More news on L-1011 N910TE

N910TE © TriStar History and Preservation

An article published on the Kansas City Star Site reveals more about the intentions of TriStar History and Preservation on their recently acquired L-1011, the ex-Flying Hospital.

They expect to ferry this L-1011 from Tucson to Kansas City within two to three weeks and use it for their STEM educational project.

The integral airstairs that give access to the lower deck - one of the two aircraft delivered to PSA in this configuration - are a major advantage according to the sources.

About N91011, the ex-Portuguese L-1011, also owned by TriStar, we can find this reference:

TriStar History also owns the TWA Wings of Pride McDonnell Douglas MD-83, a British Aircraft Corp. One-Eleven and another L-1011 in California.

• The Kansas City Star: News Article and Interview

L-1011 customer codes by Lockheed

In a similar way to Boeing that used to identify the original customers of its aircraft by attributing a special code in the last two digits of a certain type's series, Lockheed used a prefix in the Serial Number.

It happened that certain airlines which operated both standard length and -500 TriStars, had two different codes, also marking that difference between the models.

TAP's customer code prefix was "293B-". TAP also operated two second-hand L-1011s originally intended for Air Canada that were not taken up by this airline. These two aircraft had the prefix "193H-" attributed to AC's -500 models, although their first operator was Royal Jordanian.

L-1011 customer codes table - click to enlarge

For the complete serial numbers' list of the L-1011s registered in Portugal, please refer to the Aircraft page, in our website.

L-1011 walk-around photos

A nice set of photos of a walk-around session around the L-1011 msn 1189 (ex-N753DA) can be found on Pas-Decals website. Albeit with Luzair logos, this aircraft never made part of its fleet.
Follow the link below.

Luzair L-1011 © Alex@Pas-Decals.ru

• Pas-Decals: LOCKHEED L1011 TRI STAR

L-1011 lower deck galley

Two very nice videos covering the features of the L-1011's lower deck galley can be seen on YouTube:

Author of the videos: Carla Kittler

These videos were filmed inside an ATA Airlines' L-1011-100 series, probably N194AT. Only standard length TriStars were equipped with a lower deck galley.

Newark Air Museum acquires TriStar Sim

Last month, Newark Air Museum (England) took delivery of a static TriStar Simulator that was previously on display at Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale/London.

TriStar Simulator © André O Malhão

The simulator is not yet available for display in its new place since it has to assembled again and the museum is still deciding to what extent it will be made operational.

• Newark Air Museum: TriStar Simulator

When TAP sold their last L-1011

This is a clipping from Air Transport World magazine (January 1998) announcing the sale of the L-1011 CS-TEA to Air Transat.

CS-TEA (msn 1239) was the first L-1011 delivered to TAP Air Portugal in 1983, and it was the third of the type bought by Air Transat from TAP, in November 1997 - after acquiring CS-TEE (December 1996) and CS-TED (January 1997). CS-TEA was at the same time, the last L-1011 operated by TAP.

N910TE will be ferried to Kansas City

As we previously announced, TriStar History and Preservation acquired the ex-Flying Hospital L-1011 and we now know that their intention is to ferry this aircraft (re-registered N910TE) to Kansas City.

The Flying Hospital © Mercy Airlift

The aircraft has been readied at Tucson for the ferry flight and it seems there is already a Special Flight Permit approved.

The Flying Hospital was a project established by Mercy Airlift using the largest fully equipped surgical hospital ever constructed inside an aircraft, to provide medical services and humanitarian aid.

TZ-MHI seen at Nairobi Jomo-Kenyatta Airport

L-1011 tail number TZ-MHI (msn 1221) was seen today abandoned at Nairobi airport. The airframe seems to be in a very sorry condition in such a way that, almost for sure, it will never make it into the skies again.

TZ-MHI@NBO © Nuno Carvalho

TZ-MHI@NBO © Nuno Carvalho

TZ-MHI@NBO © Nuno Carvalho

TZ-MHI@NBO © Nuno Carvalho

TZ-MHI@NBO © Nuno Carvalho

This L-1011 was originally delivered to TWA in 1981 and had a long life with several operators, being the last one SAM Intercontinental. It was one the of last remaining airworthy examples.

It visited Portugal during the UEFA Euro2004 tournament, carrying Greek supporters while operated by StarAir that later became StarJet.

Thanks to Nuno Carvalho for these rare photos!

Aerial photos of Al Alamain Intl

Thanks to our visitor David Fidler, we can see three L-1011s parked at Al Alamain Intl Airport (DBB/HEAL), in Egypt. The following photos were taken in August 2014, while overflying at 30.000+ feet:

The L-1011 on the top of the second photo is HR-AWM (msn 1229) which was supposed to operate for Rollins Air some years ago. The other two airframes with the blue "masks" and tails are TZ-SGI (msn 1237) and TZ-SPA (msn 1245) belonging to SAM Intercontinental.

"One Year... One Company"

Yesterday, Orbital ATK - the only L-1011 operator left - celebrated one year after the merger of the two companies.

Orbital ATK merger anniversary

And today, their L-1011 dubbed "Stargazer", took off from Mojave for a series of flights to Marana (Pinal Airpark), Phoenix Goodyear and back to Mojave.

Flightradar24 printscreens

11-Feb-2016 L10/Z KGYR-KMHV 03:39PM MST 04:05PM PST En Route
11-Feb-2016 L10/Z KMZJ-KGYR 12:51PM MST 01:14PM MST 0:23
11-Feb-2016 L101 KMHV-KMZJ 09:06AM PST 11:17AM MST 1:11

N140SC is currently the only L-1011 in operation in the world, so every single take-off means a major event for every TriStar fans.