This is the latest installment in a series of classic (or at least old) trip reports.
As usual the data is from my trip logs and is what I recorded at the time and dim recollections
The pictures are scanned from slides and quality varies, not too many pictures this time, but the subject
is unique this I think.

Background:
This trip was for one reason only: Fly on a Convair 880.
This is another trip to TPA, which over the years I lived in Miami Tampa was always a convenient quick trip to try out new airlines, and aircraft (even had my first DC-10 flight MIA-TPA).
The routing for this day day:
MIA-PBI-TPA: DELTA Convair 880
TPA-MIA: EASTERN DC-9-32

August 28, 1969
Miami (MIA) TO West Palm Beach (PBI)
Airline: DELTA
Flight: 906
Aircraft type: Convair 880-22-1
Aircraft Registration: N8809 E S/N 22-00-38 (Delivered to DL 4/18/75)
Yes, this is the same plane that Elvis brought, and is still on display in Memphis across from Graceland!
If I ever have a reason to go to Memphis (which I doubt at this point), I will for sure visit this aircraft.
Seating Configuration: 24/72 Load: 2/21 SEAT: Y
Scheduled Departure: 15:07 Actual Departure:15:09
Departure Gate: 3
Takeoff Time: 15:17pm Takeoff Runway: 9L (10,500’)
Cruise Altitude: 7,000 ft.??
Landing Time: 15:31 Landing Runway: 9 (7,000’)
Flight Time: 14 min
Scheduled Arrival:15:33 Actual Arrival: 15:33
Arrival Gate: 2





Background and notes:
Departure was just about on time and after a taxi over to 9L (9R was rarely used even though we were on the south side), and takeoff was naturally very fast.
I didn’t have any notes about the short flight to PBI, but my notes do indicate it took just 14 min. Since it is just 62 miles direct (and naturally more than that flown), that would be over 250 mph for the flight, while not impossible, I would doubt that the 880 was barreling along at 250+ mph in heavy VFR traffic in south Florida. Other flights have always been 17-18 min (on Electra and DC-8s).
The landing at PBI seemed to be long and braking was hard as we rolled out to the end of 9L (only 7,991’ long at the time).

Photos from MIA-PBI leg of the trip:
Some photos taken at MIA before departure:
Since there was no security at the time, it was simple to wander the airport and take pictures. Only wish that we had digital then, I would have had a lot more!

From Concourse D : PA 707, Dominican DC-9, VIASA DC-9 and nose of EA 727-100 N8104N.


Northeast DC-9-31 N975NE : Of interest only as this was the same aircraft from my previous trip report LGA-BOS back in March of the same year.


AF Caravelle and VA DC-8 at International gates (Concourse E).


My ride N8809E.

Takeoff 9L



Passing abeam FLL (Note how small the terminal was in 1969)


PBI in the distance, turning final


Arriving at the terminal. DL 807 at the gate (DC-8-51) en-route ORD-TPA-PBI-MIA


West Palm Beach (PBI) to Tampa (TPA)
Airline: Delta
Flight: 906
Aircraft type: Convair 880-22-1
Aircraft Registration: N8809E
Seating Configuration: 24/72 Load: 7/28
Scheduled Departure: 16:03 Actual Departure: 16:03
Departure Gate: 2
Takeoff Time: 16:07 Takeoff Runway:9L
Cruise Altitude: 17,000
Landing Time: 16:38 Landing Runway: 9
Flight Time: 31 min
Arrival Gate: 7
Scheduled Arrival:16:40 Actual Arrival: 16:40
Routing:PHK (Pahokee) VOR-TPA

Background and notes:
Photos from this leg of the trip (PBI-TPA):

After takeoff from PBI, appears we made a right turn out to head west for some reason (noise abatement in PBI area)?


Cruising at 170


Over Tampa Bay on base leg, turning final for 9.



AT TPA
NA 439 from JFK touching down on 9 from the observation deck (new terminal construction in the background.


Atmospheric shot of NA 439 arriving, you don’t see that much anymore.
N108RD was one of 2 DC-8-54Fs that NA leased from Airlift to run the MIA-LHR flights.
Look closely and you can see the cargo door.


Eastern 883 arriving from MEM-BHM-ATL-TLH (N8945E).
Ground level shot of new terminal construction.
- 727 taking off in distance from 36L.
- Love that great NA baggage cart, looks well used.



N8809 ready to go to ORD in the distance
This really shows how small the terminal was, I think I was in front of the EA area.


