1980s. The Convairs lasted from the 1950s to late 1980s with NC RC NW and it is really amazing.
Really enjoyed this, Henry. I grew up in North Central Territory. Lived south of Battle Creek, MI and then on the approach to 27 at BTL. Many views of the 580s and also DC9s. Then NCA consolidated their service at Kalamazoo due to larger passenger boardings and the fact that the towns are about 20 miles apart. I flew on a 580 from AZO to DTW with a stop at JXN on Christmas Eve of 1972. A bouncy arrival at Jackson and a smooth one at Detroit. I was able to speak to the crew and asked who was flying at JXN. Both pilots pointed at the other one. Ha, Ha! On to Tampa on a Delta 727. Returned after visiting Grandpa in Sarasota via Delta DC10 to DTW and then Air Wisconsin DHC6 Twin Otter to BTL. That trip was at a ground speed about equal to the traffic on I-94. We rolled one stripe on 23 at BTL and turned off at the 1st taxiway. A very rough ride, but still fun!
Wow what a fantastic memory of your Christmas 1972 flights down to Florida. Those were good old days. You managed a great variety of airlines and types for this trip. Thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful memories😃😃👍👍✈️✈️
Great job Henry! As a kid in Milwaukee, I used to write the airlines' schedule in a blackboard in my bedroom and plane spot off the second story sun porch. By knowing the type
of equipment and adding or subtracting 10 minutes, I could identify the destination or origin. There was a beacon in Lake Park close to my house, which they could line up for the main north-south runway. Not surprisingly, I worked in the travel business after college in the 70's and 80's. While living in Chicago, managing a travel agency, outside of O'Hare, I booked a round trip to MSP, with a four-stop Convair return via Central WI, Green Bay, Manitowoc, and Milwaukee. What a thrill. I did the same on an Ozark F27 from Omaha to Ohare with five stops. Those where the days of
great flying. It's my understanding that unlike some conversions, the 340s and 440s were designed to be fitted ultimately with turboprops. My bias, but the Allisons look much smarter than the Darts on the Convair 600s. Also, the mallard duck logo was called "Herman, The Ruptured Duck" and was beloved by passengers throughout the Northwoods Territory. Again, great job.
Thank you for these amazing memories Michael, I just loved reading this. I did not know that Convair built the planes with future engine upgrades in mind. Yes, the Convers 580s looked like real powerful machines with those huge Allison engines on them more so than the slim Rolls-Royce starts with the Convers 600 series you are lucky to have lived in a great location for flying on and observing great Airliners. Thank you for your great comments and I’m glad you enjoyed my video.
@@JetFlix Henry, were you ever able to fly on the Electra? It was like a Convair 540 on steroids! LOL I flew it from Chicago to Milwaukee and Washington DC to New York. Twice the passengers and twice the engines, but it felt like 3 times the speed. It handled like a fighter plane and was extremely popular with pilots. Although I got to fly on many propliners, propjets and jets, I missed out on the Caravelle, probably the most graceful airliner ever built. Keep up the good work!
Great stuff! I lived about a mile from the airport in La Crosse WI, and almost directly under the approach to the main runway, growing up as a kid in the late 60’s to early 1980’s. If the wind was northerly, the approach from MSP would take the planes - either the 580 or the DC-9 - on an eastern heading over the Mississippi, where you could begin to see them as a tiny speck. Then, about 3-4 miles out, the planes would make a sharp 90-degree turn to line up with runway 36. I never got tired of watching them come in, only a few hundred feet up, and they would be on the ground, propellers beating the air madly, less than 10 seconds after they flew over the house. Flew the 580 on North Central as a kid once in 1972, stopping in Madison on the way back from Baltimore via Chicago, and then several times on Northwest while in college or as a young adult in the mid-late 80’s, always connecting from MSP on the way home from Detroit or Philly. Those quick hops had maybe 20 minutes of air time. If I remember correctly, Northwest then replaced the 580 with the much smaller regional turboprops that you used to see all over, having since been replaced by regional jets today.
Great memories thank you so much for sharing. I am grateful for the few Convair flights I had with Northwest. An era that cannot be repeated.
I dispatched Convairs for Republic along side Rick Wargo. I too went to UND.
My first route qual started on a 580 into IWD at about 6 am from MSP. It was snowing as we transported 48 pax into/thru Ironwood, Mi. As we slid down the runway in IWD, the captain remarked - sometimes the Convair has 48 passengers, sometimes the Convair has 51. (Crew of 3). This morning it had 52 as I was in the cockpit jumpseat between the radio racks. I was nice and warm while the Capt and F/O had blankets draped across their laps.
Wow, thank you so much for this amazing comment. I really appreciate it. It’s always good to hear from a fellow UND alumni. I was in the aviation program there between 1993 and 1997. John Odegard was the head of the aviation program at the time. It’s wonderful that you got to work with the Republic CV580s up close and personal. Wonderful memories you have.
