L1011

Read the forum code of contact

Member for

20 years 6 months

Posts: 2,587

why did it's career end so early? I always thought it was a much safer and more efficient plane than the DC-10.. any plans for Lockheed to return into the civilian business?

Original post

Member for

20 years 10 months

Posts: 55

From what I've read, the L1011 was delayed due to the engine manufacturer Rolls Royce going bankrupt. I guess it would cost too much to reconfigure the systems for another type of engine. Because of this, McDonnell Douglas was able to get the DC-10 out before Lockheed's L1011. The L1011's late arrival into the three-engined wide-body market cost the company many orders to McDonnell Douglas. Even though the L1011 was more technologically advanced than the DC-10, McDonnell Douglas pretty much had the market cornered. As for Lockheed moving back into commerical aviation, I think that in an industry where about a half-dozen companies control the civilian aviation market, Lockheed will stay with their high-end military, and NASA contracts, as they have significant competition in that arena from Boeing and EADS. I hope this helps. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Cheers,
Paul