Lockheed designed and built an airstair for the Court L1011.
It folded away into the cargo hold and as it was said at the time it was "Monkey Motion " !!

with Court the steps lasted maybe all or just some of the first summer 1973 season then were removed
if the mechanisms failed then it was a case of the F/E abseiling down a rope ladder with a big handle to turn 5 different notch positions (same to retract them then he had to climb back up)


LTU also had it fitted on their 1st one but they too got rid sooner or later

rumour has it the designer was the same chap who designed the vickers valiant (or was it the victor) main undercarriage

LTU also obtained 3 of the PSA ordered Tristars (NTU) which had a much better and simpler forward of the wing lower deck door with an airstair to gain access to the to the lower deck passenger lounge and seating area and stair up to the main deck
(IL96 had this too)

OMG.

http://aviadejavu.ru/Images6/AE/AE73-6/24-1.jpg

What could possibly go wrong with those? :O

Wow! Heath-Robinson worked at Lockheed; who knew?

How did they ever fit back into the hold again!

Ryanair have the optional forward air stairs fitted to their entire fleet of B738's and I'm sure that it's available on the MAX but due to the added weight not many airlines take up this option.

Looking at those two photos not only did those stairs have to unfold but they then has to be swung across to the door.

View video from 8 minute to see the stairs unfold.

As you can see "Monkey Motion" !!
Also the catering was a little upmarket from seat back catering a la 1-11 !!

About the only thing we kept in common at BA with the 'video' was the electric doors times 2! Must have been some weight penalty with the addons albeit I am impressed with the telescopic loading.

Gawd knows how many limit switches those stairs had!....but it would have only taken one playing up to stop them working (no wonder why they didn't last long!)

At least on the 737 if the airstairs play-up, a good kick usually does the trick!:}

Dont forget that the CL operation was in the good old days to airfields with little equipment so it had to be fairly self supporting.
Even things like LCN and ESWL were a major headache, with some airfields not even being index.

Also if RR had not gone broke and delayed deliveries then it would have been even earlier !!

With matching Court coaches

https://i.imgur.com/Gdka591.jpg

Slightly off topic I know but does anyone have any information, even better photos, on the airfield at Wilstead which I remember was used for parachuting in the 70's and probably into the 80's. I seem to recall a Cessna 180/185 talking to Luton Approach when they got airborne. The location of the airfield and runway length and direction would be a start. No apparent trace remains on Google Earth that I can tell.

Was located here
Address: Duck End Farm
Duck End Lane
Wilstead
Bedford
Bedfordshire
MK45 3HP

I visited in the 1970s- still looks to be in the same family the Maskells who owned an ex College of Aeronautics Auster.

Thanks 22/04. Auster would have been G-AMYD which was registered to the Maskells from 1971 to 2005. Don't suppose you can pinpoint where the runway might have been from this Google Earth 2002 aerial view? (part of my FS2004 ongoing project).

https://i.imgur.com/4ZwtL36.jpg

Cj! Due north of the D in Duck End is a white building which I think is the hangar in the middle of the strip . Runway is/was 13/31`. He was an Uncle of Mr Hutton ! I landed there in the balloon once , nice guy ! You can still (just) see it from the A6 if you know where to look.

cj241101

Any chance you could produce a photo of the old Barton le Clay airfield site now an Industrial Estate and farmland?

A bit of info here CJ......No precise location given though

Duck End Farm - UK Airfield Guide

I'm afraid not. There was a picture posted on this thread a while back, though:-
https://www.pprune.org/aviation-hist...ml#post9615664

What looks like a hangar is still there in the latest Google Earth image from 2017, albeit looking a little overgrown. Thanks for the reply, gives me something I can work with.