Hardly.
Now, lets have a look at the various models of the 'ole tri-motor.
The standard body aeroplane came with several fuel arrangements, two different models of engines, and had a MTOW of 215 tons, on later varients.
Enter the -500.
More fuel (95 tons vs 80...or less), an extended wing, shorter body etc, and the whole idea was for a very long range jet transport.
I personally have done 12 hours non-stop with the machine.
Many times.
The active ailerons were designed to eliminate extensive wing mods, IIRC.
Looking further, I have had, in 27 years of flying the L1011, absolutely no problems whatsoever with the DLC system, nor with the active ailerons (or MDLC) on the -500 model.
None.
Zip.
There were only six examples of the -250 modified, all by Delta Airlines.
These had the weight increased to that of the -500 model (with limitations), the same fuel capacity, bigger engines but of course were not equipped with active ailerons nor MDLC, and were not capable of the longer range that the -500 offered.
Some folks apparently like to throw stones at the TriStar, simply because they don't understand the inner workings of the beast.
One must remember, the L1011 is the only first generation wide-body civil jet transport that has never crashed due to an aircraft system malfunction, the pilots flew it into the ground for a variety of reasons or failed to use the proper checklist.
As for reliability today, I just completed an extensive schedule of Hajj flying, and the specific L10 airplane that I operated had no delays nor cancellations whatsoever.
None.
Zip.
The automatic approach/land also worked as advertised...it must be experienced to be believed, it is that good, even by todays standards.
Not bad for a thirty seven year old design.
Another thought.
Two years ago I has having a conversation with a recently retired DAL senior vice-president.
He mentioned...."our TriStars made the most money for Delta of any airplane in the fleet, bar none."
Delta should know, they had sixty nine of 'em, and were the largest fleet operator.
Seems entirely reasonable to me.