Thanks Henry! A very enjoyable half hour indeed! The Convair is a marvelous aircraft. Matter of fact, my first ever flight was on a Convair of United Airlines. In 1958, with my Mom, my brother and I flew from Vancouver to Seattle, with a scheduled stop in Bellingham! We were on our way to Los Angeles. We took a United DC6 from Seattle to LA on a milk run. I absolutely loved it, sitting just behind the wing. We flew SEA-PDX-OAK-SFO-LAX. Anyway, my second and last Convair flight was in the winter of 1970 on Finnair from Helsinki to Jyvaskyla, in central Finland. A friend and I had arrived from Malaga on an overnight flight on the DC8-62 (all Finnair DC8-62 were combi aircraft, and it was an all Y charter configuration of 186Y. I can't remember if the Finnair Convair was a 580 convert at the time, but I don't think so. I am just going by the fact that I would have remembered the engine sound. 51 years ago! Anyway, I really enjoyed your history of the Convairs of North Central/Republic/Northwest!!! Cheers, Carl
Hi Carl, as alwaysI love reading your comments and fabulous travel memories. How fantastic you flew United Airlines milkerun services from Vancouver down to Los Angeles. It was such a different era back then. The Finnair would have been a Convair 440, that is what they operated up until the late 1970s I think. Flying the United Convair 340 from YVR to Belligham then Seattle is amazing. To think they offered that flight back then. That was probably the last time we had direct sked airline flights between Vancouver and Bellingham WA!!
Very familiar and evocative!
I flew one of these beautiful Convairs in 1983. A memorable travel experience.
Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, it seems quite a few people like us had memorable flights on these Convair 580s. It is hard to believe they were retired in the late 80s which is now over 30 years ago.
Hi, thank you for the great video here you posted regarding the Convair 580. I really enjoyed the slide shots of this magnificent airplane. It certainly was a tough and robust machine, especially when the conversions were readily available to change them from 340s or 440s to 580 status. This sort of thing did save the airlines a lot of money I would've thought whereas they didn't need to spend money on entirely newer aircraft. The Allison D-12 turboprops gave it that extra push through the sky and powerful engines they were!! These remind me of the military C-130 Hercules and the Lockheed L-188 Electra. Lots of memories with North Central and Republic too. You mentioned the Fokker F-27 also in this video. That was a great airplane as well, but I can understand some of the drawbacks regarding the F-27, but still here in the US, it had some success with some feeder airlines. Thank you once again for some great information!! I always loved both these type of airplanes: The Convair CV-580 and the F-27.
My pleasure, Dan I’m so glad you enjoyed this little video that I put together with my memories of my flights on the Republic CV580s thank you very much for sharing your wonderful comments and memories as well.
As a minor traveling alone In the 1970’s I yearly flew on North Central 580s as connecting flights from Chicago O’Hare to Grand Rapids, MI to visit family. It was interesting to transition from a modern jetliner for the long cross county from the west coast to the old 580s for the short connecting flight to my final destination.
Even as a young person, one could feel as if you were stepping back in time boarding the Convair airframe. The built-in stairway was fun to watch unfold and climb. I loved the feeling of power and thrust when those big Allisons spooled up on the take-off roll.
My experience with the 580 did not begin with North Central though. My first flight in an airplane in the 1960’s was on a Frontier 580 from Durango, CO to Denver at the age of four. I distinctly remember standing behind the waist high (to an adult) cyclone fence at the La Plata County airport covering my ears from the howling roar of 580 as it taxied in to a stop just a few yards away. It was both terrifying and magical sound which I can still hear ringing in my mind.
I am sure my experiences with the Convair 580 sparked my lifelong fascination with aircraft and aviation. Which has led to my becoming a private pilot and owner of a small two-seat 1947 Luscombe taildragger. I have based it on a grass for 23 years. Now, my teenage son has his pilot license and is flying it on his own. He’s flying our vintage aircraft and has ridden in a B-17 and P-51 Mustang, but I do wish he could have experienced the magnificent 580 as I did. The was nothing else like it and never will be again. ❤️
Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories of the Convair 580. It is true that it’s not possible in 2023 to get a passenger flight I Convair 580 so your son unfortunately cannot have that same experience that you experienced many decades ago.
I was hired by North Central in Feb 1977, worked them all at DTW, prior to that I was at Wright Airlines at DET that had Convair 440's 1972-1977. My airline career continued until 2018 when I retired from Delta. The North Central days were the best.
Fantastic Gary that you have so much time on the North Central 580s. I only have my handful of passenger flight memories. When you think about the 580 was quite a thirsty machine. Basically half a Hercules to carry 50 pax. It was a product of the Nixon pre oil crunch era. I loved the sounds of the corkscrew engines as it flew overhead fading into the distance. By the way I collect airline slides so if you or anyone has an aircraft slide collection for sale please let me know. And thank you for commenting my video.
My first flight on an airliner was on a North Central Convair 580 in 1973 (ORD TO MKE and back, $34.00). My employment with the C&NW Railroad in the 1980s gave me numerous opportunities to fly on Republic and later Northwest CV 580s to cities such as Des Moines, Minneapolis, Eau Claire and Duluth. Once had an aborted takeoff on one at MSP. Last flew on a 580 in Northwest livery in 1988 just a couple of weeks before they were all retired. Very informative presentation on this airliner from North Central to Northwest. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your similarly fond memories of this great fleet of Convair liners. You had some really nice flights on them by the sound of it. It was a nice big roomy airliner from a bygone era. Kind of like a Pontiac Parisien of the Skies, lots of room with a big heavy ride, powered by a lot cheaper gas than today. It is essentially half a C-130 Hercules .. an over powered chariot for 50 passengers.
