The Electra in Ecuador

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In this installment we review the history and operation of the legendary plane Lockheed L-188 ‘Electra’ in aviation Ecuador.

You cannot talk about any airplane without first making reference to its origins., and that is why I will allow myself to talk about this, before entering fully into the title of this article.

Performed by: Aeronautical Historian Guido Chávez with personal information and other sources.
Photographs: personal file of Guido Chavez, thanks to the authors.

El Lockheed L-188 ‘Electra’ was born from the need of North American Airlines to have an airplane that would be profitable used on short and medium distances and that, at the same time, replace slower airplanes with piston engines, in addition to being able to effectively face the competition created by Vickers Viscount. In these conditions, American Airlines presents in 1954 initial requirements to Lockheed Aircraft Co., to this request is added Eastern Airlines, since both companies needed a plane to cover their short-haul routes, since jet-powered aircraft were not cost-effective for these distances.

In response to those needs, Lockheed proposed an aircraft powered by four Allison-501 turboprop engines 3.750 CV, similar to those fitted to the Hercules C-130, plane already in production; The proposed aircraft could carry 85 a 90 passengers at speeds greater than 600 km/h and with a range greater than 4.000 km; It's like that then, that in June 1955, American Airlines submits initial order for 35 examples of this plane, the same one that was baptized by Lockheed, as model L-188 Electra II. In September of the same year, construction began on the first of four prototypes., that would be used in test flights under the supervision of the Civil Aviation Authority, now FAA. The following years saw an increase in orders for the Electra, at the end of 1957, there was 129 Electras commissioned mainly by 6 North American airlines and three foreign companies (KLM, Garuda de Indonesia y Cathay Pacific).

The first prototype of the Electra, registered as N-1881, flew for the first time 6 from December to 1957 from the Lockheed plant in Palmdale, on an uneventful flight. Flight testing of the other three prototypes continued for 1958, until the 22 August of the same year, when the FAA issues operational certification for this beautiful airplane. Orders increased significantly, to the point that Lockheed found it difficult to break even financially, since Lockheed's initial production estimates were a total of 190 units, and orders for that year had already reached 215 units.

Disaster visits the Electra

Two fatal accidents seriously shake the Electra project; both were caused by structural failures in flight, one that occurred in September 1959 and the other in March 1960 with aircraft operated by Branniff and Northwestern Airlines; These terrible accidents sparked a public outcry, demanding the removal of the Electra from service, but the FAA decides to restrict the operating speed to 418 km/h, since it was understood that aerodynamic loads decrease when the air speed is lower, and this would help avoid future accidents.

These accidents were caused by a phenomenon called "flutter" which consists of an imbalance at the point where the engine mount joins the engine nacelle., event that can occur in turbulent weather conditions, and that is transmitted from the engines to the wings, which then begin to flex. The amplitude of the push-ups was such, that these literally broke at the point of union with the fuselage, all this happening in less than a minute, quickly followed by complete disintegration of the airframe.

After a few months, The investigation determined that the fatal defect of the Electra was in the three-member structure that connects the gearbox and the engine, a part supplied by the engine manufacturers. When a member of that structure failed, engine mount became flexible. Strut failure caused violent flapping that tore off the wing. Technically, Lockheed could have passed the problem on to the engine manufacturer, renouncing all responsibility. Instead, The wing structure was redesigned so that it would not flap when such a failure occurred.. Additional supports were added to stabilize the propeller if any of the supports failed or broke between the gearbox and power section. The nacelle structure was also reinforced by adding gussets and diagonal braces..

Subsequently, Lockheed instituted the “Lockheed Electra Action Program” (LEAP) with the aim of modifying all Electra at your own expense, whether they were under warranty or not. Once the LEAP program is completed, The FAA was able to eliminate operational restrictions and the Electras returned to flying normally. The public image of the plane, However, was somewhat diminished, to the point that Lockheed had not received any orders for new aircraft of this type since November 1960, and as a result of this, The Electra production line was closed at the end. from 1961, with a production of only 170 specimens, and causing serious economic difficulties for the company.

With all these problems solved, The Electra has served as one of the best commercial transport aircraft in the world and now, after more than 60 years in service, some specimens remain operational carrying out various tasks.

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Ecuadorian Aviation, It was the first company in the country to operate the L-188, from the year 1967 until 1974 coming to have a fleet of 7 Electars 4 version A and 3 type C these aircraft replaced the DC-6B on the Quito-Miami-Quito and Galapagos route. They wore the colors of the Ecuatoriana de Aviación of that time, with the inscription «Ecuadorian» written above the windows. Ended its operational life in Ecuadorian Two of these HC-AMS and HC-ANQ aircraft became a source of spare parts for the other aircraft in the TAME fleet and were subsequently dismantled in the aircraft cemetery for the benefit of a metal recycling company.. Regarding HC-AZJ and N-278AC, they began to operate in TAME, the rest were sold to other operators.

