Lockheed L-188 Electra

Flew as a load-master in the Electra. Flying with Great Northern Airlines from 1976-1978. The a /c flew well on the North Slope of Alaska during oil exploration days.

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I flew the L188 for more than 2 years for Northwwest. Donald Nyrop former president of NWA saved this airplane from the dust heap of history. NWA lost one in Tell City, Indiana and Braniff lost one in Texas I believe. Nyrop had the opportunity to ground the fleet, but instead had the autopilots taken out and put a peg speed of 250k and kept them flying until the whirlmode fix was found and fixed. I loved the airplane and consider it one of my favorites from the pilot point of view. From the pilot point of view the L188, 757 and 747-400 are the best for me. I went from the L188 to the B727 and B707 and that was a massive step back in both pilot comfort and technology.

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"With the exception of the two aircraft that came apart due to gyroscopic whirlmode, all other accidents in this plane were caused by pilot error."

No, N137US crashed at ORD in 1961 when an improperly secured control cable came loose at takeoff. At about 200' altitude, there was no room to recover. My dad was the pilot.

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I flew on the Eastern Airlines Electra between Louisville KY (SDF) to Chicago IL (ORD), during the Vietnam Era, many times. It seemed to be a roomy aircraft and a comfortable ride.

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I did my initial command with Ansett Airlines on their L188AF's. These a /c. were extremely well maintained and a delight to fly /operate. They were complicated but perfectly logical. After engine start, the captain could almost fly it single pilot. I also flew, F-27,DC-9,B737 /200 /300's. L188 a gorgeous aircraft. Think about it everyday.

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pls can anybody help ? I need exact technical drawings of the original L-188 Electra II for an autentic flyable model of the Electra (copies of blueprints etx ...) - thank you in advance !

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Flew the L-188 for PSA into Lake Tahoe, CA for 3 years in the mid 70's. For a high elevation airport, near 6400', and icy in the winter, it was the perfect bird. Pull the 13.5' dia. props in beta (revers) and watch airspeed unwind. It didn't have anti-skid, so brakes were useless on an icy runway. Turn off the runway, go to the gate, and stop, all with the props.
It was a maintenance nightmare due to many complex systems. Was my only chance to fly a large prop bird, so I took it and had no regrets.

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I flew the L-188 for about a year and a half for National Airlines. Jan. 1967 to July 1968. Great airplane to fly. You could hit the outer marker at 1500 feet or 3000 and still have a good approach and landing. However, systems wise it was a typical Lockheed. Way over engineered. After that I flew the Boeing 727, Airbus A-310 Boeing 767, 757, Lockheed L-1011(way over engineered), MD-11 (best airplane I've eve flown next to a 727) Must be something about those three engine airplanes. Like a lot of guys, I flew for three different airlines-National(by far my favorite), Pan Am and Delta.

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The rigid plank construction of the wings plus the engine vibration resulted in more structural cracking than any any aircraft I have seen. Repairs were stacked up like wedding cakes. Saw a Zantop at EWR with crack completely severing one wing plank. it was found when they were fueling it. Internally too the milled risers in the wing planks seperated and Lockheed reported some riser cracks lengths measuring in feet. Gear attach trusses inside dry bay also had interesting cracks requiring some filler blocks that had to be specially machined. Most complicated air conditioning system ever with air cycle AND freon cooling and electric heaters. Control system for it was loaded with sensors inputting into mag amps. Real bear to troubleshoot. However Pilots loved it for its performance and handling.

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p'se email me when need Crew Part time

Best Regards

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I was flown 9 years with this L !88 C , This Acft Very2Good Performance If one Engine Fail speed Is Like Four .

Tq . Mickson Daelani( Flight Enginee )

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With the exception of the two aircraft that came apart due to gyroscopic whirlmode, all other accidents in this plane were caused by pilot error. I flew the L-188C freighter for Saturn Airways back in the 70's. I truly loved the way this aircraft flew and had complete confidence in them. I have flown many commercial airliners, being a retired pilot for Delta Air Lines ( DC-8 / DC-9 / B-727 / 757 / 767 & L1011's )and I can honestly say this was one of my favorites.

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I flew this a /c for 3 years as a co-pilot for Eastern Airlines during the late 60's. The airplane got a bad reputation after a few came apart in the air. The problem was in the way the engines were mounted. They created more than one frequency which was transfered to the airframe. When two or more frequencies collide, you create a harmonic. If you don't satisfy the harmonic, the a /c comes apart. Eastern beefed up the wings and made them more ridged. This made the airplane ride like a buckboard in turbulance. I got my brains beat out on more than one occasion in bad weather. Eastern also limited the speed to 300 knots. This solved the problem and we had no more accidents. The torque and P-factor on takeoff required a lot of right rudder or it would put you in the boondocks.
The airplane was capable of incredible performance. I witnessed a single engine approach on an outboard engine and watched it climb out of a deep stall. I once landed in a 60 knot cross wind at JAX with no problems. The unexpected wind was caused by a micro-burst from an approaching thunderstorm to the west of the field which hit us just prior to touchdown. The airplane seemed to be cabable of anything. It had great short field capability and we hardly ever had to use the brakes. The air conditioning kept the a /c comfortable even on the hottest days. It was one of my favorite airplanes. I would fly one to Hell and back if necessary. The Navy still flys these birds. They solved the harmonic problem by mounting the engines inverted. To my knowledge, they never had to beef up the wings or limit the speed. I have never talked to a Navy pilot with time in this equipment that did not have a love affair with it.

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I have a couple of thousand hours in the Electra both as a co-pilot and Capt. It was not the greatest A /C from a passenger vewpoint, but one of the finest for a pilot; particularly in the frozen North of our country. Many a time I was asked by the tower after landing for a braking report and replied "didn't use the brakes". It was my favotite A /C until the DC10.

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Flew F /O on these at Zantop in the 70's-80's. I'm still alive after almost 5000 hrs in them. Lost several comrads from Zantop. I was never comfortable in this airplane. Killed too many people. Took the Navy version P-3 to de-rate the rudder with flaps to help keep the tail on when it happens to go upside down. Too many Boiler Plate patches on the wing bottoms to suit me. Glad I lived thru it!

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Since Eastern Air Lines was the largest operator of the L188 as a passenger airplane and later Zantop International Airlines in the all cargo configuration, how about some pictures of them? (Billy Webber, former Eastern and Zantop Flight Engineer and flight crew ground instructor.)

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