Convair R3Y Tradewind

what is it?

The Convair R3Y Tradewind was an American 1950s turboprop-powered flying boat designed and built by Convair.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 turboprops · shoulder wing · 44.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 554 km/htop speed
• range 4,482 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 80passengers
• size 74.8 tmax take-off weight
• built 13made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 76 years ago, in 1950.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 44.4 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 12 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 4,482 km: 25× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1950-04-18

introduced

1956

retired

1958

status

retired

number built

13

role

transport flying boat

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Convair

engines

4× Allison T40-A-10

crew

7

passengers

80

length

42.6 m

wingspan

44.4 m

height

14.9 m

max take-off weight

74.8 t

top speed

554 km/h

cruise speed

556 km/h

range

4,482 km

ceiling

9,235 m

wings

shoulder wing

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.