Originally Posted by
chazbird
Excellent little essay Mr. bcrosier. I like the short descriptions and the (probable) ramifications...if only each chapter of a AFM had a short /preview/review or summary like that. If you assigned a weighted point system I'd think the L1011 would come out leagues ahead over the DC-10. But then, as I recall the L1011 cost about $1.5 million more than the DC-10 when new - so less takers. (Also their were delays in engine development/certification, not Lockheed's problem, but it cost them).
The L1011 is/was the nicest cockpit I've been in, seemed to be laid out exceptionally well. I've never flown it, but it was my favorite jump-seat living room.
I flew the 767 for about 3 years then the L-1011 for the last 3 years of my time at TWA.
The L-1011 flight deck, as you say, was awesome. But, the first 10 TWA 767s (all they had when I was there) had a nice flight deck, too, because they were put together with a F/E station. Then, ALPA lost the F/E arbitration, so these 10 TWA 767s went from Seattle to Boeing ICT for removal of the F/E station and reconfiguration of the pilots' systems panels. Fortunately for the crews it wasn't feasible to move the cabin bulkhead forward.