The 6 BA mainline 500's seemed to go all over far and wide to some exotic places.
All 6 were delivered in 1979/1980 and then all went to the RAF in 1983, with Marshalls of Cambridge doing the conversions during 1985 as a Type C1 then KC-1 (4) and K-1 (2)
British Airtours (KT) operated a -500 G-BFCB leased back from the RAF in summer 1983.
'CE' was also leased back to KT for the summer in a basic BA livery from the RAF in June 1985 to cover the Tri-Star over-run accident at Leeds.
In May 1979 BA received its first of 6 longer-range series 500s, for which BA was launch customer:
G-BFCA Princess Margaret Rose
G-BFCB Harry Wheatcraft Rose
G-BFCC English Mist Rose
G-BFCD Astral Rose
G-BFCE Gay Gordons Rose
G-BFCF Elizabeth of Glamis Rose
Their first route was to Abu Dhabi which was later extended to Singapore. The 500 was intended for use as a replacement for the VC-10 and 707 on routes with insufficient traffic to warrant a 747 including the East and West coasts of the USA and the Caribbean.
Another service started later on was London-New Orleans-Mexico City. The type were obviously not a success as in 1983 all were sold to the RAF.
That wasn't the end for the Tristar 500 in the BA fleet though as BA leased a pair for South American services from Air Lanka in 1985 for 3 years, but after disposing of it's own -500's!
G-BLUS Laggan Bay
G-BLUT Dunnet Bay
Both remained in service until April 1988.
Pan Am ordered 12 -500's for 1981.
3 went to the RAF in 1984, who operated two as C2's and a single C2A, the rest to Delta and United, who sold 1 to LTU.
More on RAF Ops ~
Tristar operations for the RAF began in 1983 with G-BFCA and G-BFCE flown essentially as airliners, still wearing much of their BA livery, and with BA crews, while RAF personnel were undergoing conversion. On 1 November 1984 216 Sqn was reactivated at Brize Norton and became the sole unit that flew the type during its 30 year RAF career.
Marshall Aerospace at Cambridge Airport was awarded the contract for the Tristar conversion programme. Four of the ex BA aircraft become KC.1 with freight doors as tanker/transports suitable for mixed passenger/freight and tanking ops.
The remaining two were to be solely K.1 tankers, with additional fuel tanks in the fore and aft baggage holds but lacking the large freight doors.
It was mentioned that it had originally been intended as a three-point tanker with Flight Refueling HDU's under the outer wings as well as the centreline unit.
But due to the Tristars 'Active Ailerons' (ACDS) it had proved impossible to fit anything under the wings.
Provision was made for a maximum 187 passengers in the KC.1. The KC.1s cabin floor was modified to load and lock pallets in place and could be quickly reconfigured for mixed passenger/freight loads.
For tanking, the K.1 and KC.1 were fitted with a pair of Flight Refuelling Mk 17T hose drum units (HDU) fitted in the underside of the rear fuselage which limited the Tristar to single point tanking, but allowed back up should one unit fail.
In 1984 three ex Pan Am Tristar 500s (delivered to the airline in 1980) were also purchased by the MOD to add further strategic transport capacity.
Two entered service as C2 passenger transports with seating for up to 267, but without an AAR capability. the third had been intended as a K2 tanker with wing mounted pods, failed to make the grade when it was soon realised the type’s wing configuration would make this impractical.
Instead it became a C2A transport, the new designation reflecting a revised autopilot and other avionic changes.
The RAF 216 sqn then began flying the Falklands air bridge schedule in December 1985, and mixed passenger/freight operations continued to be flown to Mount Pleasant airfield into the early 2000s.
Thereafter that service was civilianised, but this coincided with the Tristar becoming heavily involved in the UK’s contribution to the US led campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan, where it was to become the RAF's air bridge type of choice.
In addition, the RAF added the Brize Norton - Akrotiri air bridge to its regular work early on and the Tristar also became regularly involved in tanker trails to the US and beyond.
When the UK launched it's response to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the type’s trail capability was called upon immediately.
The two K1s were repainted in Desert Pink, prior to their deployment to Riyadh in support of UK and allied operations over the Gulf. Known collectively as ‘pink pigs’ and named Pinky and Perky.
In 1999 the RAF Tristar was also committed to assist Allied operations over Kosovo, again refuelling numerous NATO air assets.
Northern and Southern no-fly zones that had been established over Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War also saw 216 Sqn provide tankers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
The UK’s continued involvement in Afghanistan was to characterise the final years of the Tristar’s RAF service career. It soon became the mainstay of trooping missions into theatre as civilian airliners were mostly not permitted to land at military bases in the region.
Reflecting this requirement, a series of upgrades were introduced from 2004 including provision of a defensive aids suite, cockpit armour and other equipment. The most obvious change was the repainting of the type in an overall glossy dark camouflage grey scheme replacing the airline white worn since entering service.
Unfortunately, the high tempo of Afghan support operations began to take its toll on Tristar reliability and serviceability challenges.
Between 2007 and 2009 total hours flown by the Tristar reduced by 40% and this impacted on crew training.
One aircraft was sent to Marshalls in late 2007 for avionics update and glass cockpit.
Flight testing continued but when the 2010 SDSR brought forward Tristar retirement to an expected date in 2013 (from 2016), the upgrade programme was abandoned, and the aircraft eventually scrapped on site.
Ironically, despite the SDSR decision, the type had a further reprieve and extension to its service career resulting from the UK’s contribution to the UN campaign waged in 2011 against the forces of Col Gaddafi’s Libya.
By summer 2013 just seven Tristars remained operational and in September that year, the VC-10 was retired.
Thereafter a single Tristar returned to the Falklands to provide both AAR for the 1435 Flt Typhoons on QRA and casualty evacuation, as did a further aircraft in the UK on standby to maintain UK QRA.
216 Sqn stood down on March 20th 2014, its role replaced by the Air Tanker Consortium A330 Voyager; but its final operational sorties were on March 24th when two aircraft were flown over the North Sea with several Typhoons refuelled for the benefit of the media on board.
Those 6 aircraft that remained airworthy were subsequently flown to Bruntingthorpe and the care of GJD services.
They were subsequently purchased by US company Tempus Applied Solutions who intended to have them flown back to the States to enjoy a further career on AAR work contracted to the US military. However, that plan sadly failed to reach any fruition, and these large grey ladies now face scrapping in view of Bruntingthorpe’s proposed redevelopment.
Was the sale of the BA TriStar 500's as much for political reasons as it was financial?
Was that much wrong with the aircraft from BA's point of view?
The Conservative Government at the time wanted to privatise BA, with BA approximately £1 billion in debt and therefore not attractive to private investors.
Much of the debt was as a result of the order for more than 30 new 757's which started delivery in January 1983.
Add to that the Falkland's War in 1982 and the British Government realised that the RAF did not have a capable Jet tanker/transport cargo aircraft capable of supplying the Falklands.
With BA desperate to make cuts & save money, BA sold their TriStar 500's to the RAF for a rumoured £1 billion pounds, which was way above their market price. And hey presto, BA was suddenly making a profit!
Last edited by rog747; 15th Apr 2022 at 13:17.