Beautiful sound of one of the last remaining flying L1011’s
Posted by knowitokay@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 141 comments
Posted by knowitokay@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 141 comments
Proud-Spite-5891@reddit
I read that the only remaining airworthy L-1011 was the Stargazer (operated by Orbital Sciences / Northrop Grumman).
sawatalot@reddit
Crazy, I just saw this plane fly over the Willamette valley today. Didn’t realize it may be the last one flying.
SphericalBastard@reddit
no you didn't.
sawatalot@reddit
Feel free to go look on flight radar, N140SC.
SphericalBastard@reddit
That isn't this plane
notcaffeinefree@reddit
Coincidentally, Stargazer was out flying today. It flies into/out of Mohave Air and Space Port (KMHV) periodically. You can set up alerts from FlightAware whenever it's flying around.
njsullyalex@reddit
Out of curiosity, what is Stargazer being used for these days? There are currently no scheduled Pegasus launches.
ThatHellacopterGuy@reddit
Crew proficiency, mostly.
sevgonlernassau@reddit
Stargazer is kept airworthy for rapid response purposes. Just in case there is a war and the government needs to send a rocket to space within <24 hours. NG is currently developing a separate rapid response vehicle (MLV) that will take a while to be operational.
TheDrMonocle@reddit
This is taken from KTUS where that aircraft sat for 15 years before being bought, restored, and then ferried (this video) to Kansas city to become a teaching tool to help get kids into aviation.
OPs title suggests this jet is airworthy. It's not. This was a ferry flight.
njsullyalex@reddit
Does Tristar Experience intend to return this airframe to airworthiness? Or is she destined to stay on the ground forever? I’d prefer it if there were two active Tristars instead of just one because I’m worried about how much longer Stargazer has left.
TheDrMonocle@reddit
I think it was a one time flight.
PM_ME_YER_BOOTS@reddit
If it’s not airworthy, how can it be flown on a ferry flight?
TheDrMonocle@reddit
Because a ferry flight is specifically designed to allow aircraft to fly when they're not airworthy for maintenance or transport for storage.
Non airworthy doesn't mean can't fly, just means it doesn't meet the requirements of its airworthiness certificate. They'll fix it up enough to be safe for the flight, and only essential personnel will be on it.
in-den-wolken@reddit
If you say so.
Sounds more like they are the "expendable personnel"!
HarryTruman@reddit
Ok so I was kinda thinking like you at first…turns out an “airworthy” aircraft is a lot like a “road legal” vehicle. It’s as much process and compliance as it is safety and functionality. In this case they did the equivalent of drive it to a mechanic after it’s been sitting for a while.
omalley4n@reddit
... That's literally the definition of a ferry flight (or special flight permit).
Buckus93@reddit
I thought that looked like the Arizona desert...
ITAF_Aug@reddit
I thought the LV Sands Corp had one in working order along with mine an A360-5, and a 767. I know their 747SP had some issues.
noxondor_gorgonax@reddit
Oh the irony that the last Lockheed is maintained by Northrop lol
knowitokay@reddit (OP)
Correct, this one (N910TE) was Ferried TUS-MCI 15 Jul 2017 for preservation Airframe is live, but not airworthy. Here’s a recent tour
Proud-Spite-5891@reddit
Thanks for sharing the link. Having never flown in one before, it was very cool to see.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
Stargazer is on the ground at FAI (Fairbanks, AK) today, a very happy coincidence
ywgflyer@reddit
You simply can't beat the sound of those Rollers. An absolute symphony.
Signal_Quarter_74@reddit
Only thing better than 2 RB211s on a 757 is 3 on a L-1011
Jerrycobra@reddit
Even better is 4 hung under a 744. Instantly recognizable when they takeoff on high power for a transpacific flight.
zander_2@reddit
Catch those Lufthansa 744s while you can!
49Flyer@reddit
Do Lufthansa's have RB211s or are they Pratts?
DaHick@reddit
And the fact that my company still sells the crap out of these as stationary power units amuse's me.
bhenghisfudge@reddit
What's the use case for these things as stationary power units?
DaHick@reddit
Power Generation.
Gas compression.
They are heavily modified.
bhenghisfudge@reddit
That's pretty freaking cool. Can you speak any more to what sort of industry uses them for gas compression?