@@JetFlix Those twin Allison turbo-props did indeed make the 580 "an over powered chariot," And yes, very roomy like my '53 Hudson Super Wasp. Your schooling at UND reminds me of my college years at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (I was a Radio & TV broadcast major). SIU-C has an aviation maintenance/management school. During my years there in the late 1970s, the school used a former United Airlines, Vickers Viscount for the aviation students to work on and gain experience. It was eventually broken up and now the school uses a former UAL 737-200.
I enjoyed my years in Grand Forks at the UND aviation management program between 1983 and 1987. Almost 40 years ago. I have not been back to Grand Forks since and I am long due a visit. Being in Convair country was part of the UND appeal and I did many weekend road trips to Minneapolis to visit the airport and soak up the Convair 580 action. I used to visit the hangar and they always let my spend time in the hangar and on maintenance ramp to take slides. It was a different era back them.
Nice presentation Henry. I remember flying on 580's as a kid in the 70's. My last flight being somewhere in the mid 2000's on a machine owned by Hydro Quebec
I guess the last passenger carrying Convairs were in Canada and in New Zealand. They did some enthusiast flights with Nolonor out of Montreal maybe 10 or 15 years ago that I did hear about. My last Convair flight would’ve been in 1996 or 97 on Cypress Airlines when they were subbing for Air BC during the pilot strike. I flew on the Cypress Convair 580 from Vancouver to Kelowna to Calgary and that was my last Convair flight.
My dad was a SAC B-52 instructor-pilot from 1956-63 stationed at Castle AFB outside of Merced,Ca.He would often have to go on TDY to various SAC bases for training purposes.Merced was serviced by United with flights to San Francisco and LA were he would transfer to the flight needed to get to his destination.They used Convairs for those runs through the valley.Like you I fell in love with the Convairs.What was nice about the Convairs was big seats and big windows.flew on a Frontier 580 and a Texas International 600 and to this day just love watching the folding airstairs!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful story and memory. Sadly I think the era of passenger Convair 580 flying is over. In the late 1980s and early 1990s I got more Convair flight with Time Air here in Vancouver on their Convair 580s and 640s. Such a comfortable way to fly. Similar door config as a Lockheed Electra. Wonderful memories indeed.
Remember this airline and North Central on their "milk runs" between Rapid City,SD,SouxFalls SD and other stops in between.Concluded in Minneapolis.Then I caught flights going to Wash DC.These prop plane were so FUN to ride!!!The engine start ups,shutdowns,take offs and the sight seeing over the Badlands.To an airplane fan flying was like riding behind a steam loco for train fans!I like BOTH!!!Then those lovely Conair 580 and Lockheed Electras(Western airlines) were replaced with 737.
It was very fun to fly!
Great nostalgic video about one of my favorite aircraft. I flew on North Central / Republic 580s a couple times as a kid/teenager in the 1970's. Always from Benton Harbor, MI to O'hare and back. The memories that stand out for me are the terrific takeoff acceleration, that I would say is unmatched by any other airplane I've flown on, other than maybe a DHC Dash 8-400. The other thing I remember is the Dzus fasteners rattling around on the engine cowling. The Convairs would always fly overhead at the beach when taking off to the west from Benton Harbor. What a great sound! Later I worked at National Waterlift Controls (now Parker Aerospace), and two employees there were involved in the 1978 crash of a 580 at the Kalamazoo, MI airport. Both survived, one had a broken hip I believe.
Wow .. some fascinating memories.. thank you for sharing them Dean.
I went to college in Gunnison Colorado, elev 7000, Frontier had a daily flight of 580s. It was a treat to watch them get in and out regardless of weather and altitude.
Hi Douglas, you’re very lucky that you got to see the Frontier Convair 580s in their natural habitat back in the day.
I remember flying on those in the 1970's and 80's. I flew from International Falls to Minneapolis when I would come home on leave while serving in the Air Force.
The Convair 580s were mid west Commuter workhorses until the late 80s. Their reign was only a short 20 years.
Growing up in Topeka, KS in the 1950s, our sky was full of DC-3s, 340s and 440s of Continental, TWA and Central Airlines from the municipal airport (and RB-47s and KC-97s from nearby Forbes AFB). I loved the Convairs, especially due to their narrow wing profiles. In those days the Convairs looked modern and swift. Finally got a ride on a Central 540 in 1966 from MKC to Little Rock on the way to my first duty station at NAS Jacksonville, FL. I can confirm the former FA's comment that every seat was like 1st class with our FA sitting and joking with a gaggle of salesmen on the flight. She even came over and sat with me for awhile, which was a real thrill for me.
Wonderful memory you have. These Convairs evoke a lot of great memories with passengers who flew them.
Me and a friend got to go up in the cabin of a Frontier one in 1972. I was always fascinated with them too.
I started working on my aviation ratings here in Flint Michigan in June of 1972...Can't remember how many times I was number 2 following a North Central Convair on a mile final for 27..Thanks for the memories Henry..Jim Sharp...
Wow, like me a decade later getting my Private Pilot license at UND in Grand Forks. I had the Convair in my traffic pattern at Bmidgi a few times and that was neat!
As a young spotter growing up near ORD in the 70s, I have found memories of NC and their 580s. Also enjoyed them as a kid at SBN and GRR.
