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Lockheed L-188 Electra

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Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Infobox aircraft

The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. With its fairly high power-to-weight ratio, huge propellers and very short wings (resulting in the majority of the wingspan being enveloped in propwash), large Fowler flaps which significantly increased effective wing area when extended, and four-engined design, the airplane had airfield performance capabilities unmatched by many jet transport aircraft even today—particularly on short runways and high altitude airfields. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensive modifications to fix a design defect, no more were ordered. Jet airliners soon supplanted turboprops for many purposes, and many Electras were modified as freighters. Some Electras are still being used in various roles into the 21st century.<ref name="Air Spray"/><ref name="Flight2011"/> The airframe was also used as the basis for the Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

DevelopmentEdit

By the mid-20th century, Lockheed had established a strong position in commercial airliner production with its piston-engined Constellation series. Further development brought turboprop engines to the Constellation airframe with the Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation.

In 1951, Lockheed was approached by Capital Airlines to develop a new turboprop airliner, which was designated the YC-130, but no other carriers had any interest, so the design was dropped. Subsequently, Capital Airlines went on to order 60 British Vickers Viscounts.<ref name="Franc p396-7" /> In 1954, as a result of American Airlines' interest in developing a twin-engined aircraft, the idea resurfaced and the company offered a twin-engined design now designated the CL-303. This newer design was a high-wing type and would allow for 60 to 70 passengers. This design was also shelved for lack of interest from other carriers.<ref name="Franc p396-7" />

The following year, American Airlines revised its requirement to a four-engine design for 75 passengers with Template:Convert range.<ref name="Franc p396-7" /> Lockheed proposed a new design, the CL-310 with a low wing and four Rolls-Royce Darts or Napier Elands.<ref name="Franc p396-7" /> The CL-310 design met the American Airlines requirements, but failed to meet those of another interested carrier, Eastern Air Lines. Its requirements were for a longer range, a minimum cruising speed of Template:Convert, and increased seating capacity to the 85-to-90-passenger level.<ref name="Franc p396-7" /> Lockheed redesigned the CL-310 to use the Allison 501-D13 turboprop engine, a civilian version of the T56 developed for the Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport.<ref name="Franc p396-7" /> The airframe was stretched to allow for more seats and handle the increased performance. This design was launched as the Model 188 with an order for 35 by American Airlines on June 8, 1955. This was followed by Eastern Air Lines with an order for 40 on September 27, 1955.<ref name="Franc p396-7" /> The first aircraft took 26 months to complete, and by that time Lockheed had orders for 129. The prototype, a Model 188A, first flew on December 6, 1957, two months ahead of schedule.<ref name="Franc p398" /><ref name="century" /> Lockheed was awarded a type certificate by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) on 22 August 1958. The first delivery – to Eastern Air Lines – was on October 8, 1958, but it did not enter service until January 12, 1959.<ref name="Franc p396-7" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

File:Lockheed L188C PH-LLK KLM MAN 23.12.63 edited-2.jpg
L188C Electra of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operating a passenger service at Manchester Airport in 1963
File:Atlantic.airlines.electra.g-lofd.arp.jpg
An L-188CF of Atlantic Airlines in 2004
File:NWT Air Lockheed Electra at Vancouver Airport in August 1983.jpg
An Electra freighter of NWT Air at Vancouver Airport in August 1983
File:Lockheed L-188 Electra (TAN Airlines 1970).jpg
Lockheed L-188 Electra of TAN Airlines (Transportes Aéreos Nacionales S.A.) operating at Las Mercedes Airport, Managua, Nicaragua in 1970

In 1957, the United States Navy issued a requirement for an advanced maritime patrol aircraft. Lockheed proposed a development of the Electra that was later placed into production as the P-3 Orion, which had much greater success – the Orion has been in continual front-line service for more than 50 years.

DesignEdit

The Model 188 Electra is a low-wing cantilever monoplane powered by four wing-mounted Allison 501-D13 turboprops. It has a retractable tricycle landing gear and a conventional tail. It has a cockpit crew of three and can carry 66 to 80 passengers in a mixed-class arrangement, although 98 could be carried in a high-density layout. The first variant was the Model 188A, followed by the longer-range 188C with room for Template:Convert more fuel and maximum take-off weight 15000 KG / 33069 lbs.

