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Introduction

Lockheed and the iconic L-1011 'TriStar' need no introduction. The 'TriStar' was Lockheed's opportunity to re-enter the commercial airliner market after several years of absence and this wide body airliner of the 1970s came from a period of significant development in the commercial airline industry. This was reflected in a design which was more efficient and technically more advanced than its competitors.

Just Flight have a longevity in the flight sim community for producing and publishing high quality commercial airliner aircraft and other add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator and other flight simulator platforms. After releasing the original L-1011 'TriStar' product some two years ago, Just Flight have now released this iconic aircraft in a 'Professional' version which sees a return to the highly detailed and modelled systems which are synonymous with the Just Flight 'Professional' product range. Just Flight also have three separate livery packs available for the aircraft.

History

The Lockheed L-1011 'TriStar' is a medium to long range, wide body, trijet airliner. It has a seating capacity of up to 400 passengers and a range of over 4,000 nm (7,410 km). Commonly referred to as the L-1011 (pronounced "L-ten-eleven") or 'TriStar', its trijet configuration of a Rolls-Royce RB211 engine under each wing, and a third, centre mounted RB211 engine with an S-duct air inlet embedded in the tail and the upper fuselage, is distinctive.

The L-1011 'TriStar' was produced in two fuselage lengths. The original L-1011-1 first flew in November 1970 and entered service in 1972. The shortened, long range L-1011-500 first flew in 1978 and entered service in 1979. The L-1011-1 was also produced in a high gross weight variant and subsequent production variants provided further increases to take-off weights. The aircraft's design incorporated some pioneering technologies, including a highly advanced autopilot system, providing an auto landing capability, and an automated descent control system, the Direct Lift Control (DLC) system. Consequently, it was the first wide body airliner to be certified for CAT IIIc auto landings. The aircraft's design features also included a lower deck galley and lounge facilities.

The 'TriStar' was the third wide body airliner to enter commercial operations after the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. When production ended in 1984, Lockheed had manufactured a total of 250 'TriStars'. The aircraft's sales were hampered by two years of delays due to developmental and financial problems at Rolls-Royce, the sole manufacturer of the 'TriStar's' engines. After production ended and due to the 'TriStar's' below target sales, Lockheed withdrew from the commercial aircraft business entirely.

Availability and Installation

The L-1011 'TriStar' Professional is currently available direct from Just Flight as a 'download only' product. It is priced at £34.99, or the equivalent on currency cross rates. The download file size is 806MB and it requires approximately 6.3GB of HDD space for installation.

For owners of the original version of the Just Flight L-1011 "TriStar', the L-1011 'TriStar' Professional is also available in an upgrade version. This is also currently available direct from Just Flight as a 'download only' product. It is priced at £14.99, or the equivalent on currency cross rates. The download file size is 807MB and it requires approximately 6.3GB of HDD space for installation.

The three L-1011 'TriStar' Livery Packs are available as individual products or as a Livery Bundle Pack containing all three products. All are currently available direct from Just Flight as 'download only' products. The individual Livery Packs are priced at £4.99 each, and the Livery Bundle Pack is priced at £9.99, or the equivalent on currency cross rates. The download file size and the required HDD space for installation varies for each of these products. These details are available on the respective product pages on the Just Flight web site.

The download and installation process is simple and seamless and during installation you are required to log in to your Just Flight account.

Model Features

The L-1011 'TriStar' Professional is provided with a single model, the final production L-1011-500 variant. Also included are three RAF variants, the TriStar C2 (passenger), TriStar K1 (cargo/tanker/transport), and TriStar KC1 (cargo/tanker/transport), which were all based on the L-1011-500. In addition, the L-1011-500 is provided in an INS and FMC configuration, effectively doubling the available aircraft. The model features listed for the L-1011 'TriStar' Professional are extensive and typical of models in the Just Flight 'Professional' range.

