Lockheed TriStar (RAF): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 04:13, 5 April 2011
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (September 2009) |
| TriStar | |
|---|---|
| |
| Royal Air Force TriStar KC1 | |
| Role | Strategic tanker/transport |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed-California Co. |
| First flight | 16 November 1970 (L1011) |
| Introduction | 1984 |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 9 conversions |
| Developed from | Lockheed L-1011 |
The Lockheed TriStar is an air-to-air tanker and transport aircraft in service with the Royal Air Force since 1984. All were converted from civilian Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar airliners which had previously served with British Airways and Pan-Am.
Design and development
The Royal Air Force operates nine L-1011-500s TriStars, six ex-British Airways and three ex-Pan Am.[1] The TriStars were bought in the immediate aftermath of the Falklands War to bolster the long range capability of the RAF in the transport and tanker roles, as the demands of refuelling Hercules supporting forces stationed in the Falklands was rapidly using up the fatigue life of the RAF's Victor tankers. A requirement for at least four wide-bodied tanker/transports was drawn up. At the same time, British Airways wanted to get rid off its Lockheed L-1011-500 transports, and so put in a joint bid with Marshall of Cambridge to supply six TriStars.[2] The initial order for the ex-British Airways TriStars placed on 14 December 1982, The three ex-Pan Am aircraft were purchased in 1984.[3] All of the aircraft serve with No. 216 Squadron, based at RAF Brize Norton.
Marshall of Cambridge performed the conversion of the TriStars.[1] Two of the aircraft are passenger/tanker aircraft designated TriStar K1s. Another four can operate as either tankers or passenger/cargo aircraft - these are KC1s. Three are pure passenger aircraft; two TriStar C2 and the solitary TriStar C2A. The C2A differs from the C2s in having some military avionics and a new interior.[1]
The RAF's TriStars have been subject to progressive updating, including the fitting of flight deck armour and Directional Infrared Counter Measures to protect against ground fire when flying into Iraq, and under a £22 million contract, are to be fitted with an updated cockpit.[4]
The TriStar is expected to remain in service with the RAF until the end of this decade, when it is scheduled to be replaced by the Airbus A330 MRTT under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program. The Airtanker consortium, led by EADS, won the FSTA contract in January 2004. Beginning in April 2004, there have been continuing rumours about the fragile state of the contract negotiations. With continuing doubts over the FSTA program, Marshall Aerospace offered to buy and convert some of the large number of surplus commercial TriStars as tankers, but this was rejected.[5] This would give the UK a much needed increase in refuelling capacity (with the upcoming retirement of the VC10 fleet) at a fraction of the cost of the £13Bn FSTA project.
Operational history
The aircraft have seen service in many conflicts. Two were deployed to King Khalid International Airport, near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War as tankers, with the rest used for transport between the Persian Gulf and UK. The two aircraft deployed received nose art naming them Pinky and Perky. During the 1999 Kosovo War, TriStars deployed to Ancona in Italy, again as tankers, with four aircraft involved. TriStars joined VC10s in the air-to-air refuelling role for Operation Veritas (Afghanistan), during which they provided aerial-refuelling for US Navy aircraft. The RAF deployed four TriStars during Operation Telic in the skies of Iraq, to an as-yet-undisclosed location.[citation needed]
TriStar air-to-air refuelling aircraft supported the British air strikes on Libya on 19–20 March 2011 as part of the coalition operations to enforce UN Resolution 1973.[6]
Variants
- TriStar K1
- Conversion of former British Airways TriStar 500s for tanker/transport role (not fitted with a cargo door), two aircraft.
- TriStar KC1
- Conversion of former British Airways TriStar 500s for tanker/cargo/transport role, four aircraft.
- TriStar C1
- Former British Airways TriStar 500s operated as passenger aircraft before tanker conversion.
- TriStar C2
- Former Pan Am TriStar 500s operated as passenger aircraft, two aircraft.
- TriStar C2A
- One former Pan Am TriStar 500 operated as passenger aircraft, different avionics to the two C2s.
Operators
Specifications (TriStar K1)
Data from The International Directory of Military Aircraft[1], RAF TriStar page[7] Airliners.net [8]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3 (flight crew)
- Capacity: 187 passengers (250 on C variant)[9]Maximum Fuel Load: 136,080 kg (300,000 lb)
Performance
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d Frawley, Gerard (2002). The International Directory of Military Aircraft, 2002-2003. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd. p. 44. ISBN 1-875671-55-2.
- ^ Prothero Air International March 1991, pp. 129–130.
- ^ Air International December 1985, p.271.
- ^ Winchester Air International January 2009, pp.52—53.
- ^ Winchester Air International January 2009, p.53.
- ^ Military Operations news (20 March 2011). "Updated: British Armed Forces launch strike against Libyan air defence systems". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ^ RAF TriStar page
- ^ Lockheed L-1011-500 page, airliners.net.
- ^ http://www.raf.mod.uk/equipment/tristar.cfm
- Prothero, R.M. "Tristar:The answer to an operational requirement". Air International, March 1991, Vol 40 No. 3. pp. 128–134.
- "TriStar Tankers...The RAF Goes Widebody". Air International, December 1985, Volume 29, No. 6. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. pp. 271-277, 309.
- Winchester, Jim. "Aircraft of the RAF - Part 9 Tristar". Air International. January 2009, Vol 76, No 1. pp. 50—53.
- Yenne, Bill, Lockheed. Crescent Books, 1987.
External links
