07/31/2011. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "The first proposals for an elongated and faster version of the Convair 600 (which became the Convair 880) were put forward in the early months of 1958. The desired increase in performance was to be obtained by aerodynamic improvements and the employment of a turbofan power plant; while the increase in passenger capacity would be achieved by a 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) overall lengthening of the fuselage.

Convair remained faithful to General Electric in its choice of engine, selecting the 16,050 lb (7,280 kg) st General Electric CJ805-23B turbofan to power the new model; and, apart from the stretching, of the fuselage, most of the aerodynamic changes involved the engine and mainplane layout. A thinner airfoil section was achieved by retaining the same actual thickness while increasing the wing's chord and thereby its gross area.

Area-ruled anti-shock fairings were added to the trailing edge primarily to enhance the aeroplane's high-speed cruising capabilities, though they provided additional fuel storage as well; and full-span leading edge flaps were fitted. Originally known as the Convair 600 Model 30, development was somewhat protracted, and the designation was amended to Convair 990 to avoid the implication that it was an earlier design than the 880.

There was no separate 990 prototype, the first flight being made, on January 24, 1961, by the first of twenty aircraft ordered by American Airlines. The first delivery to the airline, some three weeks after the 990 was certificated by the FAA, was made on January 7, 1962. Swissair, which named the aircraft Coronado, received its first delivery at about the same time and was actually the first airline to begin operating the type, towards the end of February; American began its 990 services, between New York and Chicago, on March 18.

Flight testing of the 990 during 1961 had revealed a number of aerodynamic shortcomings, one solution to which was to shorten the outboard engine pylons to reduce drag; other refinements deemed necessary after subsequent testing and operating experience included further streamlining of the pylons and the installation of full-span Krueger flaps on the underside of the wing leading edge.

With these modifications, duly carried out on all thirty-seven 990s built, the aircraft became known as the Convair 990-30A. Fresh FAA certificates for the 990-30A were granted in October 1962 for those serving abroad and in January 1963 for the domestically operated aircraft. The common name Coronado was only given to the seven 990s used by Swissair, which had a 475 gal (1,798 l) larger fuel capacity.

The pictured aircraft was delivered to American Airlines in June 1962 as N5618, in June 1969 it was transferred to Middle East Airlines of Libanon, registered as OD-AFG, while in November 1971 it returned to American, reregistered as N6843. On January 27, 1972 it was sold to Spantax of Spain where it was registered as EC-BZO, fifteen years later, March 1987, it was withdrawn from use and stored at Aeroport de Palma de Mallorca, Palma, Mallorca.

It still is at Base Aerea Son San Juan, the military base at the north-eastern part of the airport. (The location is 39°33'29.65" N, 2°44'52.11" E, use in Google Maps or Google Earth: 39.558333, 2.748333). By April 2004 the aircraft was bought by the Fundación Aeronaútica de Mallorca (Aeronautical Foundation of Mallorca), a dedicated group of enthusiasts which intents to restore the aircraft for display near the airport terminal."