The following summary of the major features provides a limited overview of the extent of the detail included in these packages:
    • General:
        • highly accurate L-1011-500 TriStar model , built over drawings and plans of the real aircraft;
        • accurate flight dynamics closely simulate the real aircraft performance envelope - roll augmentation, direct lift control,
           and active control system are simulated;
        • authentic sound set delivers the full force of the three Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofan engines;
        • multiple interior and exterior viewpoints;
        • flight analysis tool – the flight analysis tools enables you to monitor and log your flight, including airspeed, altitude, and fuel flow
           parameters, and also includes the ‘Live Map’ feature for monitoring your current position, speed, and flight plan;
        • comprehensive 160 page colour manual, including flight tutorial; and
        • Prepar3D v1/v2 compatibility.

    • Exterior:
        • high definition 2048 x 2048 textures;
        • animated flying surfaces, landing gear, doors, airbrakes, and engine cowlings;
        • highly detailed and accurately animated main landing gear with complex struts, hydraulic lines and brake systems, realistic suspension,
           and accurate retraction routines;
        • accurately modelled, six stage, Fowler flaps and spoilers;
        • lighting and special effects include strobes, beacon and navigation lights, and landing lights correctly modelled into the leading edges
           of the wings;
        • fully modelled passenger and lower deck cargo doors;
        • animated large fuselage freight door on KC1 variant;
        • air stairs for the forward and aft passenger doors;
        • cargo loader for military variants with large fuselage cargo door;
        • animated windscreen wipers;
        • accurately modelled and animated twin centre line hose and drogue in-flight refuelling system on the K1 and KC1 models;
        • military variants feature accurately modelled directional infrared counter measure devices;
        • specular map to give realistic light effects on the aircraft surfaces; and
        • bump mapping to give a more realistic 3D effect to aircraft liveries.

    • Interior:
        • fully functional virtual cockpit with nearly all switches, knobs, and levers animated and functional;
        • highly detailed virtual cockpit, including engineer's panel (with refuelling controls on the K1 and KC1);
        • authentic gauges and navigational equipment, including RMI, HSI and INS;
        • 3D primary instruments (Captain and First Officer) for increased readability and smoothness:
            • attitude direction indicator (ADI);
            • horizontal situation indicator (HSI);
            • radio distance direction magnetic indicator (RDDMI);
            • airspeed indicator (ASI);
            • vertical speed indicator (VSI); and
            • altimeter.
        • fully functioning Flight Engineer’s panel:
            • hydraulic system (including PTUs, AC pumps, and RAT);
            • electrical system (including ground power);
            • engine bleed control system (including cabin temperature control);
            • fuel system (including fuel transfer/cross-feed and dumping);
            • cabin pressurisation system; and
            • miscellaneous systems (ECS monitor, slat monitor, brake temperature monitor and many more).
        • advanced FMS unit based on the Honeywell HT9100 FMS/CDU:
            • LNAV and advisory VNAV;
            • SIDs/STARs (with Navigraph support);
            • POS INIT, PERF INIT, IDENT, RTE, LEGS, and DEP/ARR pages; and
            • integrated fully with the autopilot.
        • fully functioning INS unit for realistic navigation;
        • functional autopilot/auto throttle system, including navigation hold mode that can be linked to the INS or GPS unit and IAS (speed) hold mode;
        • analogue and tape engine instruments included;
        • functional annunciators for engine and flight systems;
        • radio suite, featuring DME, NAV, ADF, COMMS, and transponder;
        • in-flight refuelling hose and drogue controls on engineer's panel;
        • custom coded engine start sequence for increased realism;
        • loss of hydraulic pressure can result in flight control and brake failures;
        • excessive brake usage can result in overheating, with associated cockpit warnings/bells;
        • functional slat monitor panel can be used to lock the position of leading edge slats, irrespective of flap handle position;
        • interactive checklist panel featuring checklists for every stage of the flight;
        • co-pilot call-outs, including take-off speeds (V1/VR/V2), gear, and flap status;
        • cabin announcements and interaction for all stages of flight from departure to arrival;
        • functioning tiller handle for direct nose-wheel steering;
        • option to add third party weather radar to the virtual cockpit;
        • ‘baked’ textures create an authentic used look to the virtual cockpit area and controls;
        • dramatic night lighting effects for the instruments and panels;
        • fully featured 2D panel including numerous pop-up panels:
            • engineer's panel;
            • overhead panel;
            • radio/pedestal panel;
            • throttle quadrant;
            • INS or GPS; and
            • lighting panel.
        • sim-icons in both the 2D and virtual cockpit for easy access to pop-up panels;
        • sim-icons for easy toggling of air stairs and cargo loader;
        • standard and widescreen 2D panel included;
        • 2D pushback panel – control pushback by setting pushback distance (in feet or metres), direction (left/right), and angle (degrees); and
        • 2D speeds panel – input chosen V speeds (V1/VR/V2) and the virtual co-pilot will call them out on the take-off roll.

