Tristar's Currently flying

[hiss srq]

Can anyone give me a list of Tristars currently in service pax and cargowise? I would love to get around a few one last time. Cities served by the birds would also be appreciated.

[SengaB]

Hiss, Your Avatar...I just........I just don't know what to say...........

:)
LOL
You saved it as

"gay-spider-man.gif"

Senga

[T-Bird76]

The only airline in the U.S that flys them is ATA, and they only have five left and don't expect them to be around to much longer. Plus they only do military charter duty so no chance of getting on one.

[MORS-AB-ALTO]

I always loved the Tristar. Eastern Airlines livery in bare metal was my first airplane ride and is still my favorite commercial airliner ever.

Here's a link that lists current operators of the final 43 aircraft in service:

http://trijets.net/tristar/page/fleet.html

[G-BOAD]

they are not really flying but there are some Trisatars parked at Dorval airport in Montreal. (i saw them last year on a snow boarding trip). i dont know if there still there. this photo sucks but it proves my point
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l233/mateu21/canada008.jpg

[lijk604]

Does Air Transat still fly the L1011???

[Tom_Turner]

Air Transat retired their Tri-stars about a year ago...possibly almost two years ago.

Tom

[uplander]

Those do look like Air Transat in the picture, with the name/logo removed. Dorval (now called Trudeau) International Airport also has an Air Transat hangar, so those are likely the retired aircraft. Beautiful birds! Flew on one of those once and on a TAP once :D

[Nonstop2AUH]

With the exception of ATA, RAF and the Amiri flight/corporate TriStars, there are some pretty dodgy operators on that list. Wonder how many of their aircraft are truly operational and, of those that are, how many would be allowed to fly in the US or EC. When you look at it this way, I think the 'real' number of operational L-1011s is a bit less than the 43 the list implies, and I think the only one you can still book a scheduled-service ticket on is the Hewa Bora.

[G-BOAD]

correction : they are from Mirabel. i went to both airports on the same do so a got mixed up. Dorval is now renamed, i think. also i dont think they are still there.

[SengaB]

GAWD!
I went to Mirabel (CYMX) to shoot the Transat Tristars 3 years ago.....I have NEVER been to an airport that had been as unshootable as that place was. To make things worse all the planes that landed....the pilots spoke French on the radios! Or should I say that I don't speak French. This caused us to miss most everything. After I was lucky enough to get ONE TSC Tristar We went to Montreal instead.

When I was there in March 22, 2004 Several Tristars had already been stored at the airport along with some some DAL MD-11s.

Senga

[727C47]

the saudia royal flight still flies them,saw 1 at BOS,last year.

[SengaB]

US Operators:
AMT has Tristars still (Military Charters)
Orbital Sciences has N140SC and flies out of (MHV)

I think those are the last 2 in the US that are currently flying.
For the international ones if just go to JP or A.N and do a search for L-1011s by date.

There has been some question as to wether the Saudi Royal Flight HZ-HM6 and HM5 are still flying around. JP and A.N have last shots no later then January 29, 2006. Any info o these 2 would be greatly appreciated.

Senga

[uplander]

Yup, that is Mirabel airport. Poor old Mirabel :-(. This is the airport that was built in the 70's and was to be the next big thing for Montreal, which is the city I grew up in. It's the second largest airport in the world (in area), covering more land area than the five New York City boroughs!

It had its moments of glory, like an official opening with the landing of a Concorde (common at JFK), and the host airport for the 76 Olympics. I used it many times. The coolest thing was the Passenger Transfer Vehicles (PTVs) that took pax to the A/C and jacked up to the entrance doors.
http://citytransport.info/PhotoCD/4552_51.jpg

The last time I used the airport was a couple of years ago on a charter to Cuba. It was just before it closed to all pax traffic, and was like a ghost town. What a shame. :arrow: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabel_Airport) has most of the interesting facts.

[Nonstop2AUH]

The Hewa Bora Tristar apparently still visits BRU on a regular schedule but will be soon replaced by a 767, Wikipedia says when that happens the Tristar may do Kinshasa-DXB.

Apparently some of the Middle East-based Tristar operators do mostly UN-related charters for troop movements and such (e.g. flying South American troops to UN deployments in the Middle East and Africa) so are very unlikely to be spotted in major passenger airports around the world.

I know Kalitta (American International Airways) had some freighters, and for awhile at least one in pax configuration which I flew EWR-LHR during a BA strike in the late '90s, but not sure if any are still around.

So, a Tristar sighting is rare and becoming even more so!

[Mateo]

The last paper I ever wrote at university was a study of why Mirabel failed, which involved a visit to the airport (March '03). I have Transat's C-GATH in my notes for the day, which was before I actively logged registrations.

RAF Tristar ZD953 showed up at IAD on Sunday afternoon, and promptly occupied a place on my "Top 10 frames in 2006" list.

And, tying lots of threads together, Globejet's and Euroatlantic's L-1011s came to Montreal-Trudeau (formerly Dorval, the change was around 2004) this summer as part of the Lebanon evacuation.

[Nonstop2AUH]

Good place to spot the ATA TriStars is apparently Bangor, ME. Most troop flights transit BGR on their way to Kuwait (via Europe) or on their way back from the Middle East to whatever field is nearest the base of the unit onboard. The routings seem to be "US base-BGR-base in Germany-KWI" or same in reverse. Omni Air DC-10s and World MD-11s can apparently also be spotted up there doing same thing.

[n717bh]

Interesting news on the Saudia L-1011's, i was unaware they have not been shot in awhile.I guess we either enlist or hope ATA does a equipment swap sometime.She usually pops in during the week in BWI if your in the area.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j241/N717Bh/S3011130.jpg

[Nonstop2AUH]

Nice pic, good to see a TriStar that still flies the stars and stripes. Was curious about the background of this one, so looked it up, 162AT is a 500 (long range) model built in 1982 for Royal Jordanian which iirc operated the type into the late '90s when they got A340s. Apparently there was a VIP Tristar in RJ colors that King Hussain used to fly himself but not sure what happened to it. L-1011 sold particularly well in the Middle East/South Asia, in addition to RJ of course Saudi, Gulf Air, and Air Lanka operated them. GAMCO in Abu Dhabi did heavy maint. for Tristars from around the world, including BWIA that I once saw there myself.