I’m now in my 34th year as an airline pilot and the L-1011 was far and away the greatest plane I ever got to fly. It was so insanely ahead of its time and had amazing and thoughtful features. DLC was probably the most unique, but the flying stab and trim roller under your thumb were just perfect too. This video shows some of the small details that made it great, like the doors. It had the best designed, most intuitive doors of any plane I’ve ever seen (the 767 has the most confusing I’ve personally dealt with, though I have friends who flew the MD-11 that say that was even worse). It was always clear if the door was armed or not, and it was easy to open normally or in an emergency. If the door is unarmed and you pull the T-Handle the door would open VERY fast, so step away! There were a few things not stated in the video that some subsequent planes adopted (though not all did)). For instance, if the door was armed and someone opened the door from the outside the slide would automatically disarm, which was a great safety feature. Lockheed did it right and I was thrilled to revisit the old girl in this video!
TWA, Delta and Eastern got great service from their respective fleets of L-1011 TriStars. Air Canada also flew TriStars on its North Atlantic route network.
The doors on the 1011 were the most logical, best designed doors of any aircraft I’ve ever flown in my 34 years or airline flying, period! What a great machine!
A cockpit escape hatch and 5 interia reels. Remarkable! The L-1011 was so far ahead of its time. A stunningly beautiful and extremely sophisticated aircraft for the time that she was built. I'm grateful for every chance I had to fly on one.
Not only that, the TriStar's powerful Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofans were among the quietest and most fuel-efficient jet engines ever built at the time. The TriStar-1 and -100 used the RB211-22, while the -200, -250 and -500 used the RB211-524.
Let me tell you, though, that hatch was a last resort. Nobody loves the 1011 more than me, but if you’re going to go out that hatch you really want to be first because every reel has razor sharp metal tape in it and you may have up to four other tapes out there blowing around in the wind if you’re last out. It’s not as hazard free as the video implies. The B-747-400 is my other experience with the reels, and the same applies there, only you’re even further from the ground. Still, the L-1011 is the greatest plane I’ve ever flown, and I couldn’t love it more! I’d still be flying it if we still had them.
Absolutely fascinating! The only aircraft I know of where one arms the door prior to closing. This allows the girt bar retainers to open so as to receive the gift bar.
