Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (pronounced "L-ten-eleven") is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the 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 of up to 400 passengers and a range of over 4,000 nautical miles (7,410 km; 4,600 mi). Its trijet configuration has three Rolls-Royce RB211 engines with one engine under each wing, and a third engine center-mounted in the rear fuselage with an S-duct air inlet on the top of the 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.
Specifications
Figures for the L-1011-1 variant, the most representative of the family · it is 52% the length of a football pitch
The type first flew in 1970 (56 years ago) · About 250 units built · Production ended in 1984
Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.
The story of the type
Development
Origins
In the 1960s, American Airlines approached Lockheed and competitor Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas) with the need for an airliner that could carry 250 passengers on transcontinental routes. Lockheed had not produced civilian airliners since 1961 with the L-188 Electra. In the 1950s the Electra was designed for turboprop propulsion, which Lockheed successfully used on the C-130 Hercules military transport. Even after the Electra overcame vibration problems that caused several crashes early in its career, the market for large airliners would soon shift over to jet airliners such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. Lockheed won contracts for jet military transports with the C-141 StarLifter, and pioneered very large jet transports with the large C-5 Galaxy with its high-bypass turbofan engines. Boeing lost the military contract, but its private-venture 747 would later capture a much larger civilian airliner market for wide-body airliners.
Having experienced difficulties with some of its military programs, Lockheed was eager to re-enter the civilian market with a smaller wide-body jet, and its response was the L-1011 TriStar. Douglas Aircraft answered American Airlines with the DC-10, which had a similar three-engine configuration and dimensions. Despite their similarities, the L-1011 and DC-10's engineering approach differed greatly. McDonnell, who had recently taken over Douglas Aircraft, directed DC-10 development on a "very firm budget, and cost overruns were unacceptable – even at the expense of safety", and the conservative approach meant reusing Douglas DC-8 technology. By contrast, Lockheed would "take the most advanced technology of the day and when that technology was lacking, Lockheed created it" for the L-1011 to give it lower noise emissions, improved reliability, and higher efficiency over first-generation jet airliners. The TriStar name was selected in a Lockheed employee naming contest for the airliner. The advanced technology that went into the TriStar resulted in a high purchase price.
The TriStar's design featured a twin-aisle interior with a maximum of 400 passengers and a three-engine layout. The TriStar was originally conceived as a "jumbo twin", but a three-engine design was ultimately chosen to give the aircraft enough thrust to take off from existing runways. Also, before the establishment of Extended Operations standards by the FAA in the 1980s, commercial jets with only two engines were not allowed to fly more than 60 minutes away from an airport, making trans-oceanic flights impossible. The main visible difference between the TriStar and its similar trijet competitor, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, is the center engine position: the DC-10's engine is mounted above the fuselage for simplicity of design and more economical construction, while the TriStar's engine is installed in the rear fuselage with air entering through an S-duct for reduced drag and improved stability. Lockheed was able to keep the pressure loss in the S-duct similar to that in a straight duct by limiting the duct curvature. Incorporating the S-duct made the airframe lighter than with a straight duct installation. The research undertaken during the design of the L-1011 indicated that losses of using an S-duct were more than compensated for by the above savings. A further major difference between the L-1011 and the DC-10 was Lockheed's selection of the Rolls-Royce RB.211 as the only engine option for the L-1011. As originally designed, the RB.211 turbofan was an advanced three-spool design with a carbon fiber fan, which would have better efficiency and power-to-weight ratio than any competing engine like the General Electric CF6 that powered the DC-10. In theory, the triple spool would produce the same or more power as existing double spool engines while having a smaller cross section that would reduce drag.
American Airlines opted for the Douglas DC-10, although it showed considerable interest in the L-1011. American intended to convince Douglas to lower its price for the DC-10, which it did. Without the support of American, the TriStar was launched on orders from Trans World Airlines (TWA) and Eastern Air Lines.
Although the TriStar's design schedule closely followed that of its competitor, McDonnell Douglas beat Lockheed to market by a year due to delays in powerplant development. In February 1971, after massive development costs associated with the RB.211, Rolls-Royce went into receivership. This halted L-1011 final assembly and Lockheed investigated the possibility of a US engine supplier. However the engineering was finalized at that stage in the TriStar's development and its S-duct, which was designed to fit the smaller cross-section of the triple spool RB-211 engine that would have reduced drag, was too small in diameter to accommodate an existing double spool engine. One option presented was potential outsource of RB-211 production to Canadian manufacturer Orenda Engines.