For me my association with the Republic Convair 580s was tied to my time at the Center for Aerospace Studies at UND in Grand Forks between 1983 and 1987.
Back in the 60s I spect two weeks in Petoskey and had to get back to Flint for football season. I could have taken Greyhound but decided to take a Blue Goose. It was such a fun flight. We stopped at Alpena and Tri Cities. Got a great tour of lower Mich! It took about four hours as opposed to 9 on a bus. What a great video!
Thank you James. It is so heartwarming to see comments like yours.
My good friend Allen has provided me with the following fabulous comments on my video which I think are worth sharing: Loved the presentation on the North Central Airlines/Republic Airlines/Northwest Airlines Convair 580s! Originally, the entire Northwest Airlines fleet was to be sold to Air Resorts in Carlsbad, CA. That never materialized and only three aircraft made their way to California, N968N, N969N, and N7743U. Me and a friend flew to San Diego regularly to "visit" the aircraft at Carlsbad McClellan-Palomar Airport. We spent a lot of time with these aircraft and they all had the blue interior with the blue curtains. Air Resorts would only serve Tucson from San Diego, however did have a few flights into the old PHX Terminal 3 North Concourse. They parked at the American Airlines first gate closest to the terminal parking garage on the east side. Air Resorts also would have charters to PHX from time to time. We were there when N7743U was taken to the Carlsbad McClellan-Palomar Airport "hill" for scrapping. The "hill" is where Air Resorts parked their aircraft and some were scrapped, others parted out. They loaded the fuselage of N7743U and trucked it away. N968N and N969N, once Air Resorts shut down, were converted to freighters at Hamilton Aviation, Tucson International Airport.
Remember, N968N and N969N had Canadian Armed Forces military careers:)
The last flight of the Northwest Airlines Convair 580 fleet was highlighted in "Top Duck", a wonderful video tape (Northwest Convair Retirement Committee, 1988) at the time and now on DVD from the Northwest History Center. I had heard about the tape from a Northwest Airlines flight attendant and still to this day have my original copy in the original box!
I'm surprised that Republic Airlines did not cooperate for the article you wrote in Propliners. I have that issue and still use it for research purposes!
The North Central Airlines Convair 580s flew up to YWG and every time we visited the Winnipeg Zoo (near the airport), I would look up as they landed!
Another note about Air Resorts is that they stylized the red logo on the tail to look like "Herman" the duck. We certainly got to know these three Convairs and during the 1990s is was like a second home:)
One last note, the only time I saw a Northwest Airlines Convair 580 in "full scheme" was a graphic on the seating chart brochure that Northwest distributed for the aircraft - looked good.
This is an outstanding video, Henry. I so appreciate your taking the time to put this together. I loved the meticulous detail of the history of each aircraft and especially knowing the location of the parked Convair 580s. I am 61 years old and remember watching the Convairs at my home airport of EVV. My Dad would take me out on Sunday afternoons and early evenings to watch the planes. Oh what a thrill it was!! Although we were close to NC routes, we were never served by them. However, I recall in vivid detail the arrivals and departures of Lake Central Airline's Convair 580s, after 1968, Allegheny Airlines. I can still smell the kerosene of the prop wash as they would turn out from the chain link fenced gates at our, then Dress Memorial Airport, now Evansville Regional Airport. We also had Delta Airlines Convair 340s, one of which did a belly landing on a flight from Chicago in 1968 due to engine failure. For a small airport, we had great airline viewing and aircraft variety. In the 60s and 70s we were served by Eastern, Delta, and Allegheny. I did get to take my first Convair flight as a travel agent on Aspen Airways between DEN and COS in the mid 80s, returning on a JC (Rocky Mtn Airways) DH7. My second Convair 580 flight was aboard Continental Express between DEN and Jackson Hole, WY., also in the mid 80s.
They were a fantastic aircraft, and yes, I was enthralled with them just like you. Thank you so very much for all you do to promote commercial aviation history. It is so appreciated!!
Hello Duane, thank you for sharing your wonderful heartfelt Convair liner memories, just wonderful! The Convairs mean a lot to me too because of the personal connection. I saw my very first Republic Convair 580 when I did a cross country flight from GFK to Bimidji when I was getting my pilot license in Fall of 83 or 84. I planned the flight as I knew the Convair was scheduled to be on her turn around. I took a 35mm slide but the trip and image are burned in my memory forever. Only someonle like you can appreciate how planes and places can intersect and make a major life memory. Stay well and safe travels always Duane👍👍😃😃✈️✈️
@@JetFlix Thank you, Henry, safe travels to you as well. Wow, GFK to Bimidji...I would have loved that trip. I used to dream of those "exotic" Convair destinations in the North Central timetables. I wonder if you got to experience it during winter operations. I have purchased many of your DVDs in the past, I loved the Aerolineas Argentinas trip to Ushuaia, one of my favorites, also the MALEV Hungarian Airlines TU-134, 154 videos. I did get to travel to Argentina in 2011, flew into AEP Aeroparque, wonderful airport!! I flew LAN Argentina from Iguassu Falls, was hoping for Aerolineas, but the tour booked the air instead of me. I was in Budapest, Hungary, twice 2018 and 2019, and got to tour the Aeropark adjacent to the BUD Ferihegy Airport, now Franz Liszt. WOW, that is a wonderful place to spend some airliner time. Met a former MALEV pilot there who let me put on this captains jacket and took pictures in the cockpit. I'll never forget it!! Thanks again....Duane
Fantastic stuff Duane. I got my private pilot license between September and the following Spring so most of my flights were in super cold clear blue skies. They should have called the Dakotas “Big Sky Country”. My visit to Bimiji was in October I think. A big blue sky day, but before first snowfall.