Operational historyEdit

Civilian operationsEdit

American Airlines was the launch customer. Eastern Air Lines, Braniff Airways, and Northwest Airlines followed. The Electra suffered a troubled start. Passengers of early aircraft complained of noise in the cabin forward of the wings, caused by propeller resonance.<ref name="Allen155" /> Lockheed redesigned the engine nacelles, tilting the engines upwards 3°.<ref name="Allen155" /><ref name="Allen159" /> The changes were incorporated on the production line by mid-1959 or as modification kits for the aircraft already built, and resulted in improved performance and a better ride for passengers.<ref name="Allen159" /><ref name="Allen161" />

Three aircraft were lost in fatal accidents between February 1959 and March 1960. After the third crash, the FAA limited the Electra's speed until the cause could be determined.<ref name="Allen155" /> After an extensive investigation, two of the crashes (in September 1959 and March 1960) were found to be caused by an engine-mount problem. The mounting of the gearbox cracked, and the reduced rigidity enabled a phenomenon called "whirl mode flutter" (analogous to the precession of a child's spinning top as it slows down, an interaction of propellers with airflow) that affected the outboard engine nacelles. When the oscillation was transmitted to the wings and the flutter frequency decreased to a point where it was resonant with the outer wing panels (at the same frequency, or harmonically related ones), violent up-and-down oscillation increased until the wings would tear off.<ref name="Allen155" /><ref name="Lee" /><ref name="inquest" />

The company implemented an expensive modification program (the Lockheed Electra Achievement Program, LEAP) in which the engine mounts and the wing structures supporting the mounts were strengthened, and some of the wing skins were replaced with thicker material.<ref name="Allen155" /> All Electras were modified by the factory at Lockheed's expense, with the modifications taking 20 days for each aircraft. The changes were incorporated in later aircraft as they were built.<ref name="Allen155" /> However, the damage had been done, and the public lost confidence in the type. This and the smaller jets that were being introduced eventually relegated Electras to the smallest airlines. Production ended in 1961 after 170 had been built. Losses to Lockheed have been estimated as high as $57 million, not counting an additional $55 million in lawsuits.<ref name="century" /> Electras continued to carry passengers into the 1990s, but most now in use are freighters.

Several airlines in the US flew Electras, but the only European airline to order the type from Lockheed was KLM, which used 12 between September 1959 and January 1969 in Europe and east to Saigon and Kuala Lumpur.

File:Lockheed L-188C ZK-TEA ANZ.QF SYD 21.09.70 edited-3.jpg
Air New Zealand L-188C Electra departing Sydney for Wellington in 1970 on the joint schedule with Qantas

In the South Pacific, Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) and its successor Air New Zealand flew the Electra on trans-Tasman flights.<ref name="Allen162" /> In Australia Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) and Ansett each operated three Electras on trunk routes between the Australian mainland state capital cities, and later to Port Moresby, from 1959 until 1971.<ref name="Allen161" /> Ansett had its three Electras converted to freighters in 1970–71 and continued to fly them until 1984.<ref name="Allen1612" /> Qantas also operated four Electras on its routes to Hong Kong and Japan, to New Caledonia, and to New Guinea (until the New Guinea route was handed to Ansett and TAA); then later across the Indian Ocean to South Africa, and across the Tasman in competition with TEAL after that airline became 100% New Zealand-owned.<ref name="Allen162" /><ref name="Brimson19093" /> The divestiture of TEAL's 50%-Australian shareholding was itself prompted by the Electra order, as TEAL wanted jet aircraft, but was forced by the Australian government to order Electras in order to standardise with Qantas.<ref name="Brimson19093" /><ref name="Allen158" /><ref name="Brimson16065" /> Three Qantas Electras were retired in the mid-1960s and the fourth in 1971.<ref name="Allen162" />

