L-1011

[HA25]

I sat in the j/s on a Delta L1011 where the captain climbed that thing at 360 to .84 and then leveled off and went all the way to .89. And that was a worn out bird that was slated for retirement. Not bad if you ask me.

 

[jdlilfan]

I don't think there was ever a pure cargo version of the L-1011, was it not always in passenger configuration? They quit building it in the early 80's, where as McD built a cargo version of the DC-10 into the early 00's. The DC-10 was made viable in the marketplace due to the failure of RR to deliver on engine performance. United and AAL were suppose to be L-1011 customers, but backed out and bought DC-10 when Lockheed could not deliver airplanes on time. Few people will argue over the L-1011-'s flying characteristics; it was a fine airplane.

I dont think there was ever a factory built cargo L-1011 but I know that there was at least one converted L-10. The old American International Airways flew one (maybe more?) and it was bought by Kitty Hawk.

 

[GeorgeTG]

I talked to one of the pilots of the Orbital rocket laucher L1011 and he said that the planes need much TLC...

He used to fly for Hawaiian and said they got the old ANA planes from Japan.
he said the planes where immaculate but things went downhill and within 2-3 months they were covered in yellow stickers...

The old ANA guys swear by the L1011 also.

seems like its a pilots airplane but a mx hog...
if you have one or two no problem, but a fleet might be an issue.

Cheers
George

 

[VABB]

Not sure how much truth there is to it, but I have the heard that the L-1011 was a maintenance nightmare compared to the DC-10. Also, I don't think the L-1011 can haul a comparable load over a said distance.

 

[Spooky 2]

I dont think there was ever a factory built cargo L-1011 but I know that there was at least one converted L-10. The old American International Airways flew one (maybe more?) and it was bought by Kitty Hawk.

I belive that Kitty Hawk bought as many as six ex British Airways L1011's and had freight doors put on them over in England prior to their delivery. Also ther were a number of RAF L1011 tankers that had freighter doors in them as well. Some were new out of the factory and a couple at least came from the Pan Am fleet.

Delta operated a number of former Pan Am, UAL L1011's which were refered to as PUDS....Pan Am, UAL, Delta.

 

[JPAustin]

I'm curious why the L-1011 didn't catch on as a freighter as well as the DC-10 did. While FedEx is still pulling DC-10-10s out of the desert and converting them to the MD-10, there are loads of L-1011s parked. Do the L-1011s have short time/cycle limits on the airframe and they're just burned out? Thanks

I would venture a guess to say that parts support is lacking and therefore expensive. Just not enough aircraft in the marketplace to begin with, thus there aren't scads of parts lying in inventory somewhere.

I will say this though, the L1011 was one sharp looking bird, and the -500 series, man, even sharper. ATA had a couple -500's it bought from some Arabian Sheik. The FAA made them put in overwing exits and the marble-floored lavs with solid gold furnishing ofcourse had to come out

 

[Bringupthebird]

My dad flew EAL's Tin Lemon's and loved them. As a kid, I thought having an elevator for the stewardesses to go up and down between the galley and main deck was too cool. My old man's only complaint was that the cockpit windows were too big and people getting on could see your big fat belly hanging over your belt.

 

[AdlerDriver]

I'm curious why the L-1011 didn't catch on as a freighter as well as the DC-10 did. While FedEx is still pulling DC-10-10s out of the desert and converting them to the MD-10, there are loads of L-1011s parked. Do the L-1011s have short time/cycle limits on the airframe and they're just burned out? Thanks

??? Fedex is pulling -10s out of the desert? I thought we were just converting the -10s that we had.

 

[CopilotDoug]

Didn't you hear? Boeing is firing up the DC-10 production line again for FedEx!

You are right, in retrospect. FedEx had owned these particular ex-Hawaiian DC-10s for a while (around 2003 I believe) and they were just recently converted over around June or so of this year.

 

[Junkflyer]

Connie had some converted and flew them in the 90's (AIA). They were cheap to buy, but heavy on mx, hard to get parts for and couldn't carry a real big load. They are fast and pilot friendly, just not a good fit for the freight business.