I flew for TWA from 1976 to 2000. FAA certified on B707, CV880, B747, B747SP, L1011, B767, B727, DC9 and my favorite aircraft to work on still remains the L1011
WOW, THAT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES I WORKED ON the Flt line FOR Lockheed from ship #3 --'250, and flew test flight maybe once a week crew training, BEST AIRCRAFT EVER, & THE BEST JOB I CAN TALK ABOUT WITH 35 YRS OF SERVICE. THANKS GREAT VIDEO.
Great memories of a beautiful aircraft. They were regulars at my local airport (Manchester UK) in the 80s and 90s. Delta, Air Canda, Air Transat, Peach Air, A.T.A, BA, among others.
it dont get any better than the l-1011 i worked on the plane from 70s 80s man i loved that old girl she had one of the best safety record of all planes flying yet to day
@@spiritmatter1553Agreed. I always play "Gypsy" by Fleetwood Mac over this video when watching it. I can't help but just imagine Mick Fleetwood's drumming, John BcVie's bass lines, Christine McVie's keyboard inputs, Lindsay Buckingham's guitar rhythms, and of course, that angelic singing voice of Stevie Nicks whenever I see the L-1011 TriStar in action.
You know, if this vid was 12 hours long I'd still be staring at the screen, unaware that time had passed. So many now defunct carriers. I never knew Aer Lingus operated the Tri-Star!
The L-1011 was indeed an exceptional plane. It was always a breeze to fly; it'd make you look good even if you weren't.......lol. Easy systems management, a very well laid-out cockpit, really good handling characteristics, on and on and on........ I can't think of even one bad thing about it.
You're making me so jealous!!! This was one of the three planes I wanted to fly but didn't get the chance. Did get to fly the B 727. Loved the 3 holers.
Completely agree. I’ve got 9 type ratings in my now 30-year career, but nothing ever built competes with the 1011. Great systems design, outstanding cockpit ergonomics, and exceptional flight control harmony (the best I’ve ever flown, bar none). She was just a beautiful machine.
The only thing missing is the unique groan of those Rolls-Royce engines while starting! Worked at SEA back in the late 70's and you could hear the Eastern L-1011s cranking up 2 concourses away! Added bonus, the smoky start!
@The Valenzuelas It may not be a jumbo jet but my memory of watching them take off at Tulsa Oklahoma they were larger than the other airliners there. No 747s at Tulsa late 1970s
Thanks for the memories! My first flight was on an Eastern L1011 in February, 1975 JFK-MCO. I've flown dozens of times on TWA 1011's, mostly from LGA-STL on my way to LAS in the 80's and early 90's.
It was a great plane, and it was my favorite in my 30-year career. Great machine! PS I love your screen name…I met Sal two years ago and happened to be in my “Hello My Name is Cranjis” T-shirt. He loved it!
By far the most beautiful commercial airliner. I was lucky enough to fly in a Air Transat L1011 in 1998 from Toronto to Athens Greece and back... They represent the golden era of aviation... Unlike the crap we have these day.... The passenger aircraft made in the 70's and 80's and 90's were the tour buses of the skies... Now we just have uncomfortable transit buses... Back then comfort was for everyone, now it's only for the rich in first class and business class while the rest of the people in economy are crammed inside like sardines in a sardine can.
The Tristar was the finest wide-body airplane ever made. I spent 15 years flying the old girl. I also flew the DC-10. I compared the L-1011 to the 10. It was comparing a Cadillac to a 1958 Chevy. The flight-guidance system on the L-1011 is also was second to none. It really was a pilot's airplane.
Loved the TriStar. Gulf Air used to operate them and I travelled on them quite a lot between London and Bahrain. I joined the 'mile high club' on a Gulf Air TriStar...fond memories..:-)
Wow! great compilation. The Tristar was a great bird. There are some carriers shown here that I didn't even know operated with the L1011 like Iberia and Aer Lingus.
My parents lived there in the 50's.My dad was an electrician on the oil fields near a place called Forest Reserve.I visited in '79 from UK.Boeing 707.Just missed the introduction of TriStar 500 unfortunately.Tragic!
Got to fly on the "L" twice in the 1990's on ATA, which I noticed you had in their old colors (which I flew on). ATA jammed you in there like sardines, but I sat near the wing both times & loved that great Rolls Royce engine sound!
I had the odd chance of flying on a military transport with my dad when they still had them. Greatest plane I've ever flown on. It was a shame to see it go. Thanks for the vid!
I was a flight engineer at Rich International Airways. 0:51 with newer paint scheme and 3:15 older paint scheme. I was an FE on the DC-8 before that time. Chris you're right. The L-1011 was definitely way ahead of it's time. Brett I agree; the Tristar is sexy and has way better systems than the DC-10. There was no Sioux City situation possible as far as systems go in the L-1011. Luckily skilled crew members were present in that DC-10 tragedy. They saved lives. I miss the hands on system management. Old school. The L-1011 was and is my favorite aircraft. Sad to see them fade away.