Some Electras were sold to South American airlines, where the Electra had highly successful operations, such as those of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano and Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas;<ref name="ilovevarig">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in both cases, the Electra ensured the airlines' international operations before they started using jets. Most notably, Brazilian flag carrier airline Varig operated flawlessly a fleet of 14 Electras on the extremely busy Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo shuttle service (the so-called Ponte Aérea – or "Air Bridge" in Portuguese) for 30 years, completing over half a million flights on the route before the type was replaced by Boeing 737-300 and Fokker 100 jets in 1992.<ref name="avioesemusicas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Electra became so iconic on that route that its retirement caused a commotion in Brazil, with extensive press coverage and many special tributes.<ref name="arquivo-jetsite">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the mid-1970s, several secondhand Electras were bought by travel clubs, including Nomads, Adventurers and Shillelaghs. Others were retired from passenger service into air-cargo use, 40 being modified by a subsidiary of Lockheed from 1968 with one or two large doors in the left side of the fuselage and a reinforced cabin floor.<ref name="Allen155" /> Air California and Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) were still operating Electras for scheduled passenger service during the late 1970s primarily into the Lake Tahoe Airport located in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, as this airfield had banned scheduled jet aircraft flights at the time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Military useEdit

In 1973, the Argentine Navy bought three Electras equipped with cargo doors. These were used during the "Dirty War" to toss political prisoners into the Rio de La Plata in the infamous death flights.<ref name="Diego" /> The Electras were also used for transport duties during the Falklands War in 1982.

In 1983, after the retirement of its last SP-2H Neptune, the Argentine Navy bought further civilian Electra airframes, modified several for maritime patrol,<ref name="ara" /> and widely used them until their replacement by P-3s in 1994.<ref name="gaggero" /> One of the Argentine Navy's Electras, known locally as L-188E Electron, is preserved at the Argentine Naval Aviation Museum (Museo de la Aviación Naval) at Bahía Blanca.<ref name="Argentina"/>

VariantsEdit

Template:Visible anchor
Initial production version
L-188AF (All Freight version)
Unofficial designation for freighter conversions of L-188A carried out under a supplementary type certificate.
L-188PF (Passenger-Freight version)
Unofficial designation for freighter conversions of L-188A carried out under a supplementary type certificate.
Template:Visible anchor
Long-range version with increased fuel capacity (Template:Convert fuel capacity from Template:Convert on L-188A) and a higher operating gross weight (Maximum takeoff weight is Template:Cvt compared to Template:Cvt of the "A" version).
L-188CF
Unofficial designation for freighter conversion of L-188C carried out under a supplementary type certificate.
YP-3A Orion
One Orion aerodynamic test bed, fuselage shortened by Template:Convert.

OperatorsEdit

Current operatorsEdit

By July 2018, only two Electras in the world were transporting cargo, both with Buffalo Airways.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Thirteen other aircraft remained in service as air tankers, nine with Air Spray (aerial firefighting) and four with Buffalo Airways (cargo/bulk fuel and aerial firefighting).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Air Spray" /> As of 2024, no passenger flights are taken on Electras, with Air Spray and Buffalo Airways still operating 13 cargo and firefighting planes.Template:Cn

Template:Col-begin

Former civilian operatorsEdit

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Australia
Austria
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Colombia
Republic of the Congo
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guyana
Honduras
Hong Kong

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Indonesia
Ireland
Laos
Mexico
  • Banco de México (corporate aircraft)
  • Mex-Jet Cargo (all cargo freighter version)
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
Norway
New Zealand
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Sweden
Taiwan

Template:Col-3

United Kingdom
United States

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Zaire

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Military operatorsEdit

Argentina
Bolivia
  • Bolivian Air Force – 1 from 1973, still in use in 1987.<ref>Siegrist 1987, pp. 174–175.</ref>
Ecuador
Honduras
Mexico
Panama

