How grand is this old dame! Convair 580 ZK-CIF is still plying her trade as a regional airliner 63 years after she first entered service. Built in 1956 as a Convair 440 with piston engines for Belgian airline Sabena, she was upgraded to 580 standard in 1968 with two Allison turbo-props. After her time at Sabena she did duty with several different US airlines included ERA Alaska of Flying Wild Alaska fame. ZK-CIF was first registered with Chatham Airlines in NZ in 2005 and is currently on her third stint on the Chatham books. Chatham currently runs four of these magnificent machines and is happy to claim them as the fastest twin turbo-prop regional airliner in NZ.