DaHick@reddit
Sure, pipelines, oil rigs. 35 mw of power for them using a rb211. We also package a Trent, so that's 64 mw currently. The mechanical engineers are looking at boosting that from 72 to 75 mw
PhuckADuck2nite@reddit
They used to do quite a bit of fracking where I live. They would pull up several turbine gens on trailers and hook them all up to water pumps to generate the massive amount of pressure needed to break the rock apart.
OkieBobbie@reddit
I used to drive and operate one. The sound of 8 units running at 95% maximum rpm is incredible.
TechE2020@reddit
What did you say?
DaHick@reddit
Yeah, my company sells our 5mw units for that. Allison 501k's for the most part, occasionally 601's rated at 7mw
HH93@reddit
Hi fellow IGT guy :-)
DaHick@reddit
Hello back. Hit me up if you want to chat, not many friends in the industry.
laffing_is_medicine@reddit
How much are they?
DaHick@reddit
From 5 to 15 million USD.
foolproofphilosophy@reddit
Navy ships too but those might be modified 767 engines.
DaHick@reddit
Probably not. We get a ton of ex-navy employees that were LM2500 or Allison folks. USA.
foolproofphilosophy@reddit
Can we both be right? I googled and the LM2500 is derived from a CF6. I guess the engineer who told me dumbed it down lol.
DaHick@reddit
Yep, we can both be right. I am clueless about ge engines
Razer797@reddit
Probably the gas industry.
That'd be my guess.
bhenghisfudge@reddit
Sounds logical. Haha
HH93@reddit
Yeah by taking off the Fan Spool and adding a drive shaft and a big gearbox or direct drive Pump or Compressor on the arse end.
Reliable as a reliable thing
DaHick@reddit
Yeah, we use them as a 2 spool engine, no gearbox (RB211), then we put a secondary "Fan" what we call a power turbine downstream of that.
Optio__Espacio@reddit
Used widely on drilling platforms.
Kundera42@reddit
TIL!
I love the RB211, 3 spool ftw.
DaHick@reddit
Heck Yeah, I have shirts :).
LightningGeek@reddit
Half the sections on the Trent 800's still have RB-211 stamped on the data plates.
It's an amazingly successful turbine core.
bravogates@reddit
HA! Some 744 have the RB211.
YellowT-5R@reddit
Beat me to it 😆
IndividualEntrance89@reddit
Does any of these still fly for like airshows or are they all grounded?
ThatHellacopterGuy@reddit
The one in the video is the sole airworthy L1011 in the world.
EliteEthos@reddit
The last actually flying one… in 2024
https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/s/WiVajY7Bem
magnificentfoxes@reddit
Was gonna say... It's THE last flying one unless the ex-RAF ones get reactivated somehow. Also, Lockheed really should give the whole commercial airliner thing a go again.
Reasonable_Dare_9856@reddit
The ex-RAF TriStars have all been scrapped. The deal to take them to the USA fell through.
magnificentfoxes@reddit
Well balls, that passed me by. :(
No_Adhesiveness_396@reddit
Every once in a while I'll see one of these beautiies flying right over me into CVG, Cincinnati. I'm in Florence Ky so they're about 2000ft overhead.
DartzIRL@reddit
Mister Lockheed could make 'em good.
Boeibus could do with a little competition from some Skunky Space Magic
lcapaz@reddit
Great. Just great. Does anyone have a binder I can borrow so I can stand up from my desk and walk to my meeting now?
72corvids@reddit
BWIA had them. Waaaaaaaaay back, when we'd go to visit family in Trinidad, it was always an L1011! I loved those days.
Lollipop_Furry_Cat@reddit
Loved those days too. Last flight of 9YTGN to London from Piarco airport:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/telperionglow/53983631492/in/dateposted-public/
72corvids@reddit
We never flew with that livery. Which is too bad as it is beautiful. We would be on this one:
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/1/2/0/0309021.jpg?v=v40
Lollipop_Furry_Cat@reddit
The old livery had a charm of its own too!
docArriveYo@reddit
Ah… the sweet sound of RB211s…. Almost as good as TF39s.
FastPatience1595@reddit
A fine aircraft, far better than the DC-10 flying coffin : with flying engines and cargo doors that killed way too many people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_L-1011_TriStar#Accidents_and_incidents
Yet the DC-10 sold better.
tango797@reddit
Can't believe Lockheed spent a trillion dollars (U.S.) developing that exhaust duct while Douglas had the right idea and glued the #2 engine on top of the plane and then just glued the vertical stab on top of that and called it a day.
Bubba100000@reddit
That third engine removal must be a beast...
