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The End of an Era: My Story of the L-1011

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Detailed review and biting criticism of Lockheed's management of the L-1011 Program
A Very Different View of The L-1011

The End of an Era: My Story of the L-1011
James West
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401004113

Customer Reviews:

Detailed review and biting criticism of Lockheed's management of the L-1011 Program .......2006-12-31

This book presents a review of the managerial, financial and commercial aspects of the L-1011 program. It provides quite a level of detail, among other things, on sales tactics, commercial forecasts, and financing deals surrounding the program. The author goes to some lengths to analyse what went wrong in various stages of the program as well as presenting a biting criticism of Lockheed's corporate culture, management, inexperience in the commercial airplane business as well as failure to rectify these issues. Although West does not profess to having a balanced view of events, this book - along with books such as John Newhouse's Sporty Game - should be required reading for anyone trying to understand the workings of the commercial airplane business.

As mentioned by the previous reviewer, this book only covers the commercial aspects of the L-1011 program, not technical aspects of the airplane.

The author retired as president and CEO of Lockheed Finance Corporation in 1994 after 27 years with Lockheed.

A Very Different View of The L-1011.......2002-08-14

I had absolutely no idea what to think of this book when I ordered it, as there was no description or information available on it that I could find. I bought it, as I am a huge devotee of the L-1011. I am by profession an airline pilot with type ratings in seven airliners including the L-1011, and consider the 1011 to be the best of the best, certainly the best of the early widebody aircraft. I was hoping for a pilot's perspective when I read this book, but that was just my personal bias. What I found was a work devoted to the management and financial aspects of the program.

That is not to say that it isn't an authoritative or useful book, it just will not be what the typical airliner fan (or pilot for that matter) will be most interested in. There is interesting information on the early contest vs. the DC-10 that is enlightening, but largely the book details financial arrangements at Lockheed.

The reason most people that know airliners love the L-1011 is it's incredible technological achievement (CAT IIIB, DLC, Flying Stabilizer, etc.), but here these are treated as an expensive waste of money. I am not saying Mr. West is wrong in his thinking, per se (the program DID lose money, after all), it is just that he sees the plane as a piece of metal and plastic, that is strictly a utility defined by a profit and loss statement. He does not seem to appreciate the longlasting strides in plane building and safety the TriStar made.

If you are really an L-1011 completist then by all means read it; it is good to have it available, just be aware it is not about the L-1011 itself, and contains no real technical information on the best airliner ever to grace the sky.

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