I confess to know nothing about the RAF Tristar but in its civil role it was not a commercial success.
Lockheed even bribed Comany executives, including my own Co's Director of Flight Operation, to procure the A/C.
We were told it would fly non-stop Hong Kong to Sydney....never happened...we would need to send the pax luggage on another A/C to achieve that range.
It bankrupted Rolls Royce and the UK taxpayer has been bankrolling that purchase ever since. Probably why the RAF ended up with them....and probably why we were given landing rights to Heathrow. politics...politics!
I'm not sure but I think it also caused the demise of Eastern Airlines, and let's not forget the crash in the Everglades. Rumour has it they scavenged the galley equipment from that A/C to one of our leases. Our Flight Attendants (Asian) were scared of ghosts and avoided that A/C like the plague...sickies were prolific.
I flew on the leased Eastern A/C on a USA licence as they were still 'N' registered...it was a stop-gap cheap lease and now most of those L1011s can be found in an A/C parking lot in the desert near Tucson, AZ.
Also, I cannot recall how many times I had to help Flight Attendants in the lower galley when their equipment didn't work, or the elevator would stick!
The DLC was an advanced idea but most of our pilots were hesitant about it...didn't give much confidence as we constantly looked at some Vstall device...long time ago but I remember calling 'Alpha mode'...or something similar, on a few occasions...as this was a preliminary warning.
I'll admit it had advanced electronics which impressed me...but I'd be easily impressed having just spent 4 years on B707-320C which operated like a wheelbarrow...except the nose gear could easily stick-up!
Anyway, as someone said...each to his own. Enjoy the nostalgia.