The end of an era. The last L188 Electra in Europe departs Coventry

I read somewhere that G-LOFE had lost its UK reg and now registered in Canada. Any ideas what it’s new reg is?

Cheers

Shane

Now registered C-GZFE

Tim

I bet if they’d have stuck a radar in the nose and a MAD boom on the back, and added a bomb bay, it would have made a great MPA platform.

I always thought that the P-3 would have made a great airliner if they took out the bomb bay, stretched the fuse and removed the tac-rail and other stuff…

The TEAL/Qantas decision to purchase Electras was a contentious one, in fact, TEAL wanted the Comet IV, but the Australian government being 50% owner of the NZ airline put their foot down, because Qantas showed an interest in it over the Britannia and Vanguard, and although government owned TAA, the Australian domestic carrier wanted the Caravelle, Ansett wanted the Electra too. Since the RAAF had C-130s powered by the Allison T-56 that Qantas maintained, buying the Electra powered by the Allison 501 civil variant made sense and so, despite objections from TEAL, the Aussie govt spent 20,000,000 pounds on new aircraft, Electras for Qantas, TEAL, TAA and Ansett and F-27s and Viscounts for TAA. This meant that TEAL came to stand for Take Electras And Like ’em.

I read somewhere that G-LOFE had lost its UK reg and now registered in Canada. Any ideas what it’s new reg is?

Cheers

Shane

I saw this aircraft at Red Deer a couple of days ago, parked up along with a DC6 with spray bars. There was another Electra doing Circuits.

Alertken

Clearly there were a lot of Electras sold to US airlines – this was despite early problems – so the pool of available Electras was that much greater than Vanguards. A lot were converted to freighters – especially by Zantop, source of many of the surviving Electras. The engines were much more widely used than the RR Tynes, so it was easier to keep the fleet going.

Of the Vanguard fleet (just 44 a/c), only some of the V953s were converted to Merchantman standard for BEA, and only a small number of aircraft. Half the BEA fleet was effectievely scrapped after about a decade. The ex-Air Canada V952s ended up mainly on low-cost sharter operations (Invicta, EAS) so their days were numbered with the availability of cheap secondhand jets. By the mid-80s you had fewer than 10 operational Vanguards, and all gone by 1996. As for US protectionism, look at the way the 1-11 was treated for the full horror (two-crew operation bans until the DC-9 came, when the laws changed). Truly it is a “special” relationship!

Mark

So why did Electra so outlive Vanguard? That had been designed with input from BEAC and TCA who then ordered it: so, unlike other (most) Brit types, a Design Case will have been operations friendliness. L.188’s massive Product Support base on P-3 will have helped…but…

Go back to 1956-ish and see KLM jump from Viscount to, not Vanguard but Electra. Just then BEAC Associated Co. Aer Lingus took F-27, not Herald. Soon TEAL/Qantas/Cathay Pacific took Electra, not Britannia. Terminal, for Brit types’ market credibility. Don’t do what Brit industry then did and blame glib US salesmen (Brits can do glib, too), or parochial US Protectionism – see US’ 1950s’ orders for Canberra/Dove/Viscount/Comet 3/Britannia.

Was it simply in the numbers, as assessed on paper at the time of sale, and then delivered in the real world?

God this thread makes me feel old!

I have the distinction of being the first British engineer to be employed on British opperated Electra’s. I was the “token Brit” as they lovingly called me, employed by TPI International to work on N356Q the first L-188 leased to Air Bridge Carriers. The start of an era, I loved my time on the Electra.

Oh to be young again!!!!

I started my airline flying on the Electra. 6 years of complicated electric operation. Magic old Paddle Steamer, when we then converted on to the DC8 we thought “How crude”. The DC10 was even simpler and the 747 was back to the steam age, systemwise.

Buffalo Joe, son Mike, a lady and a chap wielding a big video camera been around most of this week. I resisted ‘bothering’ them in the local pub the other night.

Usable bits are being removed from the two ‘Christmas tree’ airframes left behind – suppose they’ll eventually get cut up :apologetic:

Roger Smith.

😀

Pretty looking aeroplane.

I bet if they’d have stuck a radar in the nose and a MAD boom on the back, and added a bomb bay, it would have made a great MPA platform.

What a pity; I’ve always loved the beautiful Lockheed L188 Electra II and made quite a few flights with KLM in the nice spacious cockpit of that aircraft.

A few pics from some 45 yrs ago.