Visual Appearance

General. Just Flight have done an excellent job with the level of accuracy and detail in the 'TriStar' Professional. Nearly everything is covered, as the features list attests to, and anything that is not covered is probably superfluous to your flying of this aircraft anyway.

Exterior. With the third, centred mounted engine embedded in the tail and upper fuselage, the Lockheed L-1011 'TriStar' has very a distinctive appearance, whilst still displaying the characteristic, general wide body airliner lines. Just Flight have captured the essence of the Lockheed L-1011 'TriStar' beautifully, with accurate, detailed modelling and the high definition 2048 x 2048 textures provide a very good balance between quality and performance. A comparative review of photographs of real world aircraft to Just Flight's rendition reveal the exterior shape and dimensions to be a true representation of the real world aircraft. Any noted differences are considered to be related to real world production variations or a degree of artistic licence on the part of the developer.

Nose Detail

Tail Detail

Interior. The interior is the heart of where Just Flight have focused their efforts in detail. A classic commercial airliner, the Lockheed L-1011 'TriStar' has a classic analogue ('steam powered') avionics suite. Daunting to the uninitiated, a classic analogue cockpit is also mystifyingly beautiful. It is an environment which gives you a sense of real hands on flying, an aircraft which you actually have to fly and manage, and the addition of the flight engineer's (FE) panel and the systems functionality associated with this position further adds to the feel and complexity of flying this magnificent aircraft. The level of systems functionality and detail in the FE station alone can be overwhelming, particularly if you are not familiar with them. The autopilot / auto throttle system will help, as will the INS or FMC, but there is still a lot of flying to be done in this aircraft. The modelling accuracy and detail of the main panel, overhead panel, centre pedestal, and FE station are exceptional and accurately compare with the layout of researched photographs of real world aircraft.

Virtual Cockpit 1	Virtual Cockpit 2
Virtual Cockpit 3	Virtual Cockpit 4

Flight Instruments and Systems. All major flight instruments and systems in the 'TriStar' Professional are accurately represented and fully functioning. As with other aircraft in the Just Flight 'Professional' range, this will definitely satisfy the yearning of the procedural flight simmer. Whilst some aspects of systems functionality have either been simplified or omitted, these are not critical and certainly do not detract from the modelling or flying of the aircraft. Even though this aircraft has a high level of systems functionality, you can still immediately strap yourself into the pilot's seat. After a quick cockpit familiarisation, set the flaps to 'Flaps 10', advance the throttles, and you will soon be airborne. Mind you, there will be some warning sounds blaring in your ears until you are airborne, however, you can do what most of us do when we install a new aircraft, and that is, just jump in and fly. The instruments are magnificently detailed and clear and easy to read and various alternative cockpit camera views and the 2D panels are available to provide more detailed views of the instruments. Some of the positioning and zoom levels of the alternative cockpit views were not at an optimum for either viewing or using the panels and this could have been improved significantly. The user either has to readjust them each time or reconfigure them in the panel.cfg files. Now, you might want to resolve those warning sounds and so the manual becomes a MUST READ at some stage. For those not familiar with an INS or FMC, you will also need to acquaint yourselves accordingly, and the manual covers these in quite some detail and is a MUST READ again. Oh, and by the way, if you haven't got the picture yet, read the manual.

