Seeing, here, recently, a screenshot of the Lockheed Tristar, I thought, today, of flying this classic (and beautiful) trijet (surely, a favorite of many, around here, including myself)...I recall, I'd flown the CS L-1011, a short while ago,  but, have not flown the JF version, in a long while,...so, here it is, a collection of shots of this remarkable plane, and, so to speak, Lockheed's final contribution, to commercial aviation, after which, the manufacturer, would withdraw from the commercial aircraft business...(and focus solely on military a/c). From Lockheed's very first a/c, the illustrious Vega (1927), (a long-haul and trans-oceanic airliner...🙂...of the day), in which, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and Wiley Post proved the existence of the jet stream after having flown around the world twice;...through the Electra Model 10, in which, Earhart would later tragically disappear over the Pacific,...to the Constellation and beyond, the aviation impact of Lockheed (it became Lockheed-Martin in 1995) remains legendary...

With the Lockheed Tristar, I've bit of a special connection...not as pax, as a few, here, I recall, had experienced, but, just as an awe-struck onlooker, once, standing beneath a (RW) exhibit of it. On the AHM (Airline History Museum, Kansas City, MO) website, I looked up today (you may wish to look up, if so interested),...though the museum's original mission was to display and preserve only (historic) propliners, it could not resist the opportunity of acquiring a Tristar, their first jet exhibit. On January 30, 2010, a former TWA L-1011 had just arrived on their premises, on the same day (it was a Saturday, as I recall, checked on-line for confirmation), when I'd also just pulled into the parking lot for a visit to the museum. The a/c was not open to visitors, so, I watched it externally, but the (close) sight of that atypical 3-engined (high and imposing) airliner, was no less impressive...though, its glory-days, long gone...

Yes, the Tristar was a remarkable plane indeed, a pioneer not only in terms of advanced automation and avionics but also in terms of aesthetic appeal and creature-comfort,...that Lockheed dubbed, "Luxury Among the Clouds". The longest-range but shortest-fuselage Tristar (the -500; seen below) was the last variant L-1011 produced (see "500" marking on the center engine images, below). 

Regarding the livery of choice, for my post, I've elected to fly, here, the LTU (airline) which piqued my interest. LTU's traditional red and white paint (sometimes called the "Red Roof" livery) is unmistakable, and, barely changed over the years, thus becoming a recognizable trademark in Germany and across the world. The takeover of LTU by Air Berlin, in 2007, and subsequently, the demise of Air Berlin, itself, 10 years later, in 2017, are all facets of the complex dynamics of the airline industry. LTU, in its heyday, had operated 13 Tristars...below is one specimen. This one is equipped with Triple-INS, see [VC] shots. I've performed a Cold & Dark startup, per JF instructions, and have auto-loaded a FPLN into its INS CDU. I wish to point out on one of the close-up [VC] shots, to the RHS of the Capt. Side INS CDUs, the (helpful) placard tabulating descent distance calculations from 10,000 ft...(Note, it also specifies the corrections due to "Headwind" and "Tailwind")...all, a far cry from the VNAV of (today's) modern jetliners...

[Side Note: In the tragic case of EAL Flight 401, NTSB had concluded that, "...the autopilot had been inadvertently switched from altitude hold..."...the a/c, therefore, gradually and imperceptibly, losing altitude to the ground...in the middle of the night... In the close-up shots, below, of the MCP/Glareshield panel, you may e.g. spot (1) The Autopilot Toggle Switches (up/on) (2) Altitude Hold Switch (lit/on) (3) Altitude Arm Switch (lit/on)]

In my set, below, un-related to the above incidence, please find an LTU L-1011 Tristar, lifting off Düsseldorf (EDDL) Rwy 05R, at night, then, on INS activation, banking right, southeast, towards the next upcoming INS WPT #2 (NEUBURG VOR)...206 nms away...(see CDU shots)...on its way to Munich (EDDM)...these two cities, been the primary hubs of LTU International...

Hope you enjoy this set of pictures...!! Thanks for your interest...!

[JF (L-1011-500)]

Edited September 26, 20214 yr by P_7878

Great story and pics, P_7878. My very first long haul flight was in 1981 with the missus in an LTU Tristar from Duesseldorf to the Maldives (in those days still via Colombo and an overnight stay there). So your pics bring back fond memories 🙂🙂

Excellent shots! 😉 

Beautiful shots and to say i love those 3 engine Birds ( DC10, MD11, TRISTAR ). 

Always liked to fly with this planes and Navigation with a INS is just another great experience to fly..

cheers 😉

Always a little something extra...much appreciated.

John

14 hours ago, bernd1151 said:

Great story and pics, P_7878. My very first long haul flight was in 1981 with the missus in an LTU Tristar from Duesseldorf to the Maldives (in those days still via Colombo and an overnight stay there). So your pics bring back fond memories 🙂🙂

Thanks, Bernd. That's certainly a long-haul...!

First long-haul is anyway...hard to forget...glad you recalled the plane...under the special circumstance...🙂....

Yes, that period was the height of LTU Intl's glory days...it seems, they were operating 10 "-100"s and 3 "-500"s between 1973 to 1996...before they added MD-11...

 

8 hours ago, Alaska738 said:

Excellent shots! 😉 

Thanks much, Alaska738...!!

