View Full Version : Tri-Star into Liverpool this afternoon?????
magpienja
30th Sep 2010, 18:30
Nice sight this afternoon...an all white Tri-Star going into Liverpool.....caught its transmission after it landed as a Marshall flight from Cambridge....stopped about 10 mins then departed back to Cambridge,
Anybody know what it was doing in Liverpool.
Nick.
purplehelmet
30th Sep 2010, 18:52
hi nick. i presume its the same raf tristar that landed at man about 12.15 and departed about 12.45:ok:
Dave Clarke Fife
30th Sep 2010, 19:44
This was at BHX today as well I'm reliably informed............recently had a flight deck avionics upgrade at Marshalls I'm told.
purplehelmet
30th Sep 2010, 19:48
just read on the tas manchester site it was on test flights.
concernedofbhx
30th Sep 2010, 19:48
Yep, was at BHX (BOZO - Birmingham OZzy Osbourne) earlier today :D:D
magpienja
1st Oct 2010, 15:17
I see so I presume it was an RAF machine?????
purplehelmet
1st Oct 2010, 16:01
yeah it was raf tristar zd949, very rare to see a tristar at man these day's, a nice sight none the less though:ok:
aviate1138
3rd Oct 2010, 05:54
Was that the one that used to be at Boscombe Down a few years back?
....very rare to see a tristar at man these day's...
If all goes according to plan, you will see a few more, as charters to MAN are in the cards for us'uns...stay tuned.
purplehelmet
3rd Oct 2010, 14:05
411a.
Thanks for the head's up,hope this happens it will be great to see a few more L1011's.
ive only flown once on a tristar about 15 years ago on an air ops flight to greece, the interior was a bit old and shabby but the flight was probably the smoothest ive ever been on, a great aircraft.:D
777fly
9th Oct 2010, 08:21
I heard a rumour a short while ago that the RAF sent one of the -500 L1011 tankers to Marshalls to have the avionics updated to a digital system. Apparently it was tried but could not be made to work. Unfortunately it then proved impossible to return the aircraft to original state and so it was then only fit for scrap. Don't know if that is anywhere near the truth, but if it is maybe the 'all white' Tristar you saw, ex- Marshalls, was on it's way to the breakers yard.
glhcarl
9th Oct 2010, 14:39
I heard a rumour a short while ago that the RAF sent one of the -500 L1011 tankers to Marshalls to have the avionics updated to a digital system. Apparently it was tried but could not be made to work. Unfortunately it then proved impossible to return the aircraft to original state and so it was then only fit for scrap. Don't know if that is anywhere near the truth, but if it is maybe the 'all white' Tristar you saw, ex- Marshalls, was on it's way to the breakers yard.
The all white TirStar was in fact ZD949, painted in its standard RAF white with blue stripe? ZD949 has been fitted with the Marshall "Minimum Military Requirement" avionics suite and "Flight Management System". Marshall has installed this same system on The Netherland's C-130 fleet.
As for the TriStars heading for the "breakers yard"? I suggest you will see the RAF operating them at a minimum of 15 more years! Remember RAF TriStar's are very young when compaired to TriStars used in civilian service there entire life. The highest time (a pax version) has less than 12,000 cycles and all the Tanker and Tanker/Freighter's under 10,000 cycles .
777fly
9th Oct 2010, 19:07
I was not suggesting that all the RAF Tristars were going to be scrapped. I'm sure they have plenty of life left in them. The story I heard only concerned one airframe.
All-white painted early model aircraft are often either being delivered to a new owner or going to the breakers.
Maybe someone involved at the RAF or Marshalls could confirm or deny the rumour?
MatthewCoakley
9th Oct 2010, 20:23
Myself and my dad saw it from the apron on Thursday 30th September. Very noisy, great view of it rotating and climbing quite steeply!
glhcarl wrote
As for the TriStars heading for the "breakers yard"? I suggest you will see the RAF operating them at a minimum of 15 more years!
TriStar is currently on an out of service date for 2015 in the RAF.
House of Commons Written Answers 2 March 2009 (http://services.parliament.uk/hansard/Commons/ByDate/20090302/writtenanswers/part022.html)
TriStar discussed on following link.
House of Commons Hansard Debates for 06 Jan 2010 (pt 0003) (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm100106/halltext/100106h0003.htm)
TJ
Duchess_Driver
9th Oct 2010, 21:50
Maybe someone involved at the RAF or Marshalls could confirm or deny the rumour?
Why....???
Why would they do a 'farewell tour' or Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham for a single aircraft with an apparent 'Out of service' date for the type some 5 years down the line? Doesn't make sense, especially with a "Marshalls" callsign rather than a RR.
My money would be on an avionics upgrade test flight.
TheChitterneFlyer
10th Oct 2010, 08:44
Trust me... it's a flight test programme.
TCF