The Lockheed L-188 Electra was a medium range airliner powered by four Allison 501-D13 turboprop engines. It first flew on 6 December 1957 and entered service with Eastern Airlines on 12 January 1959.
Most orders came from airlines in the United States, Australia and Netherlands. They were generally retired and sold on to smaller carriers by the end of the 1960s, having been replaced by the new short to medium haul jets like the Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 727.
Lockheed Electra Video
Following on from last weeks video on the Douglas DC-10, this week we head over to Burbank, California for a look at the Lockheed Electra. Below is a colour promotional film from Lockheed dating from 1960 and running for around 17 minutes.
In the beginning, some records set by the Electra are outlined, followed by excellent air to air shots of the Electra’s various airlines operators. Next, there is a segment on the production line.
The film covers the first flight, and then a world tour of the aircraft. What I enjoyed is how it specifically mentions the early vibration and noise issue in the cabin which was rectified by tilting the engines up by three degrees.
Also note that the aircraft doors slide up into the fuselage and that there are automatically deployed steps, both pretty unusual features at the time.
How About One More?
Another colour video from Lockheed was produced for the Electra, this one from 1959. It is much longer, running for a little over 30 minutes, but it delves much more deeply into the design. It is well worth a look!
What I really like about this one is how detailed it is, such as showing how Lockheed overcame a lot of the ground service issues compared to other aircraft.
Overall Thoughts
Just 170 aircraft were produced between 1957 and 1961. There were five accidents causing fatalities within the first two years of airline service. Two accidents were due failures of the Allison provided engine mountings, ultimately causing the affected wing to detach from the aircraft.
Lockheed put into place LEAP which stands for “Lockheed Electra Action Program” and all aircraft were modified at company expense. This entailed strengthening the wings, engine mounts and nacelles. The issues were overcome and around ten or so aircraft remain in service today, primarily as aerial firefighting aircraft.
Have you ever flown on a Lockheed Electra? What did you think? Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I was one of the last people to fly aboard an Electra in regular passenger service. Air California and Pacific Southwest Airlines used to fly them into TVL (Tahoe Valley) airport because the runway was too short for jets, especially given the altitude and high summer temperatures. It was 1979 or 1980 and Air California had a discount fare offer from the Bay Area to Tahoe. I remember how the plane bucked and jumped going through the Sierras. Lots of turbulence as you’re coming down between the mountains. Once deregulation was a thing and they could cross state lines, the… Read more »
Awesome that you got to fly on board a Lockheed Electra and that definitely was pretty late in the day. Considering most were out of main passenger service by then, that was a real score. Fantastic experience and something I won’t get to do, unfortunately. Thanks for the comment, sounds like a memorable flight!
I see them flying around everyday here, the US Navy calls them P-3’s. There’s a bunch of the based at NAS Jacksonville.
Yes, they are still in service with the military as the P-3, so you’re correct. Must be good seeing them all the time. Thanks for the comment!
My freshman year I was at American University in 1976 and I went home with a friend for spring break and we flew the Eastern Airlines Shuttle to LaGuardia. The shuttle was a no reservation service that guaranteed u a plane every hour. The first two groups boarded a 727 but about 50 of us were left over and they rolled up an Electra. It was the first prop I had flown and while louder than the pure jets, I thought it was a nice ride. It was a sunny, clear day and a great flight. This may have been… Read more »
Oh wow, you really lucked out on that one! I doubt they were around too much longer after that either, so nice work. Great to hear you had a good flight on the Electra! Thank you for that!
Was lucky enough as a child to have flown aboard the Constellation, Vickers Vanguard and Lockheed Electra.
I remember the last two but not the Connie as I was 1 year old for that flight.
Especially memorable was the sound of the propellers as the turbojets wound up on the Electra and Vanguard.
Great days indeed….
Very nice! I have only witnessed the sound in videos. That being said, I do remember the sound of the Fokker F27 and the Boeing 707 from when I was a little kid. The 707 was extremely loud on take-off and landing, that’s for sure. Thanks for the comment!
I flew on an Eastern Airlines Electra back in 1965 from Cleveland to Miami with stops in Pittsburgh and Tampa (the flight was in the wee hours of the morning). As an 8-year old, I didn’t know what type of plane it was, but one thing I remembered about it was the sound of the engines at start-up. To me, it sounded like this old vacuum cleaner we once had. And those props looked pretty big (I was in the middle seat near the front). I still have a black-and-white photo of myself and my grandmother (taken by my aunt… Read more »
Great that you got to experience the Electra, even if you did sleep through most of the flight. I can see why you’d have liked the Douglas DC-8 more 🙂 … Thanks for sharing that. I was unaware of the Boeing angle there. Not surprised, Lockheed had a reputation for designing good aircraft (overlooking the whirl mode flaw with this one!). Thanks for the comment!
The Electra is the first airplane I remember flying in (the first was the Lockheed Constellation from NYC to Denver in 1952 but I was too young to remember). In an effort to rehabillitate the reputation of the Electra after the retrofit, Eastern was conducting short flights out of Boston, then around Cape Cod, and back to Boston. Too about 30 minutes. I seem to remember that there was a lounge area under the tail in the very back of the plane.
I think you’re correct, as I do believe there was a lounge area in the tail. Certainly very cool that you’ve been on an Electra… not to mention a Connie too! Very cool 🙂 Thanks for that!
