Convair 240

In 1959 I was stationed at Patuxant River MD. VR-1 was the squadron. We had about 10 of the Convair 240's, they were called R-4Y's. We flew cargo and passengers up and down the East Coast and to some of the southern islands. I was certified and an "Orderly" crew member and logged many hours in the air. I hated to leave the squadron in late 1961. It was a good airplane.

reply

Flew these as a Mission Pilot at Mather AFB from April 1956 - Dec 1957 putting in over 1000 hours. On a check ride we took off fom McClellan AFB with left engine feathered. Great plane to fly!

reply

crew chief for 4 yrs on mcas el toro c131 141019 from 74 to 78. best job in the corps. magnificent plane. any pix of it anywhere?

reply

I flew the JC-131B version at Patrick AFB in the 1960's in support of the missile /space programs at the Cape. There is nothing in life sweeter than the sounds and smells of those beautiful big round engines.

reply

I had the privilege of being an Instructor Navigator at both James Connally and Mather Air Force Bases from 1964 to 1970 and trained over 700 nav students aboard the T-29. It was rugged, dependable (even with one engine out and the other smoking)and pretty - even now. Great memories - I especially enjoyed pinning the wings on many of my students at their graduation.

reply

I flew flight Engineer on C131's in the last 60's from Pax River Md. VR-1 up and down East Coast and in / out of the Caribbean. I loved the plane. Only one bad experience with loosing a compressor. I was fortunate that some pilots gave me the chance to actually fly it!

reply

I was A & P mech on them at American Airlines 1957 till they where gone.

reply

The first military aircraft I was every airborne in. I was in a USMC Reserve in Missoula, Montana and we flew to NAS North Island, California for our two week summer camp. At this time I was a PFC assigned the status as BARman. 21 years later the last aircraft I flew as a Marine Aviator was NAS Memphis' C-131. So the C-131 was my first and last aircraft exprience of my military career. Great bird!

reply

I was stationed at Ellington AFB from Jan 1954 till July 1957. I flew the Convair over 2800 Hours for navigation training. They were flying classrooms for training navigators. In all that time I had only one single engine landing. It was a very smooth , forgiving plane to fly. Very dependable. I went from EllingtonAFB to ElmendorfAFB in Anchorage Alaska and Flew the DEW line sites in

reply

In the mid to late seventies, the Coast Guard acquired and reactivated retired Air Force C131s for use as a mid-range search and rescue, medivac, and recon platform while they waited for delivery of their new Falcon jets. I flew them for 4 years out of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Miami and logged over 2500 hours; first as a brand new new co-pilot right out of the Naval Aviation Training Command, and later as an Aircraft Commander. It was an old and sometimes cranky aircraft by then, but we flew them hard and in every kind of wx condition including developing hurricanes; always got the job done and always got us home; albeiet once in a while on only one engine. I loved the aircraft and the sound and feeling of those 2800s at full takeoff power was awesome. Great memories!

reply

I was with the 15th AMTS at Brookley AFB Mobile AL.We had 5 C-131A's. I was there from 1957 to 1960.

reply

I was stationed at Harlingen AFB from '57 to '61 as a crew chief on a T29 (No. 798 if memory serves me right). During that time there were three crashes, one pancake into a cotton field, one nose wheel failure, and one cartwheel which pretty much disassembled the bird. If anyone has any information about these incidents or knows where I might find it, Would you please email it to me.

Thanks Jim Birke 3610 flight line maintenance squadron.

reply

My father was with the crew that delivered the first Convair to Australia in 1948...Does anyone have any details of that trip?

reply

It was an aircraft of this type that was transporting southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisianna when it crashed near Gillsburg, Mississippi on October 20, 1977. A right engine magneto fault was identified as a contributing factor in the crash.

reply

transtexas got their convair 240s from american-they didnt have 440s-braniff had 340s-delta and eastern had 440s

reply

I've ever admired the Convair 240 since observing it's operation daily for Aerolineas Argentinas in the late fifties.
I remember the steep climb angle and the sound of the counterthrust of the props on landings which permitted the use of short runways. May I have also seen four blade props installed? What I'm sure is that all were original piston engines. Best regards. G

reply

I think it was a 240 and not one of the later models. Sure looked a lot like this one.

Took my first ever, airplane flight in this critter. As I recall, it was operated by Trans Texas Airways and the trip was from Houston, TX's Hobby Airport to New Orleans. Time line was 1959-1960.

I thought it was so cool. Really enjoyed the flight. Back then you walked across the tarmac and climbed up the boarding ladder. Had a beautiful stewardess greet you on the flight deck. Geez where has all that gone?

Made it to NOLA in what I thought was record time.

Mark

reply

The C-131A was the first airplane I ever worked on, back at Eglin AFB in 1974, as an Autopilot technician. We had both 131s and T-29s. They were beautiful airplanes, and I am sorry to see them all retired. I did get to re-tour one at Sun-n-Fun back in 05.

reply

I started out as a crew chief and then become a flight mechanic on T29A, B, and C, D and on C-131A in the late 60's and into the early 70's at Scott Air Force Base IL. We flew these aircraft approximately 120 hours per month in special air missions and aero evacuation support. The aircraft were actually pretty good and flew great, we did have some problems, but today I believe most of them were all self generated. The cost of the operation sky rocketed due to maintenance and parts cost. If the Air Force would have given the regular Air Force mechanics proper training the cost would have been cut. Also at the same time there was a hidden agenda of the Air Force Reserves trying to take over the full maintenance operations. Most of our missions were hauling VIP or inspection teams, around the country or flying local mission training or keep code 4 pilots current and navigators.
These old aircraft should have been around for several more years then they were.

reply

My first flight was in a piper cub sitting in my dad's lap in 1940 from a grass field in Newport Rhode Island...
In 1954, at Bilouxi Miss while attending electronics tech school I would spend hours at the end of the runway fascinated by the T-29 s as they flared for landings. I can't describe it but that feeling of connection with the aircraft at that moment stayed with me through 10,000 hours of PIC . The t-29's were my inspiration, I can still feel that moment between flare and the first squeak of the tires...
Never did fly a T-29 though, and did not renew my physical after my 73d Birthday...

reply