Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

Lockheed · United States · first flew 1970 · airliner

The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar is a widebody trijet whose third engine is buried in the rear fuselage and fed by a smooth S-duct, giving a notably clean tail.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, swept
E — Engines	3 × turbofan, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Widebody trijet with two underwing engines
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Widebody trijet with two underwing engines
Third engine fed by a smooth tail S-duct
Clean tail cone, inlet at base of the fin

Like the DC-10 it is a widebody trijet, but its centre engine sits in the rear fuselage behind a low S-duct inlet at the fin base, leaving a smooth tail cone rather than the DC-10's straight-through high tail nacelle.

Specifications

The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar has a length of 54.2 m (178 ft).
It has a wingspan of 47.3 m (155 ft).
Its maximum speed is 963 km/h (598 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in 1970, the TriStar competed with the DC-10, and the development troubles of its Rolls-Royce RB211 engines helped push Rolls-Royce into receivership. Around 250 were built, with Eastern, TWA and Delta the main US operators.

Variants

The family ran from the original -1 through the -100 and -200 to the long-range -500, which had a shorter fuselage but an extended wingspan for transatlantic and ultra-long-haul work.

Where you'll see it

British Airways was launch customer of the -500, delivered in 1979 and entering service from Heathrow, and also flew earlier variants from Heathrow and Gatwick. BA retired the type in 1991, and ex-BA -500s were converted into RAF tanker-transports flying from Brize Norton until 2014.

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