 

7 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Beautiful shots and to say i love those 3 engine Birds ( DC10, MD11, TRISTAR ). 

Always liked to fly with this planes and Navigation with a INS is just another great experience to fly..

cheers 😉

Yes, pmplayer, those big trijets were so much more interesting...looked great too...now I look at todays' long-haul twins with those humongous engines...🙂...oh well...

Yes, INS is fun, I typically do manual entry, but, here, have cheated a bit today...🙂...with (JF-provided) auto-load of FPLN WPTs...

Hope you'll get INS one day,...but first you need one (or two) good A-/B- jets with a modern (non-INS) CDU...coming soon, I hear...

 

1 hour ago, John F said:

Always a little something extra...much appreciated.

John

You're welcome, John...!

 

So lovely to see Tristar featured! 

Why both CS and Just Flight did not simulate the distinctive Hamilton Sundstrand FMS (Which can be seen in my Avatar) is beyond me. 

Edited September 29, 20214 yr by edetroit

Hi Ed: Good to hear from you...Thank you for the comment...! 

I recall you had mentioned Hamilton Sundstrand FMS...here...a while ago...would be surely great to see that system in the Tristar...(I just checked the JF Pro version, which touts the "Advanced FMS unit based on the Honeywell HT9100 style FMS/CDU..." instead)...

I know you like big trijets...🙂...glad you liked these Tristar pics...!

13 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Hi Ed: Good to hear from you...Thank you for the comment...! 

I recall you had mentioned Hamilton Sundstrand FMS...here...a while ago...would be surely great to see that system in the Tristar...(I just checked the JF Pro version, which touts the "Advanced FMS unit based on the Honeywell HT9100 style FMS/CDU..." instead)...

I know you like big trijets...🙂...glad you liked these Tristar pics...!

The advanced FMS unit (which was ahead of it's time) should be the Hamilton Sundstrand FMS. This is soooooo L1011 and only L1011 it cannot be missed.

Two points about the HT9100. 

1 Never ever seen one on a Tristar....I think the later FMS updates up to Litton-92.

2 I simulated the HT9100 myself for my B742 and I don't think theirs looks very accurate.

I certainly do love to see shots of the Tristar and I thank you.....but sad to say umpteen years later the best L1011 sim is still FS9.x 😎

 

Edited October 1, 20214 yr by edetroit

10 hours ago, edetroit said:

The advanced FMS unit (which was ahead of it's time) should be the Hamilton Sundstrand FMS. This is soooooo L1011 and only L1011 it cannot be missed.

Two points about the HT9100. 

1 Never ever seen one on a Tristar....I think the later FMS updates up to Litton-92.

2 I simulated the HT9100 myself for my B742 and I don't think theirs looks very accurate.

I certainly do love to see shots of the Tristar and I thank you.....but sad to say umpteen years later the best L1011 sim is still FS9.x 😎

 

Ed:

I thought I'd the Pro Upgrade from JF, but cannot find any trace of it on my system, now,...or, maybe, I never felt myself "Pro" enough to go for it...🙂...anyway...I might get the upgrade just for fun...and, see what this HT9100 FMS is, and, also, to have a bit of variety from crunching LAT/LONG on the INS CDU....🙂...though I don't mind it much...Plus, JF seems to have added a few other enhancements, too, besides the FMS...

And, I dug up a bit in the Tristar FMS and Autopilot Forums, and came across this snippet:

"The FMS (manufactured by Hamilton Sundstrand) was added just slightly later on (after its initial and the first ever dual/dual autopilot/flight director system, produced by Collins Radio), to provide complete LNAV/VNAV and engine thrust management, in one neat (dual) package....The type is unsurpassed to this day in providing a very smooth operation during automatic approach/land maneuvers. In short, it is the gold standard, to which others are compared....Just ask the folks whom have flown this quite remarkable airplane....Old? Yes. Superb? Absolutely..."

...Interesting remarks to read...about this FMS and this remarkable plane...

BTW, I was curious for which a/c, in your hangar, you have the Sundstrand FMS installed in the cockpit now...?
Maybe you can post a couple of shots of it...(video...optional...🙂...)...

19 hours ago, P_7878 said:

 

BTW, I was curious for which a/c, in your hangar, you have the Sundstrand FMS installed in the cockpit now...?
Maybe you can post a couple of shots of it...(video...optional......)...

I love the different cockpit configurations. When I think LTU L1011 I think tape gauges. 😉

Anyway here is my RAF L105 with analogue autopilot and Sundstrand FMS/Litton 72 (or might be 92..can't remember) combination.

I have also made the classic Sundstrand/ Delco Carousel INS combo and digital autopilots. 🥰

The big breakthrough with the Sundstrand of course meant no longer having the waypoint limit of the Delco INS. One could write the whole flightplan into the Sundstrand like a modern FMS ...in fact it was a totally modern FMS. I have several manuals for it. (In all it's different versions)

This vid is 7 years old ....certainly time for an L1011 revamp. 🤓

 

Edited October 2, 20214 yr by edetroit

Excellent video, Ed,...the flightdeck looks familiar...🙂....also the coupled (Autopilot + FMS), here, seems like good fun....thanks...!!

Old School C😎😎L!!!