Originally Posted by
SpringHeeledJack
Did any other L1011 have these inventive and useful addition, or was Court the only customer to specify them when ordering ?
PSA had them as well, used on Los Angeles-San Francisco shuttles with short turnrounds. Like the Court ones, these aircraft had a limited life before being stored for some time and then sold. But the airstairs went to the lower level only, internal stairs then went up to the main deck. However if you look at a photo, although shorter, the design looks similar.
Photos: Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar 1 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net
There's also a discussion about Tristar airstairs, including an extended photo series about the engineering mock-up of the Court ones, here
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo....main/4954604/
Incidentally, the Ilyushin 86 widebody had a similar arrangement as the PSA ones, with a baggage counter inside at the lower level where you left your bags.