The British government agreed to approve a large state subsidy to restart Rolls-Royce operations on condition that the U.S. government guarantee the bank loans Lockheed needed to complete the L-1011 project.
Variants
The earlier versions of the L-1011, such as the -1, -100, and -150 can be distinguished from the later models by the design of the middle engine nacelles. The earlier version nacelle has a round intake, whereas the later models have a small vertical fin between the bottom of the middle engine intake and the top of the fuselage.
The two L-1011 aircraft delivered to Pacific Southwest Airlines were configured with internal airstair doors that led into an entry hall in what was normally the forward lower baggage hold. This was to allow operations from airfields that did not have terminal buildings with jet bridges. These two aircraft were later in service with Aeroperú and Worldways Canada.
The L-1011-1 (FAA certification L-1011-385-1) was the first production model of the L-1011, designed for short- and medium-range flights. This variant served as the basis for subsequent variants. This type was purchased by Air Canada, ANA, Cathay Pacific, Eastern, and other operators with regional trunk routes requiring a widebody aircraft. Pacific Southwest Airlines purchased two L-1011-1 models with lower deck seating. This variant was also one of the few widebodies to have the option for a full-height built-in airstair.
The L-1011-1 was first delivered to Eastern Air Lines on April 5, 1972. A total of 160 L-1011-1 TriStars were built before production ended in 1983, although the majority of these, 119 or 75% of the total, were completed during a four-year period from 1972 to 1975. Most sales of the L-1011-1 were to US operators, with just three airlines, Delta, Eastern, and TWA, taking delivery of 110 combined. A further two aircraft were placed with a fourth US airline, Pacific Southwest Airlines.
The L-1011-100 (FAA certification L-1011-385-1-14) was the second production model of the L-1011 and first flew in 1975 and featured a new center fuel tank and higher gross weights that increased the aircraft's range by nearly 930 miles (1,500 km). Launch orders for the L-1011-100 were placed by Saudia and Cathay Pacific, for two each, in May 1974. Deliveries began in June 1975.
The variant was also purchased by several airlines with longer-range routes, such as TWA, Air Canada, and BEA (which merged with BOAC to form British Airways). The first two L-1011-100s (serial numbers 1110 and 1116) were delivered new to Saudia with the same fuel capacity as the L-1011-1 (FAA certification L-1011-385-1-14); these were later upgraded to L-1011-200 specification.
The L-1011-50 was an upgraded version of the L-1011-1 with an increase in maximum takeoff weight from 430,000 pounds (195,000 kg) to either 440,000 pounds (200,000 kg) or 450,000 pounds (204,000 kg). Fuel capacity was not increased. The -50 was available only as a conversion package for the L-1011-1 and was never built new.
The L-1011-150 was a development of the L-1011-1 with its maximum takeoff weight increased to 470,000 pounds (210,000 kg). It was available only as a conversion for the L-1011-1. The -150 involves the conversion of Group 1 and Group 2 L-1011-1 aircraft to an MTOW of 470,000 pounds (210,000 kg), an increase of 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg), about 10%, from the L-1011-1, giving the aircraft a slightly better range than the -50, but without the additional center-section fuel tank, less than the L-1011-100 aircraft. The first aircraft was converted by MBB at Lemwerder in Germany during the winter of 1988–89 and was subsequently handed over to Air Transat of Canada on May 11, 1989.
The L-1011-200 (FAA certification L-1011-385-1-15), the third production model of the L-1011, was introduced in 1976. Although otherwise similar to the -100, the -200 uses Rolls-Royce RB.211-524B engines to improve its performance in hot and high-altitude conditions. Gulf Air used -200 models to replace its earlier-generation Vickers VC10 fleet.
Other than the engines, the basic TriStar -200 is identical to the -100, with center-section fuel, having a MTOW of 466,000 pounds (211,000 kg), and fuel capacity of 26,400 US gallons (100,000 L; 22,000 imp gal) as the -100.
Overview and history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · technical figures from the manufacturer’s published specifications and standard aviation references
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BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_model_l1011,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Lockheed L-1011 TriStar}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-10},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/l1011},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/l1011}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/l1011 |title=Lockheed L-1011 TriStar |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-10 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}