In mid-1964 my mother, two sisters and I flew from Kansas City to Auckland via Honolulu and Suva, Fiji. The first flights were on jets, probably 707’s, but I don’t really remember. The last leg from Suva (Nandi) to Auckland, however, sticks with me as it was on a TEAL (later Air New Zealand) Electra. NZ didn’t start jet service until late 1965. My memory was that the flight was six hours long, but I think it was more likely only four or five hours based on the distance and the Electra’s cruising speed of 385 mph. I still remember… Read more »
Sounds like quite a long trip you had there! Excellent that you flew on a TEAL Electra. I had heard it was noisier than jets inside, which is not too surprising, as all turboprops seem to be. Great information there, I enjoyed reading that. There are quite a few Electra’s still in service in cargo and what not, which is a testament to the good design, despite a few early issues. Thanks for that!
My first flight ever at the age of 17 was on an L-188 in June of 1983, not a week after the accident with a sister aircraft where the number 4 prop came off and sliced through the cabin causing explosive decompression and an emergency landing. It was a 6 hour charter flight on Reeve Aleutian Airways from Seattle to Cold Bay, Alaska. I’ll never forget the noise and vibration of that long flight, seated right next to the starboard wing.
Awesome that you had an Electra as your first flight – in the 1980s! That’s pretty cool all round. Sounds like it was a pretty long flight… I doubt the 1950s era sound proofing would have been as good as today. Thanks for sharing that!
I worked for Western Airlines at their LAX Headquarters in the 1960’s. I was a Sheetmetal Mechanic and I did a lot of the work on the LEAP modification program (Lockheed Electra Action Program) to mitigate the dangers of wing failures. I was utilized because I was Young, Thin and Fit Inside the Wings to reach the areas where new and stronger fasteners were required. The safety of workers was not as regulated as it is today. I would squeeze into the tight confines of the aircrafts wing (that also served as the Fuel Tank) and stay in there for… Read more »
I was aware of the LEAP programme that Lockheed instigated to stop the Electra’s falling out of the sky, so I read your comment with great interest. I have heard of engineers using the young apprentices for the jobs where a tight squeeze was required to get at hard to reach areas. I really enjoyed reading that – certainly another era when it comes to personal safety, that’s for sure. I am sure you have tons of stories from your career in aviation!! Thanks so much for sharing this one and stay well!
Thank You ! Let me say the Electra was a great Airplane but it did have unforeseen issues whit wing failures caused by Whirl Mode Flutter of those Big Props and the engines mounted so far forward of the wings leading edge. That gave the Electra a bad rap in Airline Service. Of course it went on to a Long Life as the US Navy P-3 Orion! Another factor was that many airlines saw Turbo Prop. airliners as a temporary Bridge from Recip. Prop.aircraft to Pure Jets and chose to wait for the Jets to become available. People don’t realize… Read more »
You are correct, many airlines did see the turboprop as a stepping stone to jets. I think once the jets came on stream, that is what passengers wanted, so many airlines moved to jets very quickly. It meant a shorter service life for the Electra, which was a bit too late, considering the Viscount had been around for years by the time it entered service. Lockheed paid a lot of money to fix the whirl mode for the airlines and after that it became a very safe aircraft. Thanks for the commnet!
Let me share one more story…. While working at United Airlines large SFO Maintenance Base in 1970 as a Sheetmetal Mechanic. I was assigned to the new 747 program. One night I was crossing the 727 Dock (that’s what United called their dedicated hangers) when I heard someone call out “Hey Get That Guy to come help” and realized it was Me being called on! There was a 727 parked on the ramp just outside the dock and a bunch of mechanics standing around looking perplexed. The aircraft had just had a #2 (Center) engine change and on startup they… Read more »
This is an excellent story! I somehow doubt that many people have a story of having to go down the S duct to remove a cardboard cover from the front of the engine. Certainly a unique experience, though I can’t imagine it to have been fun. Really enjoyed reading that, thanks so much for sharing. You sound like you had a very interesting career with the airlines!
We lived in several US cities when I was growing up. My mom would take us kids to her parent’s or other relatives often. Most of the air travel memories of those journeys are long gone, but the one ride on an Eastern Electra remains in flashes and glimpses. Short trip. I remember the take off and being pressed against the seat back – I think any craft with four engines will do that to some degree. We sat behind the wing with that big window framing the thin wing with those two huge propellors working away in front of… Read more »
You’re very welcome, I’m glad you are enjoying it! It’s also great that you have flown on a number of the aircraft featured. Thanks again!
I was lucky enough to fly Eastern’s Electras a few times between Boston and LaGuardia on their air-shuttle. There were 4 of us that were airline geeks in the day of youth fares, and we used to go to JFK a few times a year to spot. We always flew the shuttle to NY, and always flew at peak AM times hoping to catch the shuttle’s backup aircraft. I’m in my 60’s now and can’t recall all the details, but I do remember big comfortable seats, lousy coffee, and watching those Allison’s keep us aloft for 45 minutes. I’ve only… Read more »
I love your strategy to fly at peak times in the hopes of getting the Electra backup aircraft. I can totally understand you doing that. I would have loved to have tried the Electra. I’ve flown the ATR-42, ATR-72 and Dash 8 as well – I think they’re the only turboprops I’ve been on board. Great you’ve had the experience, even if the coffee was lousy! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Again, never got to fly one but I remember seeing the EA ones at DCA, presumably as shuttle back-ups in the mid 70’s. I knew about their shaky start in the beginning but I would have loved to fly on one. Almost did when I was in ANC I thought about flying the Reeve one from ANC to DUT and back but I was too cheap to do it. My Loss.
Yes, I’d say that’s what they were… I’ve seen pictures of the Eastern ones in the hockey stick colours. They’re rear enough now, but we can’t get on every aircraft! 🙂