I was never lucky enough to board an L-1011 but it is my most favourite airliner next to the 747.An awesome and elegant airliner,probably decades ahead of its time.Too sad they are all gone
Such a great aircraft, I like the DC-10 also but there is no question the 1011 is a more polished and refined airliner. I flew on an America West 757 to San Diego from Phoenix and sat next to a Lockheed engineer who was building the L-1011 back in the 80's while I was doing interviews. It was during my senior year at Arizona State. Ed went over safety features making the 1011 a better airframe than the DC-10, he made a huge deal out of hydraulic cable separations, a DC-10 problem that was a key contributor to the United 232 and American 191 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa and Chicago. Nothing sounds so sweet as the take-off grinding sound coming out of the high bypass engines on both models. It goes right through you. Inside the DC-10, the sound is much more prominent and pleasurable, why I don't know, it just is.
I did fly with AIR ATLANTA from Berlin to Reykjavik in august 1997, nearly missed the flight because i was so drunk, best flight i remember, ever!!! love L1011.
Have any of you L1011 fans seen pictures of the Court Line Aviation colour scheme they had on their two TriStars back in the early 70's? I still think it made them the most striking examples of the plane ever. Does anyone else have an opinion on this?
We use to fly down to POS from YYZ in a BWIA L1011. It was a great plane. It was a wide body with lots of room. I remember the heads were all in the tail. There must have been 3 or 4 right at the stern. We used to refuel in Barbados. They'd let you off for a walk around. There was no one in the terminal in the middle of the night, so I'd just walk out into the parking lot. I could have kept going but I had to make a connection to get to Tobago. Those were the days.
Allan Stokell You mean "the lavatories/ toillets / w.c.", were ALL in the back.?? Not true, only for the rear turist cabin. There were in front, for first / bussines class, and two more in de middle for the front turist class. Great airplane !!! Miss it...
I was just a kid in the 90s but atleast I was old enough to remember these beauties 😍 what a time to travel. Atleast we still get to see Fed Ex flying the md-11s and occasional old girl dc-10s.
The Best L-1011 Video. I watched it in May 2018. It has a lot of what we Airplane Lovers Love, "The Crowning Of Flight"; LANDINGS Thank You Just Planes.
In the late 80's TWA had one that went from PDX-SEA-JFK-onto onto Frankfurt and back. She smelled like she had a terrible exhaust leak. It gave you a terrible migraine two hours out of Seattle and lasted until you got to Kennedy. Us passengers complained and then never took the flight again until it was replaced by a beautiful 767! Seattelites nicknamed it, Smokey joe.
Happy Pop's Day to me! I saw the announcement for this a few days ago, its purchase I'll do once I return home. I am a major Tristar geek: saw the Dragonair at Kai Tak yeeeeaaars ago (when I fell instantly in love), watched the still flying Orbital depart from Vanderberg when I was with NASA, and had the blessing of two trips on the beautiful Eastern 385versioned TriStar from JFK. I must have the few books on this sweet honey to be published and a couple nice Herpa models, so it is a necessity for me to acquire this video. By the way, there are about 15-17 Tristars still flying. If you hang out at Vegas's MacCarren you might see the Sands's two which they keep quite beautiful. I wonder if that Hasmenite on this brief vid is the one piloted by the deceased Jordanian king (I couldnt catch the reg# here). Thank you for making this tease.
Such a beautiful aircraft...sadly, the only places where you can see these beauties are in musems or being scrapped at mojave airport...the second one is too painful to watch though...
What an awsome airliner! I've lost track of the number of times I boarded one, but have only fond memories. Well ahead of its time, except for one flaw--a human flaw. Lockheed's management decision to put all their eggs with Rolls-Royce only to watch them end up minutes away from bankrupcy before delivering one turbine. An expensive lesson for Lockheed, with great benefits to other manufacturers that learned their lessons well as no one relies on one source for all their turbine options. And rarely, one sees any airline sticking with one manufcturer anymore either. Redundancy became essential outside of an aircraft's design. Even so, the TriStar remained in service significantly longer than anyone ever thought or expected. It took "game chagers" like the Boeing 777-200 ETOPS to displace the few that were built. The DC-10 may have initially stolen the TriStar's thunder, but history has and will not forget how short they ultimately fell--including the newer MD11. And the costs incurred by the DC-10 and MD-11's in human lives, proved to be far greater than Lockheed ever could have imagined when determinig that continuing the L-1011 production and advancements would not be financially feasible. What a graceful and beutiful aircraft! The "Ship of Dreams"...
I guess it was 9/11 that instantly shortened life of small and middle size air carriers which used to run Tristars throughout the 90's. The majors that survived, wanted fleets' unification. That left L1011 no chance.
Having flown both DC10 and TriStar I tell you that I never liked the L1011 cockpit, specially with the fixed ladder and the engine throttles that were mere cylinders whereas the -10 one was a friendly place, full of light due to its huge windows and the throttles designed to fit your knuckles. Both were great planes and I loved every second in them.
notice that the nose of the airplane points: upward at about the same angle weather landing or taking off that's mainly a function of their speed whether you're going up or down depends on the throttle more than pulling bad on the stick. the video is very well done I just wonder what I see so few of them flying? since they were built right here in California ??+
The nose pitch during approach and landing configuration was due to the DLC (Direct Lift Control) system. within the flight control system of the aircraft. Research it. You'll love it. That is one of many it's features that made it way ahead of it's time.