I worked for the original Frontier airlines based in Denver. We have a bunch of Convair 580's. They are the aircraft that I flew on as a kid that sparked my interest in an aviation career. We referred to the planes as "Mountain Masters" as we flew them to several mountain airports in the Colorado high country. Such a spectacular plane. Those were the good ol' days of aviation. Thanks for the video. It was absolutely excellent!
Thank you so much, amazing your association with the Frontier Convairs. If you have any movies, videos or old 35mm aircraft slides please let me know as I am always looking for such source material for videos I can make and share.
I once rode a Frontier 580 from DFW to OKC. In the 70s Frontier flew to many smaller cities in Oklahoma, like Stillwater, McAlester, Enid and Ponca City, as well as Paris, Texas.
Nice video. I flew on one from MSP to Aberdeen and back in the late 80's. It has NW Airlines livery by then. It was one of the most memorable flights of my life and I have flown 10,000 times or more.
In hundreds of years historians will be amazed we flew on these lumbering gas powered giants relatively short distances. In the big picture, these Convairs existed for just a blink of the eye in the history of transportation. So your flight was truly special.
I grew up in the Detroit area during the 60's and 70's. I flew on a number of Convair 580's out of Detroit for Traverse City to visit my Grandparents. My family were huge aviation buffs and we'd often spend Friday and Saturday evenings up on the outdoor observation deck at Detroit Metro above the Delta and TWA Concourse. At that time...the observation deck gave you a perfect view of aircraft taking off on 21R - 3L, which at that time was the runway primarily used before the airport expansion. North Central/Republic flew a lot of 580's in and out of Detroit at that time.
Thank you for sharing your amazing memories about the good all days at Detroit. The only time I went to Detroit was on my Northwest Convair 580 flights.
I flew on a Convair 580 in January 1986 from Detroit Metro to Houghton, Michigan and back again. The plane was operated by Simmons aviation. What was interesting for me was that each zeus fastener on the engine cowling was marked with a paint pen and I watched several of the fasteners back off ever so slightly. Unfortunately that was my only time on the 580 because following year we flew ATR 42's and Shorts 360's.
Interesting memory. Flying a Convair 580 today as a passenger is near impossible I think.
In 1972 while in High School I would go to O’Hare airports observation deck . There I loved to watch the North Central 580’s come and go and Ozark had there FH 227’s to watch as well. I loved the sounds of the turboprop engines start up . Very different from the DC 9 jet engines . Thanks for your informative videos
Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories from 1972 plane spotting at O’Hare airport. It sounds like a great place to watch the aircraft.
Down in New Mexico we had Frontier Airlines. I flew in their 440's back in the very early 60's. Then, 580's to Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Denver, Lincoln, NE and SEATAC out west. Nice documentary! Well done!
Thank you so much, Rocketman. I appreciate the comment and thank you for sharing your very nice memories of the Frontier Airlines Convairs back in the 1960s. You were living in good times.
My dad was a pilot for Wisconsin Air and the Chief Pilot for North Central. He retired just before the merger to become Republic. As chief Pilot he would be part of the investigation of crashed. Once he was investigating the crash of a 580 that happened December 27, 1968. I remember him playing the voice recording of the crash over and over again in our kitchen, The claim was that the 580 stalled out which caused the crash. My dad, who had his doubts, proved that this plane would never stall and demonstrated that it could practically fly like a helicopter and yet never stall. He loved the Convair 580. His report indicated that the pilot was disoriented which caused the crash. Despite this the FAA called in mechanical failure.
Fascinating stuff and thank you so much for sharing that with us Gregory. You Dad was front row center in the North Central Convair 580 operation. It was a great time to be where he was with his career, although the accidents were unfortunate. There were a few that I think I pointed out in my video.
Why, when I was 5 year old boy, I got too board my first plane, a NC DC3. In addition were the Super Connie, Lockheed Electra, DC6,7 Convair 580, Convair 880, DC8,9, 707, 727 over the 60's and 70's. I flew a lot less when an adult, but there were 737, 757, and various other. The Convair 580 had huge, 4 bladed props. That plane was a definite improvement over the DC3. It was the best pterodactyl driven plane of all pterodactyl driven planes. Of course, the Super Connie was cool. Looking out the window of a piston plane, looking at the puffs of smoke and flames out of the exhausts, hearing the engine come to life were an experience I'll never forget.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories of these great airliners back in the day. Sadly they are no more, and it’s not possible to have a passenger flight on one of these in the year 2024, but at least we have our memories.
I’ve got stories about the 580. I miss hearing the nightly Purolator 580 departing YYC for YLW at 2 am. Grew up around those aircraft at YVR, as well.
They still fly in to YVR to this day. I will go out to watch their arrival this evening actually.
@@JetFlix that’s good. I haven’t seen too many of them when I fly into YVR, in recent times. Mostly YLW.
