Built For Speed: Looking Back At The Convair 880

The Convair 880 was a narrowbody jetliner produced to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 in the mid-1950s. The aircraft performed its first flight in January 1959 and entered commercial service with Delta Air Lines in May 1960. Convair 880’s short and narrow fuselage helped it become the fastest commercial quadjet in the aviation industry until the Boeing 747s arrival.