Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as the L-1011 (pronounced "L-ten-eleven") or TriStar, is a medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner by Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter commercial operations, after the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10. The airliner has a seating capacity up to 400 passengers and a range over 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometers). Its trijet configuration has three Rolls-Royce RB211 engines with one engine under each wing, and a third engine, center-mounted with an S-duct air inlet embedded in the tail and the upper fuselage. The aircraft has an autoland capability, an automated descent control system, and available lower deck galley and lounge facilities.

The L-1011 TriStar was produced in two fuselage lengths. The original L-1011-1 first flew in November 1970, and entered service with Eastern Air Lines in 1972. The shortened, longer range L-1011-500 first flew in 1978, and entered service with British Airways a year later. The original-length TriStar was also produced as the high gross weight L-1011-100, up-rated engine L-1011-200, and further upgraded L-1011-250. Post-production conversions for the L-1011-1 with increased takeoff weights included the L-1011-50 and L-1011-150.

Between 1968 and 1984, Lockheed manufactured a total of 250 TriStars, assembled at the Lockheed plant located at the Palmdale Regional Airport in southern California north of Los Angeles. The aircraft's sales were hampered by two years of delays due to developmental and financial problems at Rolls-Royce plc, the sole manufacturer of the TriStar's engines. After production ended, Lockheed withdrew from the commercial aircraft business due to its below-target sales.

Related Development

 * Lockheed TriStar (RAF)

Comparable Aircraft

 * Airbus A300
 * Airbus A310
 * Boeing 767
 * Ilyushin Il-86
 * McDonnell-Douglas DC-10