Buy a Supercar or a Legendary Giant that Almost Killed Lockheed?

"SaabLife, because Gripen" (runningtosweden) 11/15/2013 at 15:51 • Filed to: Planeopnik, Tristar, Lockheed

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For a great bargain price, you too can own one of the few remaining Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (only 250 were built).

The price for this monster? $600,000. Original Price? 180-200 million.

Top speed of 605 MPH, fuel consumption of 9 tons an hour, and a 55 ton cargo capacity.

Seems like a NP. Anyone up for flying to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Cherry_man1 > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 15:55

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Honestly I would buy.

HammerheadFistpunch > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 15:59

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fun story, There is a Band called El Ten Eleven after this plane, and they...stupidly...don't use an L1011 as their self titled debut album cover art

At first glance it appears to be an L1011, but its not, its a Boeing 727.

Joe_Limon > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 16:03

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At 286 gallons an hour and $2.75/gallon for jet fuel... it would take roughly 763 hours of air time before you have spent more in fuel... 763 hours at 605mph is... 461538 miles... enough to get you around the world 18.5 times...

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Joe_Limon 11/15/2013 at 16:12

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hmm, it'd only cost me $5086.90 to visit my mom in the Netherlands. I would really only need 10 more people to split the fuel costs with and it'd be like a 1/3rd the price of current Christmas airfare.

AMC/Renauledge > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 16:12

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Possibly my favorite commercial jet ever.

TheDon > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 16:13

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That thing consumes 18,000 lbs of fuel an hour... what the crap

Chuckybas > Joe_Limon 11/15/2013 at 16:15

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I could be way off, but I think the fuel consumption is closer to about 10 times that. Pilots? Engineers?

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 16:23

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Something something buying a cheap Ferrari something something

SaabLife, because Gripen > TheDon 11/15/2013 at 16:26

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Ironically, only slightly less than a Ford GT.

SaabLife, because Gripen > HammerheadFistpunch 11/15/2013 at 16:30

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Huh, that's a shame, wonder why they did that.

I guess I can see going with a 727 since it's kind of similar with 3 engines.

But putting those two next to each other would look bizarre since the little Boeing would be a dwarf compared to the Tristar.

For Sweden > HammerheadFistpunch 11/15/2013 at 16:31

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FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 16:36

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Looks like it's actually in Entebbe, Uganda.

HammerheadFistpunch > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 16:37

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i was wondering if its symbolic of the fact that the 727 made it and the L1011 didn't. Then I realized its just a small bands cover art, probably lazyness.

SaabLife, because Gripen > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 11/15/2013 at 16:40

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Good catch, looks like it's registered and owned by a company in Dubai, but they're keeping it stored in Uganda.

http://www.aircraftbargains.com/ad/ad4583.asp

SaabLife, because Gripen > HammerheadFistpunch 11/15/2013 at 16:45

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Would be a nifty aspect of if it turns out that they were going for that. But it's a real shame. I've been on both several times and the Tristar really is a beast in most aspects, compared to the 727.

Sitting next to those side engines in the Boeing is brutal. Tristar? Nice and silent.

Argent > TheDon 11/15/2013 at 16:46

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Assuming the density of jet fuel is 6.71lb/US Gal and airspeed is 605mph, that's only about 4.43 gallons per mile.

Brian, The Life of > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 17:08

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I love TriStars. They were built in my hometown is a purpose-built hanger that Lockheed later used as the maintenance facility for their Skunkworks team. I flew on one only once. It was my first trip to Europe and the largest airliner I'd been one previously was a 737. It was MASSIVE inside. I had a redeye flight from LAX to Heathrow and was able to stake my claim on a full empty center row (2+5+2 layout) and slept completely flat practicially the whole way. Sublime! :)

f86sabre > SaabLife, because Gripen 11/15/2013 at 17:25

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Don't forget all the fatigue cracks and corrosion you would be buying as well! Lots of both. Add lightness, right?

Back when I started my engineering career we were the worlds largest operator of L10s. The were built like a tank and a fighter had a one night stand. Lots of titanium and big old fuselage frames. You could fly with a number of frames cracked. It was ok. When I interviewed they took me out to look at one getting the midspar replaced due to massive cracking issues. They had to do the entire fleet. Lots of shoring (support) and the aircraft was jacked way, way up. It was cool. When you sat in the back you could see the fuselage twist on takeoff. Pretty crazy.

All that said, there is no way I would go for an L10 as my ride of choice. The thing is a flying airworthiness directive and the engines were a bitch to maintain. When they were retired it was time. Every drop
Of goodness had been extracted from those birds.

SaabLife, because Gripen > Brian, The Life of 11/15/2013 at 18:11

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It still blows my mind how much space a wide-body can have in it. I grew up in 727/737's, so the first time I rode in one of those monsters was pretty epic. Flew back and forth to Hawaii in them right up until ATA went belly-up.

Nothing more relaxing than a half empty night-flight with a couple of rows to yourself.

SaabLife, because Gripen > f86sabre 11/15/2013 at 18:25

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Oh if I ever got my hands on one of these monsters, it would be promptly parked at an aviation museum somewhere. I think there are only 4 or 5 of them left in museum condition, with most of them rotting out at the Rosewell storage facility. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of cracks and corrosion these big boys have gone through. Especially one used for heavy cargo.

Having poked around the Rolls Royce engines in the Boeing 717, there's no way I can imagine upkeep for such an old plane. Especially after the whole Rolls Royce problems they had back when production came to an end. Though I wouldn't mind turning one into a 4 bedroom house, haha.