OrdersEdit

Model 188A
  • Eastern Air Lines ordered 40 188As which were delivered between November 1958 and August 1959, the last five as 188Cs.<ref name="prop" />
  • American Airlines ordered 35 188As which were delivered between November 1958 and March 1960.<ref name="prop" />
  • National Airlines ordered 14 188As which were delivered between April 1959 and January 1961.<ref name="prop" />
  • Ansett-ANA ordered three 188As which were delivered to Australia in February 1959, April 1959 and February 1960.<ref name="Allen162"/><ref name="prop" />
  • Braniff ordered nine 188As which were delivered between April 1959 and January 1960.<ref name="prop" />
  • Western Airlines ordered 12 188As which were delivered between May 1959 and February 1961.<ref name="prop" />
  • Cathay Pacific ordered two 188As which were delivered in 1959.Template:Sfn
  • Trans Australia Airlines ordered three 188As which were delivered to Australia between June 1959 and August 1960.<ref name="prop" />
  • General Motors ordered one 188A which was delivered in July 1958.<ref name="prop" />
Model 188C
  • Northwest Orient Airlines ordered 18 188Cs which were delivered between July 1959 and June 1961.<ref name="prop" />
  • Pacific Southwest Airlines ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in November and December 1959.<ref name="prop" />
  • Capital Airlines ordered five 188Cs but later cancelled the order. The five aircraft were sold to other operators.<ref name="prop" />
  • Qantas ordered four 188Cs which were delivered between October and December 1959.<ref name="prop" />
  • KLM ordered 12 188Cs which were delivered between September 1959 and December 1960.<ref name="prop" />
  • Tasman Empire Airways ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in October and December 1959.<ref name="prop" />
  • Garuda ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in January 1961.<ref name="prop" />

Aircraft on displayEdit

  • s/no. 1003 ex NASA N428NA. This was the first P-3 Orion prototype. It was converted from an existing L188 Electra airframe into the YP3V-1/YP-3A Orion. It was later converted into the NP-3A by United States Naval Research Laboratory, then used by NASA for the Earth Resources Observation Program.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} retrieved 24 February 2016</ref>Template:Failed verification Preserved at the National Naval Aviation Museum, Forrest Sherman Field, Pensacola, Florida.Template:Citation needed

  • s/no. 1025 ex Varig PP-VJM; preserved at the Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Failed verification<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Better source needed

  • ex Argentine Navy 6-P-104, converted to L-188EW WAVE, retired in 1996; on display at the Museo de la Aviación Naval, Bahia Blanca, Argentina.<ref name="Argentina"/>
  • ex Argentine Navy 6-P-106, converted to L-188E Electron, retired in 1996; on display at the Museo de la Aviación Naval, Comandante Espora Air Naval Base, Bahia Blanca.<ref name="Argentina">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Accidents and incidentsEdit

Of the total of 170 Electras built, as of June 2011, 58 have been written off because of crashes and other accidents.<ref name="ASN" />

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

  • December 24, 1971: LANSA Flight 508, en route from Lima to Pucallpa, Peru, entered an area of strong turbulence and lightning and disintegrated in midair due to structural failure following a lightning strike and fire. Of the 92 people on board, 91 died.<ref name="asn19711224-0" /> One passenger, Juliane Koepcke, survived when trees cushioned her fall into the rainforest.
  • March 19, 1972 Universal Airlines L-188C N851U was on a ferry flight from Tucson, Arizona to Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah when it developed an engine overspeed issue, complicated by an inability to feather. The aircraft landed at Hill just after midnight, whereupon the engine exploded, destroying a large portion of the left wing and causing a substantial fire. The crew had minor injuries but the aircraft was a writeoff. The crew was cited in the investigation for improper procedures.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Crewmen Escape Injury As Plane Engine Explodes, Ogden (UT) Standard-Examiner, 20 March 1972</ref>

