Convair 880 Heading to the Tillamook Air Museum
Historic Convair 880 from the Mojave Airport to be acquired by the Tillamook Air Museum after 38 years in the desert; To be the only one of its kind on display on the west coast.
The Tillamook Air Museum, in cooperation with Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation of Las Vegas, NV, is proud to announce the newest addition to its growing collection of historic aircraft and aviation exhibits; the forward fuselage of a 1960 Trans-World Airlines (TWA) Convair 880 jetliner, one of the finest, most comfortable (and fastest at 615 MPH) commercial jet aircraft ever produced. After sitting in the Mojave Desert for the past 38 years, we are proud that this relic from a bygone era will now be calling the Tillamook Air Museum her home, and will be the ONLY Convair 880 on display anywhere on the west coast!
Built in San Diego in 1960, and delivered to Northeast Airlines, this particular Convair 880 (Serial #23) set two speed records during its lifetime, one in 1960 from San Diego, California to Boston, Massachusetts in 4 hours, 17 minutes, and another in 1962 from La Guardia Airport (New York City) to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1 hour, 43 minutes (a record that still stands to this day!) The aircraft was then sold to TWA (Trans-World Airlines) in August 1963 and flown until June of 1974 when the airplane was officially retired from service and moved to the Mojave, California airport in September 1980 where the aircraft was sold and then resold until Warner Brother's pictures purchased the aircraft in 1990. Warner Brothers would go on to utilize the airplane in one of its films, "The Rookie," starring Clint Eastwood & Charlie Sheen.
In 1998, the aircraft was purchased by Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation who saved the aircraft from almost certain demolition. Because of his love and passion for aviation, Doug Scroggins' goal was a full-scale restoration of the Convair 880. After many years working on the airplane, and because of the financial burden of such a restoration, Doug Scroggins was forced to dismantle the rear section of the aircraft, but actively worked to preserve a 43-foot section of the forward fuselage for use as a museum exhibit, so that the Convair 880 could still be seen and its fascinating history could be told for generations to come!
We are proud to partner with Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation to bring this historic aircraft to the Tillamook Air Museum in the coming weeks ahead and restoring her to her former glory. Planned is a walk-thru interactive exhibit of the aircraft that will take the visitor back in time to the beginning of commercial aviation's jet-age, where comfort and luxury were at their pinnacle.
Follow the Tillamook Air Museum on facebook as the Museum's Curator, Christian Gurling and its Volunteer Coordinator Jeremy Rice follow alongside the Convair 880 fuselage and document her journey as she is trucked from the Mojave California Desert to the Tillamook Air Museum after 38 years in the desert. The airplane will be loaded onto a truck early morning, Tuesday, August 28th and begin her trip northward to Tilamook, Oregon. She is expected to arrive on Thursday, August 30 in the early morning hours. This piece is sure to turn some heads, so keep an eye out!