Captain's Flight Instruments	First Officer's Flight Instruments
Overhead Panel	Autopilot & Auto Throttle

Pedestal Console with INS	Pedestal Console with FMC
INS 2D Popup	FMC 2D Popup

Liveries. There are 25 liveries (a selection only shown below) included with the 'TriStar' Professional, as well as a blank texture for aircraft painting enthusiasts. Each livery is provided in an INS and FMC model, thereby doubling the number of aircraft available. The liveries are of a high quality and the surface textures, reflections, and shadings give the aircraft a crisp and realistic appearance, with additional dirt, oil, and grease stains providing a very natural appearance. The 'TriStar' Livery Packs provide a range of additional liveries. Together, the three Livery Packs will provide a total of 39 liveries, again, in both an INS and FMC model. There is definitely no shortage of choice in the livery stakes with the 'TriStar' Professional.

British Airtours	Royal Jordanian Airlines
Saudi Arabian Royal Flight	TAAG Angola Airlines

Animations, Lighting, and Sounds

As listed in the summary of major features, the animations on Just Flight's 'TriStar' Professional are extensive. These are modelled to the same high detail evident in other aspects of the product and all appear to be modelled faithfully. The sim-icons control feature for the air stairs and cargo loader is excellent, especially for those who like to simulate to this level.

Configured for Landing 1	Configured for Landing 2
Refuelling Drogues Retracted	Refuelling Drogue Deployed (note the spread on the basket)
Air Stairs	Main Deck Loader

The lighting and lighting effects on the 'TriStar' Professional are a good, realistic representation of the real world aircraft and replicate the night lighting seen in photographs of real world aircraft.

Instrument Lighting

Cockpit Lighting

The sounds on the 'TriStar' Professional are reasonably realistic of the real world aircraft, though it was only really possible to review the engine sounds in videos of the real world L-1011 'TriStar'. Whilst the sounds were a good representation of the Rolls-Royce RB211 engines, they seemed to lack a certain richness to them and didn't give a true impression of the power behind the RB211 engine.

General Characteristics and Performance Specifications

The general characteristics and performance specifications for the Lockheed L-1011-500 'TriStar' are provided in the table. This is based on data from the data provided by Just Flight and general research sources. Some of this data varies between sources and also may be an approximation due to variances in data and the specific aircraft modelled by Just Flight.

Flight Performance

Like most wide body aircraft, the L-1011 'TriStar' is a lot of aircraft, yet surprisingly, once mastered, it is a gentle giant to fly. However, close attention to the flight envelope, particularly during the climb, is essential or this aircraft will punish you mercilessly.

A specific Test Flight was conducted from Jacksons (AYPY) to Perth (YPPH) to test the flight performance of the Just Flight 'TriStar' Professional. The flight was conducted in clear weather with a full fuel load and the aircraft at maximum take-off weight (MTOW). A cruise altitude of FL340 was adopted and the route distance was approximately 2,200 nm. The route was particularly chosen to provide a basis upon which to test the range characteristics of the 'TriStar' Professional.

In Flight 1

In Flight 2

Following the procedures in the manual for a normal take-off and climb out, the aircraft was established at the cruise altitude and a cruise speed of Mack 0.83 was established. This cruise setting produced an endurance consistent with the range characteristics of the aircraft and with a safe reserve margin. The Test Flight confirms the modelling of the 'TriStar' Professional for cruise speed and range performance to be reasonably accurate.

In Flight 3

In Flight 4

Considering its size, the aircraft was easy to taxi. With a flaps setting of 'Flaps 10', aircraft rotation occurred at approximately 150 knots indicated air speed (KIAS) and the aircraft easily maintained a rate of climb and climb speed consistent with the specified parameters. The climb to cruise altitude was also within the specified procedure parameters. Configured for landing, the aircraft’s approach speed was approximately 150 KIAS and it touched down at approximately 130 KIAS.

In testing the accuracy of the instruments, based on the measured Test Flight, the speed indications on the airspeed indicator, were consistent with the averages measured. Additionally, when establishing a set rate of climb on the vertical speed indicator, the respective gain in altitude on the altimeter was achieved within the measured minute, and a standard rate turn was achieved, consistent with the aircraft type.

