Last of the Gang

Dirk Grothe shares images of Son San Juan’s sole surviving Convair CV-990 Coronado, former Spantax example EC-BZO (c/n 030), which has been in storage at Palma de Mallorca airport since the late 1980s.

Attention had turned to the aircraft’s exterior, with the fore starboard fuselage having been painted prior to the regional government stopping any further restoration work in June 2019.
Just one Coronado survives from Spantax’s once 12-strong fleet of General Electric CJ805-powered quad-jets. Three other examples of the type survive in preservation around the world.
ALL PHOTOS DIRK GROTHE UNLESS STATED

Spantax was famed for its use of Convair’s gas-guzzling speed machine. During a 20-year association with the CV-990 Coronado, the now-defunct Spanish charter carrier fielded 14 examples of the San Diego, California-built jet, equating to more than a third of the type’s entire production run.

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