I was a North Central passenger on 580's into Green Bay Wi in the mid 70's , flying from Milwaukee. I remember wine and cheese baskets served as the inflight snack for a while. I also remember on one flight an air leak whistling around the rear door seal and a crew member stuffing napkins in the gap to stop the whistle. Good times.
Nice memories
another excellent video. I really miss the Republic DC-9's that used to visit CYYZ back in the 70's and 80's. Any videos on that?
Sadly I have no such video from the 1970s, I have been looking for decades👀
Nice one Henry. 580’s were very common at KSYR in the Allegheny widget scheme in the mid-late seventies. They were beautiful!
It seems here in North American many of us to see and experience the Convair twins in one form or another. Awesome!!
My favorite commercial airliner. Flew on Allegheny Airlines Cv 580 circa 1970 one way PHL to ILG. Also roundtrip PIT to YNG circa 1973.
Yes indeed the Convair 580s is an absolutely beautiful machine and I was so happy to be able to fly on it back then. They are now pretty much relegated to cargo work here in Canada so no chance of getting a ride in 2023.
I flew the Convair 580 from MSP to DSM in the fall of 87. Originally due to fly DC 9, but it was over booked. I always want to fly the 440, but the 580 interior was close enough. I was lucky enough to fly in 1967 the Martin 404. Both the Convair and the Martin were quite a like both were my favorite twins.
You are lucky to have the Martinliner flight as that type I completely missed out on.
Such a great channel!
A 15 year effort
I flew Captain on the Republic 580 for two years. What a great time
You are very lucky Thomas to have the Convair 580 in your logbook. You were basically flying a two engine Hercules .. what an overpowered aircraft .. a pilot’s dream come true.
Always loved the 580. Allegheny Airlines was the ones I saw all the time in my younger days. Got my first jump seat ride in a Allegheny 580 from Newark to Providence, then back to Newark. Those were the days. Didn’t pay a dime.
Later in life I saw many other 580’s including cargo.
Magic Richard! I flew jump seat on both the Time Air Convair 640 and 580. A friend of mine who is quite tall almost broke his knee cap in the Convair jump seat. The landinggear up lever was activated by the pilot rather violently right into his knee cap somehow. He spent years in therapy as a result of this injury. So best be under 6 ft tall if you ride a Convair jump seat.
I never got to fly on the Convairs, but as late as 2007 (possibly much longer) you could still make out the "NORTH CENTRAL AIRLINES" titles on that hangar in several of your slides in MSP.
Sadly, the last time I was there, the hangar was gone.
That is amazing that hangar is gone. When I visited MSP in 1983/84 they let me out on tgat ramp to take slides. I even came out one night to do some night photography of the Convairs. So I know those hangars well.
Very interesting and informative Henry. I was born in 1964 so we are roughly in the same age range. I never flew on that plane but I remember the old REPUBLIC AIRLINES in the 1980’s. I have lived my entire life in Milwaukee, WI. and started visiting the airport in the mid 1980’s and remember seeing a few 580’s. We have to remember how wonderful it was to actually visit the airport without being a ticketed passenger but I digress. I look forward to more of your videos and yes I just subscribed.
Thank you very much for the nice comments, Milton I really appreciate it. And thank you so much for subscribing to my channel as well. I hope my future videos will be of interest.
Many flights on NC Convairs between ORD and OSH in the late 60’s
My first flight ever, 1968, Lansing to Chicago (North Central). I was a teen and this was the first family vacation by air. Capital City Airport in the pre-TSA days. Later, in 1979, Detroit - Grand Rapids to visit a young woman I met at university. We got snowed in at Grand Rapids and I remember, after finally taking off, a noisy, dark, and bumpy flight back to Detroit.
What a great memory Eric it wasn’t too many years before my memories of the Republic Convair 580 when I was going to university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is funny how an aircraft can tie in interesting chapters of our life.
My father flew NC a lot between O'Hare and Green Bay, as well as Wausau. So, he flew both DC-9s an 580s.
I have fond memories of seeing Republic Airlines fly into my childhood home airport of Central Wisconsin (actually in Mosinee, not Wausau), albeit mainly DC-9's, and it's so awesome to hear that Northwest kept using the Convairs all the way up until 1988. I would have loved to experience that, but sadly my first Northwest flight wasn't until 1995. But it's nice to think maybe one or more of the Northwest DC-9's I flew on was originally from Republic. Northwest was also responsible for my one and only 727 flight.
Thank you for taking the time to share your memories of Northwest Airlines, etc. and thank you for watching my video.
Interesting series on the Convair, shot with the most realistic colour film ever.
As a die hard avgeek in the 1980s, my main hobby back then was slide photography of airliners. I shot hundreds of rolls of Kodachrome each year and I’m still a Kodachrome slide collector of aircraft slides. I operate the worlds largest auction website for 35mm colour slides of aircraft, it’s called airlinesslides.com
My very first flight ever I was 15 years old and was on a North Central 580 from Oshkosh to Chicago O'Hare in 1972 coming home to PHX.
Fantastic
Enlightening vídeo... thank you for post...Sir...so long...
I am sorry the video is so long. But I had a lor of information on the North Central Republic Ailines Convair 580s to share.