TAMPA TO MIA
Airline: EASTERN
Flight: 883
Aircraft type: DC-9-31
Aircraft Registration: N8945E(S/N 47181) Delivered Feb 1968, stored 1/1991, to NW then DL in 1994,
finally retired 10/08..almost 40 years of service!
Seating Configuration: 20/70 Load: 15/70
Scheduled Departure: 17:37 Actual Departure: 17:49
Departure Gate: 15
Takeoff Time: 17:53 Takeoff Runway: 36R (8,300 FT as it still is)
Cruise Altitude: 17,000
Landing Time: 18:32 Landing Runway: 9R
Flight Time: 39min
Arrival Gate: 82
Scheduled Arrival:18:25 Actual Arrival: 18:37
Capt.: Galloway
Routing:TPA-FMY-VECTORS

Background and notes:
I don’t have any pictures on this flight (must have been aisle or middle seat).
However, some of you may have noticed that I arrived at TPA at 440p and was due
out at 537, less than an hour. Why would I do that? Any slight delay and I would have missed that
flight and the next EA flight was something like 1030p. No telling, but must have just wanted to get right back.
The flight back also was packed and was lucky to get on.
My notes indicate we navigated around some nasty thunderstorms on the way, and there was a storm
just west of MIA on final, so we came well south and turned in tight for landing on 9R, which was unusual for EA to use.

Here is a picture of the aircraft at the gate in MIA, and some of the storms later that night from our home in Miami.



Questions, comments and corrections are always appreciated.

Here are the links to the previous reports:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=980033
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=979909&p=13167389
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=979691&p=13166347
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=979425&p=13160215
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=979427&p=13160199
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=979607&p=13163013

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=951489&p=12724643
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1353963

Amazing! Love these old reports and the superb quality of your photos too!

Awesome! Really is something seeing these trips in Florida back then. Really enjoyed it. Hopefully you have some more to share.

Fantastic! Yours are some of the best trip reports I have seen!

Brilliant! Thanks so much. Notice how dirty the planes were back then? The wings have that fantastic touch of grime from those fantastic smoky engines.

This is absolutely priceless. Thank you so much for all the work you put into this report. The pictures are great!

Thanks for taking the time to post this and your other "back in time" trip reports too!

Well the words priceless, brilliant, awesome, fantastic and amazing have already been used so I will add nostalgic. Thank you so much. These are so great.

Excellent report, as always. Keep them coming!

Piqued my interest for two reasons. Convair 880 was a plane I never had the opportunity to fly as neither Air Canada nor Canadian Pacific had CV880's. Secondly, you took that flight on my parents ' wedding day! You were south in MIA and my parents were married in Tallahassee. But they went for their honeymoon in Tampa Bay Area. I was born seven years later in Canada. My older brother was born in TLH.

Wow! This is like going back in time.

Thanks for posting!

Thanks as the others have said for the fantastic reports, and keep them coming. I love the lightning strike picture at the end, as it really puts your details about deviating on approach to MIA into context. Like the others said, I love how grimy some of the airplanes were from the older, smokier engines prior to the JT8D smokeless modification. But while the Northeast DC-9 is a mess (typical from images I have seen), the EA DC-9 you flew on was clean as a whistle. Keep the ramp shots of Miami coming - especially any with props on corrosion corner!

Fantastic! Please keep them coming!

Rgds.

I really enjoy these reports! Thanks so much for taking the time to share them!

It always surprises me how much more colourful everything was back in the 1960s and 1970s. The National colours are so lovely and the double blue of Eastern looks so classy!

Totally amazing to see the Convair 880 from outside and the view of the wing from inside while flying. It looks different to anything I've ever seen. I'm really impressed! Thanks again for this, loved it!

Incredible TR! An intriguing insight to a time way before mine. Hard to believe that airlines actually flew flights between MIA and PBI/FLL and it was interesting to see just how much these airports have changed through today.

First, thanks everyone for the kind comments, will keep the reports coming as I have time (so many pictures, so little time).

TW870 wrote:

Thanks as the others have said for the fantastic reports, and keep them coming. I love the lightning strike picture at the end, as it really puts your details about deviating on approach to MIA into context. Like the others said, I love how grimy some of the airplanes were from the older, smokier engines prior to the JT8D smokeless modification. But while the Northeast DC-9 is a mess (typical from images I have seen), the EA DC-9 you flew on was clean as a whistle. Keep the ramp shots of Miami coming - especially any with props on corrosion corner!

Yes, a lot of the planes then did get very grimy from the soot from the engines, the GE engines on the 880 were particularly smokey. However, funny you should mention that the EA plane was pretty clear. Probably due to the fact that is was only a year old or so, but also EA had a program to clean (polish) the planes that was meant to keep them clean. I know this since 3 years to the day after this flight I started at EA (as a Part time res-agent), but then transferred to Aircraft Services...polishing planes on the night shift at MIA. During that time, I was out cleaning the tail of a 727 when a Convair 880 overran 9L on takeoff. The plane was an ex-DL N8815E that was improperly loaded and could not rotate, thankfully no-one was hurt. However the engines ran for several hours even after sun-up that was strange.

Here is a preview of my next report in progress now.