Pan Am TriStars Three's a Crowd?

摘要

The L-1011 TriStar was Lockheed's contribution to the clamour for wide-bodied aircraft in the late 1970s. Its design criteria were similar to those of the 747 and DC-10 and represented Lockheed's first venture into the civil market since the Electra. It was also its first civil passenger aircraft to be powered by jet engines. Lockheed had announced its intention to build the L-1011 in 1969 and this immediately put it into competition with McDonnell Douglas and the DC-10. By a narrow margin, McDonnell Douglas had its prototype in the air before Lockheed, with the DC-10 making its maiden flight just three weeks before the L-1011. Lockheed lost further ground when Rolls-Royce, which had been exclusively contracted to supply the RB211 powerplant, was declared bankrupt in 1971, almost taking Lockheed with it. Only state intervention by the US Senate with an emergency loan guarantee kept the TriStar programme alive.