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For all the L-1011 Fans:

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This has always been my favorite bird. Although it is well past its prime and a good ways behind what's out there now, I'm glad to see 6 being refurbished and back flying. (www.pr.com) More...

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cs767capt
I flew the Tristar(dash 500) with Delta and really enjoyed much of the old technology except the Nav system which was a big part of my training when I went to ground school.What I really liked was the ability to get really nice landings.It truly was a pilots airplane.I flew it on the international routes out of the New York Base.A large contingent of the JFK base were former Pan Am folks that were transitioned from Pam Am to Delta as a result of Delta buying Pan Am's Europe routes.I learned a lot about Pan Am from the Captain and FE's.Many of the Flight Engineers were former Pan Am Captains that had elected to transion to the Engineers seat to extend their time in service to their retirement pay.I got to fly with a Former Pan Chief pilot Ed Cywinski(sp-?)He was a true gentleman!The best of the best!!
Listening to the stories from the old Pan Am days was truly facinating.My favorite stories were about laying over for a week on Pacific Islands.They had also flown with the old "Flying Boats" Captains back in the day.--cs
rbhallett
Roger Hallett 4
My best experience in an L-1011 was Cathay Pacific flight into old KaiTak airport in HKG. Sitting in the observer's seat behind the pilot as we landed this big bird over the city with a strong cross-wind and rain - an experience never to be repeated. Perfect placement by an experienced and skilled pilot flying the lady in every metre. Thanks for the memory.
canuck44
canuck44 5
I met one of the Cathay pilots, an Australian, at a concert in Hong Kong. He said it was a little like doing a carrier landing in a 747
rbhallett
Roger Hallett 4
With no hook or safety net.
Navy65
Navy65 3
The 1011 was a good airplane for the passenger...once you got it away from the gate. But its design philosophy doomed it from day one. The large passenger cabin was at the expense of lowering the cabin floor 2 feet. In turn, that made a requirement for special cargo containers in the belly. In the jumbo jets, cargo containers were interchangeable among the B747, DC10 and A-300; but not interchangeable with the 1011. It was the design mistake that doomed the 1011 to obscurity. Couple that with the myriad of mechanical problems that caused untold delays at the gate because this or that system did not work at the moment. Nice idea, but in the long run, not an economical airliner for the airlines. Delta ran the 1011 long after its usefulness because it was the only game in town at the time for Delta
LoralThomas
Loral Thomas 2
Back then I was one of those passengers that booked my flight by aircraft type. If an L1011 didn't go there, neither did I. Led to spending a lot of time in ATL (I always flew Delta)and could usually catch at least part of my trip on one. Have never heard a L1011 pilot say anything but good things about her. Many called her a true pilot's airplane. Guess that said it all. There's a video on You Tube where Delta is retiring its last one -- I can't watch it. Maybe you guys can: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqu-YEcl0e8
rbhallett
Roger Hallett 0
Thanks for posting the link. It was so good seeing the images.
skyconn
skyconn 1
Hippy-Hop Hippity-Hop Hippity-Hop all the way from Shreveport to Minneapolis on L-1011 in 1964 - a seeming endless day trip along the Mississippi River with 3 to 4 stops enroute. When I was an airman based at BAFB in Bossier City I would occasionally fly as pax on that route and marvel yet today at the short runways and the inefficiency inherent in using that plane on that route!
canuck44
canuck44 1
The first L-10 in which I flew was YYZ to TPA on Air Canada in the 80's. On boarding the aircraft was painted blue over white rather than Air Canada red. Turned out that seasonally Air Canada was leasing Eastern Airlines L-10s to ferry freezing Canadians to the sun. Great airplane.
leeyein501
leeyein501 1
My forst L1011 flight was on PAN AM and then a connecting L1011 Eastern airlines to KORD/KLAX nice sad there gone
leeyein501
leeyein501 2
sorry spell check should be first
mdlacey
Matt Lacey 1
Don't forget about Orbital ATK's mothership _Stargazer_ for its Pegasus launch vehicle. It just traded its red lettering and details for blue with the corporate merger. There are two Pegasus launches on the manifest.
chucknycuws
chucknycuws 1
I remember flying the 1011 on TWA and Delta. The most amazing was seeing them (and flying on them) in and out of LaGuardia. I avoid LGA on a normal day, but seeing these big birds was something! (Same for the AA DC10's that they flew from LGA). But regarding TWA, who recalls that there were no overheads over the center seats? Just those small overhead doors along the sides. That was the first I saw fights over lack of overhead space. Oh well. It was a comfortable plane.
imtxsmoke
Jeffrey Bue 1
I wish Lockheed would get back in to the commercial airline business. The L-1011 was a great jet and one of the smoothest I've ever flown in.
ericdasilva
Eric da Silva 1
So happy to hear, the L-1011 was one of the best birds to ever fly!

tehreedy
Sam Reed 1
Apparently announcements have been made a few times, but they've fallen through. Hopefully with them being re-registered on N numbers, chances are it's gonna happen...

Hopefully they get them over to West Palm Beach, FL while I'm still in FL doing my flight training... Then I can do a XC over to see them! :D
bobburns
Burns Robert 1
The best- I flew L1011 aircraft for 13 years with Delta and Air Atlanta from 1986 to 1999. The Boeing 727 came in a close second.
aashny1
Andrew Ash 1
The L1011 was a favorite of mine. Best experience was when the Air Canada crew allowed me to join them in the cockpit on a flight from Frankfurt to Toronto in 1985. Needless to say that even though I live in Upstate NY, I try to fly AC out of YYZ when flying to Europe.
bjkodiak
Bj Johnson 1
I also love and miss the L-1011, great news that it will fly again!!
kxprice
Kenneth Price 1
I was at the Eastern Airlines Pilots School when the first 1011 came in, and we got to go thru the airplane, including belly cargo area. I wondered how they could ever get something as large as that to fly. I later flew (as a passenger) on Pan-Am on their flights to South America on the 1011. It definitely was a nice airplane for the passengers.

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