I flew on a Republic Convair (Model Unknown) on November 28, 1980 from Atlanta to Anniston Alabama with a stopover at Gadsden Alabama on my way to Ft. McClellan for Basic Training. I kept a journal of my experience back then and still have the jounal today with the flight number being, "Flight 734 Republic". I also took several photos from my seat of the Right engine nacelle and prop while we sat on the tarmac at KATL and several more while in flight. For many years I had no idea what type of aircraft it was but remembered it distinctly and remember it having REPUBLIC painted on the upper fuselage with the duck in circle emblem on the vertical stab. After looking at the pictures of the engine nacelle and prop and from mempry of what the aircraft looked like I looked for old republic aircraft and was amazed to find it had to be a Convair. My pics show the black bands on the props at the hub with very squared off props and one pic I took shows two other Republic planes (One, I think a DC-9) on the tarmac between the props before they started the engines. The props and nacells are exactly like the ones in your photos complete with oil streaks coming from the hatches on the nacelle. I wish i had taken a picture of the exterier of the aircraft. A side note of this flight that i remember fondly was that I got off the plane in Gadsden thinking I was in Anniston and just as the plane was about to leave for Annistion the only baggage checker in there ask me if I was going to Annistion and I was totally confused and ask, "This aint Annistion?" She said, "No this is Gadsden". And she yelled for someone to, "Hold the plane" just like in the movies and she told me to, "Hurry up and get on the plane the pilots are waiting on you". I ran out and and ran across the tarmac just as they were pushing the stairs back to the front left door and I was as embarressed as you can get. when I entered the door, I think one of the pilots said, "We almost left you" and the female Flight Attendent said something like , "We got him back" or something and they laughed it off. I smiled but was embarressed by the whole thing considering that the only other flight I ever had before that time was, "Flight 399 Eastern Airlines 727 from Greenville- Spartanburg to Atlanta just an hour before this flight.
Wow Paul what an amazing story and great memory!! Thank you for taking the time to share it with us.
My opportunity to fly the 580 came when the DC-9-30 from ORD-SBN scrubbed, NC subbed 2 580’s for the DC-9!
I've always been fascinated by this aircraft. As a child in the early '70s, I remember having my mother drive to the Muskegon county airport (MKG) on several occasions so I could look at one behind the fence (hoping to get a glimpse of a takeoff)...
Do you have any information on Convair 580 N440M, owned by Allied Chemical in early 1970`s. Used to service this plane when they would come to the White Sulphur Springs, WV airport with passengers for The Greenbrier resort.
Sorry I do not, wish I had the info.
At 2:23 is a picture of a DC-2 not a DC-3. The passenger windows on the DC-2 started at or behind the wing's leading edge while on the DC-3 they started in front of the leading edge. The cowl flaps are also different.
I flew out of Tyler, TX several times in the 1980's on American Eagle Convair 580's over to DFW. Man, were those things rattle traps! The 580's were replaced with Saab 340's, which also rattled and vibrated quite a bit, but they would get after it, for a non jet aircraft.
Those were nice to have flown the AA Eagle Convair 580s I remember them too, but never flew one. I think it was a much smaller fleet than the Republic fleet.
always fond of the Convair from North Central a fixture at Detroit Metro
I’m from Miami, Florida and was surprised you have an Air Florida DC-9-15 behind you as a model. I used to fly them several times between Miami and Tampa during 1977’s
I’m glad to hear of your association with the Air Florida DC-9 but I certainly don’t own any such model so I’m not sure which model you’re referring to in my collection. I’d like to have a professional travel agent model of an Air Florida DC-9 if I could ever find one. Nonetheless, thanks for watching my video. I do appreciate it and thank you for commenting.
I had a republic airlines airpass, unlimited travel for one month in 1984. It cost me $360.
That was a lot of money back then I think but when you think of all the converse 580 flights, you could’ve had in hindsight it’s something that one would be proud of. Congratulations on being able to do this Air pass with Republic.
Question for you, do you have any pictures of NWT Air 737-200 Combi?
Many as I worked for the airline between 1991 and 1997 and that’s all I flew (as a pax) for 6 years of my life. Check out my NWT Air 737 videos on my channel.
@@JetFlix will do. I want a set of 1/72 decals for my 732 model. I used to see those planes at YEG and still consider that paint job one of the best on a 737.
My memories with cv580 are with air ontario at cyxu back in 1980s or so...loved hearing the sound of those engines...nor as good as the dash 8 sound
You are lucky to have seen the Air Ontario. Convairs.
@@JetFlix you bet...
Simply beautiful!
Just two questions, if I may:
What means the 3 digit number on the aircraft’s nose, since it didn’t match the tail number?
Where those flights profitable, with just 10 passengers?
Thanks in advance.
You certainly do a fantastic job!
Cheers from 🇧🇷.
Very good questions thank you for asking. The three digit number on the nose is the airline zone in-house FIN number which is how the airline references the specific airplane with their own systems. The number on the back of the airplane is the aircraft registration number which is completely different. Not all flights for all airlines are profitable they do lose money on certain routes, but they make money to compensate on other routes. So I suspect these flights with very small numbers of passengers on their own lost money, but they were necessary as they were part of the airline’s entire network system.
I flew on the 580 out of Atlanta in 1980. The 580s that was in Atlanta replaced the Southern Airways Martin 404 and Metroliner II planes on the Atlanta-Gadsden-Aniston run.
