Résumé en français
En 1972, le prototype Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar, immatriculé N305EA, a effectué une tournée de promotion en Europe arborant une livrée hybride combinant les couleurs d'Eastern Air Lines et les marquages de compagnies prospectives telles que British European Airways et Court Line. L'appareil a notamment été immortalisé au salon de Farnborough et à Berlin Tempelhof avant d'être livré à Eastern Air Lines en novembre 1972, puis de terminer sa carrière sous les couleurs de Delta Air Lines avant son démantèlement en 2002.
Take a look at photographs of Lockheed L-1011 TriStar N305EA in Europe during 1972 and you might be a little confused.
The aircraft carries the familiar blue and white colours of Eastern Air Lines along its fuselage. But look at the tail and you’ll see the unmistakable Speedjack logo of British European Airways (BEA).
In some photographs, the aircraft also carried Court Line markings.
So what was going on?
The answer takes us back to the early days of the Lockheed TriStar, when the American manufacturer was desperate to show airlines around the world what its impressive new widebody could do.
And N305EA became one of its travelling salesmen.
The New Lockheed TriStar
The L-1011 TriStar emerged during one of the most exciting periods in commercial aviation.
Airlines were beginning to embrace widebody aircraft, led by the Boeing 747, while Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas developed smaller three-engined widebodies in the form of the L-1011 TriStar and DC-10.
Lockheed’s aircraft was technologically impressive. Powered by three Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofans, the TriStar incorporated sophisticated automatic flight systems and was designed to offer passengers the spacious cabin associated with the new generation of widebody jets.
But Lockheed needed customers. That meant getting the aircraft in front of airlines – and demonstrating it around the world.
Meet N305EA
Ralf Manteufel (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons
One of the aircraft used for this purpose was N305EA.
This was an L-1011-1, construction number 1006, built in 1972 and ultimately destined for Eastern Air Lines.
Before entering normal airline service, however, the aircraft was retained by Lockheed for demonstration and promotional duties.
This explains its rather strange appearance in photographs from the period.
N305EA was already painted substantially in Eastern Air Lines colours, including the distinctive blue cheatline which swept upwards towards the tail.
But during its European demonstration tour it acquired additional markings representing airlines which Lockheed hoped to impress – including BEA and Court Line. The result was one of the most unusual TriStar liveries ever seen.
Why Did It Wear BEA Colours?
British European Airways (BEA) was an extremely important prospective customer for Lockheed.
BEA had selected the TriStar as its future widebody aircraft, although the airline itself would disappear before the type actually entered service, as in 1974, BEA and BOAC were formally merged into the new British Airways.
Consequently, the TriStars ordered for BEA would ultimately appear in British Airways colours instead.
But in 1972, BEA was very much still in existence and, during N305EA’s demonstration activities in Europe, the aircraft therefore appeared with BEA’s dark blue tail and red Speedjack logo, while retaining much of its underlying Eastern Air Lines colour scheme.
It even carried BEA branding on the fuselage. Photographs show this strange Eastern/BEA hybrid at various European airports.
Perhaps most notably, N305EA appeared in this configuration at the 1972 Farnborough Air Show, where it was photographed on 9 September carrying BEA tail markings over its otherwise Eastern-inspired scheme.
It was also photographed at Berlin Tempelhof on 16 September 1972, still wearing the hybrid colours.
The TriStar Comes to Britain
N305EA at Farnborough. Photo: daves_archive _inactive at current time
N305EA made a number of appearances around Britain during its demonstration activities. It was photographed at London Heathrow, where its arrival was particularly significant given that BEA was preparing for its own future TriStar operations.
One photograph from August 1972 shows the aircraft arriving over Heathrow’s Runway 28L, appropriately passing the new hangar which had been constructed for BEA’s forthcoming TriStar fleet.
The aircraft was also seen at airports including Birmingham, Manchester, Gatwick and Farnborough.
For many enthusiasts, these appearances provided their first opportunity to see Lockheed’s enormous new widebody airliner up close.
And What About Court Line?
BEA wasn’t the only British airline associated with N305EA. Another was Court Line.
The colourful British leisure airline was an early and enthusiastic customer for the TriStar and would become famous for operating the aircraft in its extraordinary pink and yellow colour schemes.
During August 1972, N305EA was used for promotional demonstrations connected with Court Line. It appeared at Manchester Airport carrying Court Line titles, despite still wearing much of its Eastern Air Lines colour scheme.
Contemporary photographs identify the aircraft as taking part in promotional flights for Court Line before the airline received its own TriStars. It was also demonstrated to Court Line at Birmingham on 15 August 1972, reportedly becoming the first TriStar to visit the airport.
Why Demonstration Tours Mattered
Manufacturer demonstration tours were an important part of selling new airliners during this period. A new aircraft could be flown around the world, allowing airline executives, pilots, engineers, politicians and invited guests to experience it first-hand.
It was also a powerful publicity tool. An enormous new widebody arriving at a local airport inevitably attracted attention from the press and public.
Airlines could inspect the cabin, evaluate its performance and imagine how the aircraft might fit into their own fleets.
Adding the prospective customer’s branding made the effect even stronger. Instead of asking executives to imagine what a TriStar might look like in their airline’s colours, Lockheed could show them.
N305EA therefore effectively became a flying billboard for the TriStar.
N305EA Eventually Became an Eastern TriStar
Its glamorous life as a demonstrator couldn’t last forever. Following its promotional work for Lockheed, N305EA finally settled down to the job it had originally been built for. The aircraft was delivered to Eastern Air Lines on 23 November 1972.
It would spend the great majority of its working life with Eastern, becoming one of the many TriStars associated with the airline.
Eastern was one of the most important operators of the L-1011 and the aircraft became a familiar sight across its network. N305EA remained with Eastern until the airline’s collapse in 1991.
A Final Career With Delta
The aircraft ended its days at Mojave, CA. Photo: Aero Icarus
The story didn’t end there. Following Eastern’s demise, the aircraft eventually joined Delta Air Lines, another of the great American operators of the TriStar.
It was re-registered N782DL in December 1991.
That meant an aircraft which had helped introduce the TriStar to European audiences back in 1972 was still flying with a major airline almost two decades later. Its flying career finally came to an end during the 1990s.
N782DL was subsequently stored at Mojave, California, where so many classic airliners have ended their days, and was eventually broken up there in 2002.
Did you see N305EA during its European demonstration tour in 1972? Or do you remember the early days of the TriStar with BEA/British Airways and Court Line? Let us know in the comments below.
Source : Airport Spotting Blog ([Global] airliners) — Matt Falcus
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