In Flight 5

In Flight 6

The performance of Just Flight's 'TriStar' Professional was excellent in flight, displaying the typical flight characteristics of this wide body aircraft. For a large aircraft, it handles beautifully, but care must to taken to not fall outside the flight envelope or you will pay the consequences. Overall, the aircraft model displays a very accurate rendition of the flight characteristics and performance of the real world aircraft.

Documentation

The 'TriStar' Professional is provided with a 164 page colour flight manual in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf). The documentation is extremely detailed, providing detailed descriptions of the various instruments and systems. It also includes a descriptive tutorial flight, taking you through a full start-up to shut down procedural sequence, and procedural checklists. This is an excellent manual and it is good to see such detail provided. This is a valuable resource and, as I said, a MUST READ at some stage.

Value for Money

Now, some might consider the price a little expensive, but lets be realistic, for an aircraft with this level of detailed modelling, for value for money, the 'TriStar' Professional and 'TriStar' Livery Packs are considered exceptional. With the level of accuracy and detail in the modelling, it is a fantastic classic commercial airliner and a pleasure to fly.

Simulator Performance

The aircraft model performed exceptionally within the existing settings I have in FSX. I have most of my settings set very high and I also have the TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD entry in the FSX.cfg file set to 2048. There was no need to make any adjustments to these settings and FSX continued to perform smoothly, as it would with any default aircraft.

Technical Requirements

Just Flight's 'TriStar' Professional and 'TriStar Livery Packs are for FSX and Prepar3D v1/v2. Other specified technical requirements are as follows:
        • Windows XP SP2, Vista, or Windows 7;
        • Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX with SP2 (or Acceleration Pack) installed; and
        • Pentium V, 2GHz equivalent or higher or any dual core, 2GB RAM, 512MB graphics card, and 6.3GB available HDD space.

Review Computer Specifications

The specifications of the computer on which the review was conducted are as follows:
        • Intel i7 990X Extreme 3.46GHz;
        • NVidia GTX580, 1536MB graphics;
        • 12GB Kingston DDR3 2000MHz;
        • Windows 7, (64bit);
        • Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX Acceleration; and
        • additional major add-ons include: Active Sky Next, REX Essential Plus Overdrive; Ultimate Traffic 2; Orbx FTX Global BASE;
          Orbx FTX Global VECTOR; Orbx FTX Global openLC EU; Orbx FTX region series; and Orbx FTX airport series.

Conclusion

The 'TriStar' Professional and 'TriStar' Livery Packs are a great offering from Just Flight. The level of detail and systems modelling provide the flight simmer with the experience of flying and managing a classic wide body jet of the 1970s. Provided with an excellent and informative manual, the 'TriStar' Professional displays an excellent balance of quality and detail at an exceptional price.

This review has involved over 20 hours of specific flight testing flying hours and it is evident Just Flight have continued to live up to their reputation with the 'TriStar' Professional. If you are a fan of commercial airliners and, in particular, classic commercial airliners of the 1970s, you will thoroughly enjoy the Just Flight 'TriStar' Professional and 'TriStar' Livery Packs.

Verdict

The 'TriStar' Professional and 'TriStar' Livery Packs are solid products which display a high quality and attention to detail and represent exceptional overall value for money.

Pros:
Quality and attention to detail.
Excellent internal model.
Detailed and fully modelled aircraft systems.
Realistic flight modelling and performance.
Excellent documentation.
Exceptional value for money.

Cons:
No major issues detected.

Scores:
● External Model:	9.0/10
● Internal Model:	9.0/10
● Sounds:	9.0/10
● Flight Characteristics (does it fly by the numbers):	10/10
● Flight Dynamics (does it feel like what it looks like):	10/10
● Documentation:	10/10
● Value for Money:	10/10

The Just Flight 'TriStar' Professional is awarded an overall Mutley’s Hangar score of 9.6/10, with an "Outstanding" and a Mutley's Hangar Gold Award.