On Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:12:41 -0700, Jon Anderson
wrote:

I worked at NASA Ames Research Center a few years, 1974-1976 in high
school and college work experience programs.
I also got to do a bit of work in the flying CV990 they operated then,
working with the journeymen. Ah, those were the days....

My first real job in '58-9 was as a high school student "engineering
assistant" for Convair in SD, mostly at Convair Astro out on Kearney
Mesa. They were building the F106 in the long plant along the highway,
on the east end of Lindbergh Field. The 990s were being assembled in
the big hangar on the south side of the airport road, across from
Ryan, which is now the commuter aircraft terminal. That hangar is now
Coast Guard.

The 880 and especially 990 had efficiency and performance advantages
over the Boeing and Douglas birds, but they were late to the game, and
developed without urgency.

Occasionally we'd have a B-36 come in ... really filled up the small
and short Lindbergh runway.

Cheers, Bob