The Early 60

The Early 60's - Preamble to the Future

In 1960, Lake Central was looking to the future by evaluating the Convair 580 conversion of the tired CV-340/440 type aircraft. The picture here is of the evaluation team from the Byliner. Jet Power was the future in 1960 and Lake Central needed to be on the cutting edge. Allison's conversion of the Convair was the favored stepping stone to the future.

Some airlines of the era would select other versions of the Convair including Allegheny who would choose the Napier-Eland powered version known as the Convair 540. Trans Texas Airways chose the Rolls Royce powered version known as the Convair 600.

Lake Central made a PR Film in 1960 called The Lake Central Story. If you'd like a copy of the film on DVD, I'll make one for you for 20 bucks postpaid. The money will go toward perpetuating this website.