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Today in 1978, the Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar flew for the first time. The long-range aircraft brought a shorter fuselage to the TriStar family, allowing airlines to carry more fuel while sacrificing passenger capacity.
At 164 feet 2 inches (50m) long, the -500 was about 13 feet 6 inches (4.1m) shorter than earlier TriStars. Lockheed's technical profile describes a basic mixed-class cabin for 240 passengers, main-deck galleys and Rolls-Royce RB211-524B engines. The galleys had occupied the lower deck on earlier TriStars.
Wing improvements followed. Forecast International's archived TriStar report records that Pan Am received the first -500s with active aileron controls in April 1980. The system allowed a nine-foot (2.74m) wingspan increase and became standard on subsequent production aircraft; earlier -500s were also retrofitted.
Launch Customer
British Airways (BA) was the launch customer, receiving its first -500 in April 1979. The aircraft entered service on May 7, 1979, between London Heathrow (LHR) and Abu Dhabi.
Delta Air Lines (DL) became the first US airline to fly the variant on June 17, 1979, inaugurating Atlanta–Frankfurt service. The Delta Flight Museum's history describes the -500 as the backbone of the airline's expanding international network. Its greater range later supported Delta's services across both the Atlantic and Pacific.
Some aircraft found a second career in military service. In a 1985 parliamentary answer, the UK government said six TriStars had been purchased from British Airways in February 1983 for the Royal Air Force. Former airline -500s were subsequently used as military transports and aerial tankers.
Lockheed built 50 L-1011-500s, according to Forecast International's production tally.
Featured image: Lockheed used the prototype L-1011 (N1011) as the testbed for improvements and future derivatives of the Tristar.
Featured image: Lockheed Martin
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