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American Airlines history: TWA L-1011 TriStar and its premiere

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American Airlines history: TWA L-1011 TriStar and its premiere

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Old Jul 18, 2019, 9:11 pm
  #16  
 
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Probably my favorite plane of all time with the 747 a close second.
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Old Jul 19, 2019, 7:37 am
  #17  
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Wasn’t it the L1011 that has engines that would blow out a puff of smoke upon start up?

I remember as a 10 year old in 1978 flying one on Eastern from dtw-mia. Whisper liner? Lol
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Old Jul 19, 2019, 7:47 am
  #18  
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Love that "mature" and "general" movie choice seating on the international seatmap
Hated the smoking section part. Those were awful.
Very noticeable how Y was 2-5-2 on the domestic and 2-4-2 on the international. Makes perfect sense.
I also like L-1011, but only flew it a couple of times.
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Old Jul 19, 2019, 8:19 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by TWAL10114Ever
See my handle name! LOL

You can give me any fancy 777, A333Neo, Dreamliner, whatever, but the TWA L-1011 will still be my favorite plane until the day I die. Rolling down the runway, looking up watching those ceiling panels shake from side to side at the roar of the RR engines. Nothing will beat it in my book
So true! It certainly rumbled
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Old Jul 19, 2019, 10:58 am
  #20  
 
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Some fascinating detail on TWA's L-1011s can be found here from a former employee
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Old Jul 19, 2019, 4:27 pm
  #21  
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My last flight in a 1011 was Delta BDL-BOS-BDL. 91 miles one way. We spent more time ascending, in patterns and descending than we did in cruise. But it was my opportunity to snag one final TriStar flight.
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Old Jul 19, 2019, 4:53 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by JDiver
My last flight in a 1011 was Delta BDL-BOS-BDL. 91 miles one way. We spent more time ascending, in patterns and descending than we did in cruise. But it was my opportunity to snag one final TriStar flight.
I had a few of those short hops in my early career, flying to Oman from London on the Gulf Air TriStars. Typically LHR/DOH/DXB/MCT, or LHR/BAH/AUH/MCT, but once even MCT/DXB/DOH/AMS/LHR.

Later a few LHR/DOH flights on BA TriStars, and the following year (1984) three LHR/KWI/DXB 's, again BA.

Then a few years hiatus from long-haul flying, and the TriStars had gone.
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Old Jul 23, 2019, 8:39 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by lobo411
Wow...a section dedicated to smoking and mature movies. Just add a little booze and you've got a recipe for a good time!
I imagine mature in-flight movies of that era would barely earn PG-13 rating today.
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Old Jul 23, 2019, 9:22 pm
  #24  
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Only flew the TriStar a few times, last being TPA-CVG on DL if memory is still working. By then these things were on their last legs; this plane had bad vibration and noise issues, and even though smoking had been banned by ca. 1998 it still had a whiff of ashtray about it.

The smoking/non-smoking rows were a joke. As if cigarette smoke exhaust abided by zones...
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Old Jul 23, 2019, 9:35 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by legalalien
I imagine mature in-flight movies of that era would barely earn PG-13 rating today.
I don't know. Somehow Spaceballs got a PG rating despite significant profanity (F-bomb), sexual references, etc. etc.

Meanwhile it seemed like every R rated movie in the 70s had some form of gratuitous female nudity. It wasn't uncommon to have nudity in a PG or PG-13 movie back then (e.g., Logan's Run).

On the violence side its the opposite. Somehow more violence has become acceptable in PG or PG-13 movies.
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Old Jul 23, 2019, 10:37 pm
  #26  
 
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Flew quite often SAN-STL on TWA back in the 80s. The morning flight was an L-1011. My main recollection was the tiny overhead bins that barely fit a briefcase, and the mechanized cabinets for hanging garment bags. Would be a nightmare in today’s carryon age.

Delta fixed the the overhead bin problem on their L-1011-500s, and I spent quite a few hours on those flying transatlantic.

Despite almost 40 years with Lockheed, I guess I don’t have the same nostalgia for the 1011 as others here. I do miss the better cabin service in those days...chateaubriand served from the trolley anyone?
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Old Jul 23, 2019, 10:39 pm
  #27  
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American should have taken the TWA name. Lost opportunity.
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 12:41 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Toshbaf
American should have taken the TWA name. Lost opportunity.
By that time the revered TWA name had been fairly well trashed. Carl Icahn did a great job on that and driving the nails home in the coffin.
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 12:43 pm
  #29  
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The inimitable airline geeks’ hero, Jon Proctor, has a nice TWA TriStar page here: Jon Proctor » TWA?s TriStars
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Old Jul 24, 2019, 2:27 pm
  #30  
 
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Fun reading here including from the TWA employee's article. I definitely remember flying a few times on the TWA L1011 from JFK to LIS and BRU (maybe Stuttgart too) as well as STL to LAX. Can't remember if the STL to LGA flights were 727's though ... seems strange to think of widebodies at LGA but seem to remember flying DL from :LGA to Florida on the L1011.

And, then there were those ATA L1011 military charters ...

Nostalgia is great but I'll still take the 773/787 any day!
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