  • August 27, 1973: A Lockheed L-188A Electra passenger plane (HK-777) operated by Aerocondor was destroyed when it flew into the side of the Cerro el Cable mountain shortly after takeoff from Bogotá-Eldorado Airport (BOG), Colombia. All 36 passengers and six crew members died.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • October 30, 1974: On approach to Rea Point Airfield on Melville Island, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), Canada, Panarctic Oils Flight 416 crashed into the ice-covered sea some 3 km south of its destination after the pilot-in-command abruptly increased the rate of descent in apparent disorientation. All 30 passengers and two of the four crew members, including the pilot-in-command, died.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • June 4, 1976: Air Manila Flight 702, an L-188A (RP-C1061), crashed just after takeoff from the Guam Naval Air Station; the 45 occupants and one person on the ground died.<ref name="aar77-06" /><ref name="asn19760604-0" />
  • On November 18, 1979, Template:Interlanguage link L-188 (N859U), operating a flight for the US military (Logair 3N18) from Hill Air Force Base, crashed near Salt Lake City airport, Utah. While climbing between 12,000 and 13,000 ft, all electrical power was lost; the crew requested an immediate descent. The aircraft attained a high airspeed and a high rate of descent and the aircraft disintegrated in flight; all three crew members died. The NTSB investigation stated the probable cause was a progressive failure of the aircraft electrical system leading to the disabling or erratic performance of flight critical flight instruments and lighting. As a result, the crew became disoriented and lost control of the aircraft. The crew's efforts to regain control of the aircraft imposed loads which exceeded the design limits and caused it to break up in flight. This was the third Universal Airlines Electra to be destroyed in connection with Hill Air Force Base (inherited by Trans International from Saturn Airways). See August 24, 1970 and March 19, 1972.
  • January 8, 1981, a SAHSA L-188A Template:Interlanguage link in Guatemala City, killing all six crew members on board.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • On 8 June 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's number-four propeller separated from the aircraft and tore a hole in the fuselage over the Pacific Ocean causing a rapid decompression and loss of control. The pilots managed to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage, Alaska and all 15 passengers and crew survived. Since the propeller fell into the sea and was never recovered, the cause of the separation is unknown.
  • May 30, 1984, Zantop International Airlines Flight 931, a Lockheed L-188AF Electra (N5523) flying regularly scheduled cargo service from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) to Detroit-Willow Run Airport (YIP), crashed at Chalkhill, Pennsylvania; all three crew members and the sole passenger died. While cruising at FL220, at approximately 01:44 AM, the aircraft entered an unusual attitude shortly after a course change. During efforts to recover the aircraft the pilots imposed loads on the airframe that exceeded the aircraft's design limits and it broke apart at altitude. NTSB reported that in-flight problems with the aircraft's gyros likely provided conflicting attitude data to the flight crew at the time of the upset and this, combined with a lack of visual cues, were contributing causes of the accident.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
  • January 21, 1985: Chartered Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashed after takeoff from Reno-Cannon International Airport en route to Minneapolis–St Paul Minnesota; 70 of the 71 people on board died.<ref name="asn19850121-0" />
  • September 12, 1988: A Tame Ecuador L-188A Electra, registration HC-AZY, crashed near Lago Agrio Airport shortly after takeoff; six crew and one passenger died.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
  • September 4, 1989: A Tame Ecuador L-188C Electra, registration HC-AZJ, crash-landed at Taura AFB with no fatalities.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
  • December 18, 1995: An overloaded 188C of Trans Service Airlift crashed near Cahungula, Angola, with the loss of 141 of the 144 occupants. This is the deadliest aviation disaster involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra.<ref name="asn19951218-0" />
  • February 8, 1999: An Air Karibu L-188 (9Q-CDI) Template:Interlanguage link after takeoff from N'djili Airport killing all seven crew members. The aircraft had been overloaded, and the flight engineer was serving as a co-pilot because no other co-pilots were present. A ground mechanic took the flight engineer's place.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • October 16, 2000: An Air Spray Lockheed L-188 Electra (Tanker #88 C-FQYB) was destroyed in a fire at Air Spray’s maintenance facility in Red Deer, Alberta. Many other WW2 era planes were also consumed amidst the blaze.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • July 16, 2003: An Air Spray Lockheed L-188 Electra (Tanker #86 C-GFQA) crashed and was destroyed near Cranbrook, British Columbia shortly after delivering the retardant load. Tanker 86 was seen to turn right initially, then entered a turn to the left. At 1221 MST, the Electra struck the terrain on the side of a steep ridge at about 3900 feet above sea level. The aircraft exploded on impact and the two pilots died. An intense post-crash fire consumed much of the wreckage and started a forest fire at the crash site and the surrounding area.<ref>Template:Cadors-accident</ref>

Specifications (Model 188A)Edit

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See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

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Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

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