Waste-Internal-1443@reddit
Lovely sound of no silence !
m3n00bz@reddit
I love this plane so much. I remember flying in one in the 80s and how big the cabin seemed.
xfirehurican@reddit
The last time I flew on an L1011 was from Barbados to Port of Spain - BWIA.
PrussenSoldat@reddit
truly ahead of its time! I believe if Airbus had not entered with their groundbreaking twinjet config, there would have been a lot more of these in the skies
tylerscott5@reddit
This is parked about 10 minutes from my house at MCI.
You see it at the TWA Overhaul base when landing
I_like_cake_7@reddit
That’s cool. There’s also that L-1011 sitting at MKC, but sadly it’s just been sitting there rotting away for the last 10+ years.
tylerscott5@reddit
Yep just collecting dust. The new bridge gets you a sweet view of it heading north on 169/Broadway on the wrong side of the road
MD-80-87@reddit
Does this paticular plane, the tristar experience still fly?
bravogates@reddit
Imagine a world where the L1011 was more successful than the DC10 and Boeing merged with Lockheed instead.
Historical_Nature348@reddit
Is it the large fan blades making that distinct noise?
CL350S@reddit
One of my favorite career memories is from the mid-90’s holding short of the runway in ATL one morning when the visibility was down to RVR, and one of these came out of the fog right in front of me and landed.
Curt_in_wpg@reddit
First plane trip I ever took was on an Air. Abadan L-1011 back in 1981. Good plane :-)
QuasarCollision@reddit
I used to go spotting at EGCC a lot in my childhood, it was a short bus ride away. And one of my favourite planes was the Tristar. I remember seeing the Laker Air one, whose livery I loved.
iwasproducer1@reddit
Tristar? Is that Logan’s plane?
Lemon_head_guy@reddit
Why are basically none of them flown today? What made them last less time than the DC10 or MD-11?
finsfanscott@reddit
I don't think there was anything inherently bad about the 1011, but the DC10 and MD11 were better for freight operations. Something about having a higher landing (not takeoff) capacity made the DC10/MD11 better so they were kept in service longer.
burnsrado@reddit
Sounds awesome for a few seconds on the ground. In the jet for three hours not so much
Crazy__Donkey@reddit
That S curved pipe of the middle engine is an amazing relic.
Does this plane still have a flight engineer?
Appropriate-Count-64@reddit
I wonder if you could take parts from all the remaining stored/scrapped planes and get one of these flying again.
Dull_Challenge6008@reddit
First plane flight was on one.
senator_pax_22@reddit
My favorite L1011 sound was Sorry About Your Irony but this is good too
Mr_Tiggywinkle@reddit
To my understanding this plane is no longer operational, having been flown to be preserved in 2023.
Just the Stargazer left of the L1011's.
pierrotbinky@reddit
Wow
Squeakygear@reddit
I wish Lockheed had remained in the civil aviation game; they would have forced Boeing to be better with true domestic competition. We wouldn’t have the half-measure MAX program of today as a result.
HH93@reddit
Also, the sound of the Millennium Falcon leaving Hoth
Noofnoof@reddit
So I know the RB211 / Trent family are 3 spool engines while most others are 2. Does that give them a unique sound or any other interesting qualities?
bodhasattva@reddit
where was this?
redditbutprivately@reddit
Tucson, AZ
njsullyalex@reddit
Common KTUS W
I lived in Tucson for 3 years and between KTUS and Davis Monthan the city always had some wacky air traffic.
Between the two fields, here are some of my favorite catches between 2019-2023
KTUS: - Boeing 747-200 Rolls Royce engine test bed - Boeing 737 Classic - Boeing 727-200F - Douglas DC-9-10 - McDonnell Douglas MD-88 - General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon - McDonnell Douglas F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
Davis Monthan: - Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II - Lockheed EC-130 Compass Call - Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II - McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle - Northrop T-38 Talon - Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star - North American P-51D Mustang - North American F-86 Sabre - Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - Lockheed P-38 Lightning - Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - Douglas C-47 Skytrain - Grumman F6F Hellcat - Boeing E/A-18G Growler - McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier - Rockwell B-1B Lancer - Boeing E-3 Sentry - Boeing E-8C Joint STARS - Boeing C-17 Globemaster III - Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy - Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker - McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender - Boeing 747-400F - Boeing 747SP SOFIA (final flight ever) - Boeing E-4B - Boeing C-32A/757-200 Air Force Two (Mike Pence on board) - Antonov An-124 -
redditbutprivately@reddit
That’s an amazing list!
