Hacker News Reader

Comment by spchampion2 | Hacker News Reader

I flew on an L-1011 in 1997 when I was a senior in high school, and the aircraft felt very old. I saw a nameplate near the galley that showed the aircraft having been made in the early 1970s, and I was amazed that something could possibly fly that long (that was before 30 year aircraft depreciation became standard). Those fancy interiors the article mentioned must have been difficult to update because I remember the aircraft having that same interior layout. I don't recall the airline, but it was a major.

Ironically I had flown a more modern MD-11 on the first leg of that trip, and I was totally unaware of the history of the two aircraft. Knowing what I know today about the safety record of the two designs, I probably should have been more appreciative of the Lockheed.

View on HN

When it comes to mind boggling longevity, nothing can compare to the B-52. The first prototype flew in 1952 and the last one was built in 1962 and the final plane is still in active service. There is an upgrade program that plans to keep them flying until 2044. The planes will be more than 80 years old by then.

> and I was amazed that something could possibly fly that long

It isn't the same plane flying 30 years later. There are standardised checks done at various intervals, including the D check which takes the entire plane apart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_maintenance_checks

Those checks will replace damaged and limited life parts. The cabin fittings have to be taken out for the D check anyway, so many airlines will replace them at that point if not sooner (eg carpets wear out a lot quicker).

The air frame is basically the same, you can't patch that up. I'm surprised that has lasted so long...how do they deal with basic metal fatigue?

> I don't recall the airline, but it was a major.

It was most likely Delta.

Assuming you're in the US, it was either TWA or Delta because they were the only ones still operating the L-1011 by the late 1990s. United also operated a small fleet of L-1011s that they acquired from Pan Am, but (I believe) they had mostly gotten rid of them by 1997.

Delta operated the largest fleet of L-1011s by far. At one point they operated nearly half of the (admittedly small number of) L-1011s built. They were also the only airline that I can think of that operated both the L-1011 and MD-11 in the 1990s.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com