Thank you very much for taking the time to comment my video.
I think the building at 16:10 used to be the Republic Airlines Corporate offices?
Could be
Good old Blue Goose airlines. I flew from Detroit up to Escanaba on a 580 in 1974. The AC vent above my seat was spitting water on me...
I never heard of that term Blue Goose Airlines it’s a good one. It’s amazing how many people here on TH-cam can share their memories of flying on these good old Convair 580s. Thank you for your comment I appreciate it.
@@JetFlix us folks up in the U.P. always refered to North Central as the ",Blue Goose". We had 2 air force bases up.there but regular airline planes were rare to see
dad worked north central in benton harbor aka ross field. first convair at 4 years old to grand rapids and back. dad just took us for a ride 1978~ . he ended up at kalamazoo with the swtch to republic. 1 year in milwaukee with the switch to northwest and back to kzoo till retirement. he was kind of a film/slide buff. i'll look through some things and see what i have
Hi Floyd, thank you so much for sharing these memories. They’re awesome. The Convair 580 is now a very rare airplane for passengers, I don’t think there’s any left on the planet. If you find a bunch of old slides of aircraft, please do let me know. That would be amazing.
What facility converted most of the 340's to 580's for NC / Republic.
Good question, the conversions were done I think in Burbank, CA in the late 1960s. I cannot recall the company name.
north central/republic N8444H had a bad accident in Brainerd mn Sunday 9 January 1983. today its flying for Air Chathams ZK-CIB or it says active on the website as active. videos can be found on here of Air Chathams ZK-CIB
I am glad the aircraft was able to be rebuilt and went on to fly for another 40 years after the unfortunate accident. That is a testament to the durability of the Convair 580.
I was Captain on a Metro III (SA 227) and a couple times we departed ksfo (American Eagle) and coincidentally a Convair was departing ksjc. We were fast but that Convair outran us every time.
It is a baby Hercules. All engines and not much plane.
22:03 You flew MSP-Detroit in 49 minutes in a Convair 580? It's 650 miles.
Didn't a North Central flight out of KAZO crash land SE of KAZO , I believe it was a 580?
I do not know
Worked on them, did heavy maintenance on them and even got some stick time. Tuff old bird. 90% of the ones I worked on were freighter conversion.
1950s technology.. not like the plastic planes of today. I loved flying on them.
I’m one of the few who has worked the gate/ramp on both the 580 & the F-27. As much as I loved the F-27, it couldn’t hold a candle to the 580. You could load the thing up to the brim w/fuel, frt and people and you’d have weight to spare. The f-27? On a hot day in SLC they couldn’t even haul themselves up on a ferry flight. And that was w/water methanol injection!
Amazing comments on the difference between the F27 and Convair 580, which was basically a baby C130 Hercules and massively powered.
I flew on these from 1998 to about 2003 every other week to and from Anchorage and a Pump Station. They retired the aircraft because of the cost of putting a cockpit door. I remember on the last fight the pilot told us the plane entered service in 1953 because it’s the same year I was born.
Was it Era Convair 580 you were flying? I flew on one in 1996 from Anchorage to Kenai it was 15 minutes air time. Flew back in an Era Dash-8. You are lucky to have all those Convair 580 flights.
@@JetFlix Yes it was. I actually flew in 580s with a company named SeaAir in Alaska in the 1980s also as a charter to and from SCC and ANC. They went out of business and we then used ERA then. I changed jobs and 10 years later I back to flying in them. I like flying in axial flow engine turboprops. I worked in P3s in the 1970s as got to flying them quite a bit going around the Med and South America.
The Convair 850 has the same engines and props as the LockHeed Electra. Allison D-35's and Hamilton Standard 606 Props.
In 1986 my 11-year-old son and I flew on a still piston powered convair liner. From Denver to Colorado springs. On startup flaming gas was dripping out of the exhaust running down the wing. My son was terrified he had only ever flown on Jets. He said Daddy is this airplane safe ? it looks really old. I told him it was a good airplane made in our hometown of San Diego.
My goodness .. what was the airline operating this Convair, do you remember their name?
The Cabin in these 580,s were LOUD and if u sat were those big fat propeller blades were ur voices vibrating wen talking
I flew numerous Convair aircraft like these out of Albany, NY in the 50s and 60s….mostly with Mohawk Airlines. Very reliable aircraft, but perhaps a bit noisy by today’s standards.
TO THIS "JETFLIX FLIGHT" BLOGGER, MANY THANKS FOR THIS "CONVAIR 580 PROPJET'S HISTORY," AND TO Y'ALL, "CONVAIR 580 FLIGHT HISTORIANS, 'THIS COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT'S WORTH' A PASTIME!!" 🥃🌯🍫
Thank you Shem for the comment.
Brainerd Snowblower!
Or Bemidji Snowblower!
Yes I think the amputation was Bemidji
The only time I flew in a CV 580 was on the VIP CC-109 Cosmopolitan out of Uplands Airbase (YOW). Though it was a very windy day the winds were across the runway and created visibility problems for landing. We tooled around Ottawa or really bounced around for nearly an hour waiting for the conditions to improve. Many of the air cadets aboard got sick for many of us it was just a riot flight. see here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadair_CC-109_Cosmopolitan