LOCKHEED L-1011 (L1011) TRISTAR AIRCRAFT AIRLINER

The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar was the third widebody passenger jet airliner to reach the marketplace, following the Boeing 747 "jumbo jet" and the Douglas DC-10. In the 1960s, American Airlines approached Lockheed and competitor Douglas with a need for an aircraft smaller than the existing 747, but still capable of flying to distant locales such as London, the Caribbean, and Latin America from company hubs in Dallas and New York. Lockheed answered the call with the TriStar. Perhaps ironically, American never flew the "Ten Eleven," purchasing many DC-10s instead.
First flown on November 16, 1970, the twin-aisle TriStar was considered a technological marvel of its day, featuring low noise emissions, improved reliability, and efficient operation. Although the TriStar's design schedule closely followed that of its fierce competitor, the DC-10, Douglas beat Lockheed to market by a year due to delays in powerplant development. Rolls-Royce, the maker of the TriStar's RB211 turbofan engines, had filed for bankruptcy, halting L-1011 final assembly. The British government did not approve the large state subsidy used to restart Rolls-Royce operations until after the U.S. government had guaranteed the Lockheed loans previously provided to Rolls for the extensive engine contract. The first TriStar was finally delivered to Eastern Airlines on April 26, 1972.

Designed for a maximum seating of 400 passengers, the TriStar utilized a new engine layout: in addition to Rolls-Royce turbofan jet engines on each wing, a third engine was located dorsally below the vertical stabilizer . Manufactured in Lockheed facilities in Palmdale, California, the TriStar faced brisk competition with the Boeing 747 and, even more directly, the Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas ) DC-10, which it closely resembled. The TriStar had a better safety record than the DC-10, and Trans World Airlines heralded the TriStar as one of the safest airplanes in the world in some of its promotional literature in the 1980s when concern over the safety record of the DC-10, which was flown by most of its competitors, was at its peak. However, the DC-10 outsold the TriStar nearly two to one, partly because of the TriStar's delayed introduction.

Nevertheless, a number of airlines flew the TriStar, including Aer Lingus , Air Atlanta Icelandic , Air Canada , Air Lanka , All Nippon Airways , Arrow Air , British Airways , BWIA , Cathay Pacific , Court Line , Delta Air Lines , Eastern Airlines , Fine Air , Gulf Air , Hawaiian Airlines , Iberia Airlines , LTU , National Airlines , Pan Am , Peach Air , PSA , TAP Air Portugal Trans World Airlines , United Airlines (acquired in the Pan Am buyout), Royal Jordanian and Saudi Arabian Airlines. The aircraft's largest operator, Delta Air Lines, retired its TriStar fleet in 2001, replacing them with the Boeing 767-400ER. TWA withdrew its last TriStar from service in 1997.
Lockheed bribed the Japanese government to subsidize ANA's purchase of L-1011's, and the resulting political scandal led to the arrest of Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei.
A longer-range variant of the standard-length L-1011 was developed in the late 1970s. Designated the L-1011-500, the fuselage length was shortened by 14 feet to accommodate higher fuel loads.