Big_Spicy_Tuna69@reddit
This makes me want to go rewatch the langoliers
chandris@reddit
When discussing this plane do people say “L one oh one one” or “L ten eleven” or some other variation? I’ve only ever seen it written down.
EmperorJake@reddit
I've always heard "el-ten-eleven"
superdookietoiletexp@reddit
L ten eleven
meat_thistle@reddit
How come no one is talking about The Ghost of Flight 401?
gunfighter01@reddit
“There will never be another crash on an L1011. We will not let it happen.”
1-800-THREE@reddit
Why does it look less graceful than modern airliners as it rotates?
keno-rail@reddit
Former PSA "Grinningbird"
twarr1@reddit
I worked at DFW when ATA still flew an L-1011. It was a favorite.
keno-rail@reddit
Yep, loved the L1011 when we got them in MKE... ATA L1011s were the last airframes to go... when the RAF retired their Tristars, the remaining ATA birds were no longer needed as a parts source. I believe they were all scrapped at Roswell???
MatraHattrick@reddit
So good to hear it again, back in the day I have flown on many ..thank you for posting ..
Starchaser_WoF@reddit
I'm curious what an alternate reality where Lockheed wasn't ruined would look like
Zakluor@reddit
You should have heard them at startup. I used to see and hear them at the airport when I worked in the tower at Halifax. It's a rare sound that I wish I could describe.
Vollen595@reddit
I grew up near the TWA overhaul base in KC. It’s been a minute since I’ve heard that sound. There was always an L-1011 flying.
rs2times@reddit
I used to work on TWA L1011’s. Loved that airplane and a good ride too. I was able to watch on of the last TWA L1011 on a ferry flight to the desert. The crew took off like it was an F15, very steep climb out.
honore_ballsac@reddit
Thank you for this! Please also tell me that it requires a flight engineer.
quantumtom@reddit
Thank you for posting this, OP.
KnifeNovice789@reddit
My Dad flew these, he said besides the 747 it was his favorite airplane to fly..
HiroshimaSpirit@reddit
Man, what I wouldn’t give…
Artistic-Pound-3343@reddit
It purrs!
Tsao_Aubbes@reddit
Idk, it sounds the same as every other RB211 powered aircraft
Griffie@reddit
Always one of my favorite planes to fly on. It was sad to see them pulled out of service.
Snatchbuckler@reddit
Great band too
Cessnateur@reddit
Yes, and Kristian is a helicopter pilot!
Snatchbuckler@reddit
I didn’t not know that! They are such good dudes awesome shows too.
Cessnateur@reddit
Absolutely!
Frog_Prophet@reddit
Damn that is almost no dihedral.
blumirage@reddit
Ah yes, the "whisperliner"
techdaddy70@reddit
Loved these jets. Was lucky enough to be a ramp rat for Delta many many years ago. Got to receive/empty/load em up, and kick em out. Also, learned a very important math lesson about jet wash from that plane, as I got blown down the flight line after miscalculating the distance.
Alternative_Gate478@reddit
Those Rolls Engines sound so good.
sweep-the-neck@reddit
My Dad used to fly these for TWA, and I often went on trips with him just to fly. I'll never forget the massive smoke these RR engines would emit during start... and that AMAZING metallic growl when run up to full power during takeoff. I love that you can clearly hear it in this video!
trikkyt@reddit
Love that whine.
ThrustTrust@reddit
Loud mofos. We used to lay on the end of the runway in Pittsburgh and listen to the fuckers land over us.
Ny5tagmu5@reddit
Beautiful Airframe!
Alex_Bell_G@reddit
I always had imagined L1011 to be bigger than this. Never seen or flown in one. I watched the Florida Everglades and the microbursts crash at Dallas documentary years ago and imagined it to be as big as a DC10/MD11
Nevertheless, beautiful aircraft - the sound of the engines is music
1-800-THREE@reddit
They are actually the same size! 1011 does seem more compact though
Huge-Coyote-6586@reddit
I’m not sure which variant this one is - I believe it’s the shorter one. The -500 long range was shorter.
slavabien@reddit
I remember getting rescued by one of these when our plane had a mechanical issue on the way to Ireland. We were stuck in Goose Bay for the better part of a day, sitting up in a chicken restaurant, waiting for a working plane to turn up, when this triple-engined beauty showed up to rescue us. I will fondly remember the headroom in that thing!
OldTimeyClipperShit@reddit
🫡