Lake Central Airlines Convair 580  N73158      (c/n  147)

                                    

                                           Concurrent with the upgrading of their Convair 340s to Convair 580 status (by replacing the
                                           Pratt & Whitney R-2800s with Allison 501 turbo props) came this "The Airline with a Heart"
                                           motif.   Corny?  Well, maybe, but they had to do something to increase passenger appeal. 
                                           N73158 began life as a Convair 340 registered to the Union Oil Company of California, and
                                           registered N7600.  It then went to Esso as N100A.  Bill Larkins took a photograph of it in
                                           that livery at Oakland in the late 1950s (below).   It was converted to a CVAC 580 in 1960. 
                                           In 1968, when Lake Central was absorbed by Allegheny, it was re-registered N5838.  Ship
                                           # 147 went to Canada in 1977 as Great Lakes Airlines' C-GQHA.   From there it went to
                                           Europe with DHL as OO-DHF.  A more complete history plus photos of it in yet more guises
                                           appears at:
                                                                            http://www.grummangoose.com/CAUS/5.html