The TriStar’s AFCS (Avionic Flight Control system) included some of the period’s state-of-the-art features. It had speed control, a flight control system, a navigation system, a stability system, a direct lift control system, and autopilot. The aircraft’s CAT-IIIB Autoland system could also help the trijet land, even in severe weather. //
There were also significant cabin innovations. For instance, the passengers on board would notice glare-resistant windows, full-sized hideaway closets for jackets, and a below-deck galley. Food would make its way up to the main cabin with the help of a pair of elevators. Passengers and crew alike enjoyed the advanced features of the aircraft.
“Passengers loved riding in it, thanks to a unique engine configuration that reduced sound in the cabin. Flight crews appreciated its extra-wide aisles and overhead bins. But it was TriStar’s pilots who had access to its most thrilling feature: an advanced fly-by-wire automatic flight control system. Tristar pilots simply had to dial altitude and course changes into the flight control system and monitor their instruments, and the L-1011 would fly and land on its own, descending smoothly onto the runway by locking in to an airport’s radio beacons,” Lockheed Martin shares on its website.
“Thanks to its impressive autopilot feature, the TriStar was given special clearance by the FAA to land during severe weather conditions. Whereas other wide-bodied jets had to be diverted to alternate airports, L-1011 passengers could rest assured that they would touch down precisely where they were scheduled to land.” //
on May 25th, 1972,test pilots Anthony LeVier and Charles Hall flew 115 crew members, employees, and reporters on a four hour and 13 minute trip from Palmdale, California, to Washington Dulles with the TriStar’s AFCS feature in place from takeoff to landing. This was the first transcontinental flight without the need for human hands on the controls. This moment helped to create confidence in new forms of flight tech.
