In Memoriam: BWIA's Lockheed L1011 TriStar 500

I was ten years old when I flew on a TriStar for the first time. I had always admired them from afar, as I found them aesthetically pleasing unlike the big, lumbering 747s. I still remember the faint smell in the cabin of ozone admixed with a bit of kerosine as the big turbofans spun up followed by the signature low-pitched buzzing rumble of Rolls-Royce engines. What a thrill it was to be squished back in my seat as the big plane accelerated for take-off and then to climb into the air at, what seemed to me, an impossibly steep angle. Nothing lasts forever, of course, and the best things always last the shortest.

The Plane

The design for a new wide-body jetliner was embarked upon by Lockheed Corporation in 1966. Airlines needed a smaller and more economical aircraft than the newly introduced Boeing 747 and Lockheed produced a tri-jet configuration for moderate-haul routes. The new tri-jet would also be able to take-off and land at airports with shorter runways, thus opening up travel to destinations that could not accommodate the 747. The plane was to have a cruising speed of Mach .83 and a service ceiling of over 41,000 feet. At the same time that the TriStar was being developed, McDonnell Douglas was developing the DC-10. Although similar in appearance to the casual viewer, the DC-10 accommodated the tail-fin engine (number 2 engine) entirely in the tail-fin. The TriStar used a S-duct, similar to the DC-9, to route airflow to the engine housed at the back of the plane. This allowed better stability for the aircraft, better aerodynamics and more cabin space at the back of the plane. Both aircraft were built for a similar market.

What set the TriStar apart from all the rest was its technology and design. At the time of its introduction, the TriStar represented the most technically advanced airliner ever built, it was remarked upon as being ten years ahead of its time. Lockheed, a military aircraft manufacturer, had a great deal of technological expertise that they incorporated into the TriStar. The TriStar was the first aircraft to incorporate an all-weather auto landing, auto take-off system, full-power controls utilizing a quad-redundant hydraulic system, a 'flying stabilizer' system, advanced computer controlled ailerons, and other systems. The TriStar also utilized semi-monocoque shells for its airframe that were metal to metal bonded. This allowed for the reduction in the number of rivets by 200,000 and an airframe with an essentially unlimited fatigue life. The aircraft was also equipped with a lounge below the main passenger compartment.
The prototype TriStar (msn 1001) was launched September 1, 1970. It was capable of carrying 345 passengers. It had an overall length of 177 feet (54m), a height of 55 feet (18.8m) and a wingspan of 155 feet (47.35m). It seated passengers 10 across in a 19.5ft wide cabin.

Economic downturn in the oil-boom years caused a slump in the airline industry, which hurt Lockheed. Orders for the TriStar dropped significantly as a glut of aircraft developed on the market. Additionally, smaller airlines opted to buy used TriStars that the larger airlines sold off as the number of passengers declined. This caused Lockheed great concern as not many were buying new planes. The company became anxious to develop a long-range airliner as its present models could not compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30's range. Thus, in 1974, Lockheed announced plans to build the intercontinental L-1011-250. However, the TriStar 250 plans were scrapped in favour of a far more ambitious design, the TriStar 500.

The original TriStar body was shortened and the airframe and wings were reinforced to bear the load of larger engines, fuel, and passengers. Underfloor galleys, a feature of the older TriStars were removed for the 500. The wings were also lengthened to accommodate the new active aileron system. The first TriStar L-1011-500 was rolled out on October 12, 1976. As the world economy downturn continued, and with Lockheed in debt from military cost overruns, production of the L-1011 halted in 1984 with Lockheed withdrawing from the civil aviation business. Only 50 TriStar 500s were produced.

The Engines

The L-1011 500 TriStar was powered by Roll-Royce RB211-524B turbofans. Orginally utilizing blades made of carbon fibre, on testing, it was found that the blades broke during the 'chicken test'. This test involved firing dead chickens into the spinning blades at a high velocity to simulate the situation of birds flying into an operational engine. Rolls-Royce had to rebuild the entire engine using titanium blades. This setback caused Lockheed a slew of problems and Rolls-Royce only avoided bankruptcy by an act of Parliament to inject funds into the company. Inspite of these setbacks, Rolls delivered the RB211 engine to Lockheed. The engines were continually upgraded, reaching their peak when the 524B version was delivered to power the L1011-500 in 1977. It produced 53,000 pounds of thrust. The most powerful commercial jet engine today is the GE90-115B that powers some Boeing 777s. It produces 115,000 pounds of thrust and produced 127,000 pounds of thrust during testing. The Rolls engine was one of the quietest airliner engines of the time and, through competition, pushed jet engine technology to the advanced state it is in today.

BWIA's TriStar 500

In September 1977, British West Indies Airways (BWIA) was granted government approval for the acquisition of four TriStar 500s. BWIA's first TriStar, 9Y-TGN, was delivered on August 14, 1980. It spent its entire life flying for the National airline for a total of 60,969 hours flying time and 20,639 cycles. It was retired in March 2001. It was the first of BWIA's fleet to be repainted in the new livery in December 1999. It spent three years at Piarco being cannibalized for parts to use in the other TriStars. It was destined for the scrap merchant but was, by a stroke of good fortune, instead, broken up with the help of Lockheed and foreign engineers, and transported to the Military History & Aerospace museum in Chaguarams. There were plans to show movies about BWIA along with interviews of the crew. The movies would have been shown inside the aircraft while guests are seated in the cabin. Well, you have seen the inside of the bird and, I suppose, those plans have been shelved. I hope you can visit the old bird at the Museum.

For those of you who are interested, photographs by Captain Simon Kelshall of the TriStar can be found here. There are also photographs of the transport of the plane to the history museum.