Detail of the fleet the “Electras”

Record	Model	C/N	Arrival	Notes
HC-AMS	Lockheed L-188 A	1002	1967-03-11	f/o 1975 b/u 1984
HC-ANQ	Lockheed L-188 A	1004	1968-00	f/o 1975 b/u 1984
HC-AQF	Lockheed L-188 A	1042	1969-07-25	B/u 1972
HC-AVX	Lockheed L-188 C	2002	1971-09-07	Sold
HC-AYL	Lockheed L-188 A	1031	1972-06-11	Sold
HC-AZJ	Lockheed L-188 C	2004	1973-12	Sold to Tame
N-278AC	Lockheed L-188 A	1050	1974-06	Sold to Tame

C/N – Construction number – serial number. F/o – for spare parts. B/u dismantled

In the middle of the years 70, TAME decided to modernize its fleet, then made up mainly of C-47 and DC-6, the latter being replaced by Electras; The four DC-6Bs were returned to the Air Force Transportation Squadron, where they remained providing logistical support for some time.

Ecuadorian Military Air Transport – TAME received 6 Electras these aircraft served on practically all the routes that the airline flew in the country, especially on the Quito-Guayaquil-Galápagos-Quito route; Those of us who barely have more than 60 years, We cannot forget the harmonious hum of the Allison engines as they crossed Quito, bound for Guayaquil through the famous and unpredictable Paso del Atacazo, with its cabin with large instruments! and with a set of accelerators for each pilot, with boarding staircase built into the main door, characteristic that for me was attractive to see, when deployed on the airport apron Marshal Sucre; It also gave me a good scare when I saw them approaching to land with a propeller in feather., and I even had the opportunity to witness an incident where two of the propellers were feathered!! It was an exceptional machine.

During the Paquisha war they provided, of course, logistical support to troops in the southern border area; I remember an incident at the airport Quito, around the 15:00 hrs. on a day that I don't know why, with some friends, we were standing guard, binoculars in hand, in the airplane graveyard (in front of the military base) because we wanted to know what was happening there. Okay, A truck full of well-armed and equipped troops arrived and boarded the Electra.; the plane was prepared, auxiliary ground generator removed, and while all this was happening, Not a single plane took off or landed that afternoon.; It was strange since we were under Red Alert; The minutes turned into hours and it was already around 18:00 hrs, but the engines were never started; Soldiers and crew, However, They remained inside the plane.

We had been in the cemetery for a while and as night was quickly approaching, our “sentinel” gave us the alarm: «The Electra is taking off!!» and in fact, after about four hours of waiting, took off, with all the lights off, bound for the border.

As time went by I later learned that an attack on the Quito airport, and for some reason someone thought it was better to leave the plane waiting, with people inside.

Returning to the topic of this article, the Electra continued to serve the country until 1986; and during this time two aircraft were lost: The first occurred on 12 September 1988 when the FAE-1052 “Galapagos” reported engine problems at the Lago Agrio airport; The aircraft commander decided to leave the passengers on the ground and return only with the crew., on a ferry to Quito. This decision was made during the second failed takeoff attempt; The passengers were of course upset by the inconvenience., but soon after they surely appreciated that decision. Right at takeoff and when the RPM needles were almost red, the left side engines failed with a corresponding loss of control on that side, causing a turn and subsequent accident of the plane; all crew members died, Fortunately the fuel storage tanks at the end of the runway were miraculously saved.; otherwise, It is very likely that Lago Agrio would have been destroyed. This plane served in the country for 13 years.

The second accident, this time without loss of human life, involved the Electra HC-AZJ “Pichincha”; Problems with the main landing gear caused the emergency, The Captain of the plane decides after flying over Quito, head to Taura since the rescue teams were more suitable there, and after reaching this track he made a belly flop. After the plane stopped in the middle of a fireproof foam mat, The crew and passengers evacuated the plane.

The machine remained on the side of the track for some time until the decision was made to repair or cancel it.; Finally, the latter option was chosen and the maintenance staff removed all the useful parts., I suppose in order to sell them later and then they proceeded with ax in hand to dismantle the plane, thus making the last vestige of Electra disappear in Ecuador. This aircraft served in the country during 15 years.

The two planes mentioned above, They already wore the current colors of TAME, a nice colorful design for these old birds, but… How did they get it? As well, with the arrival of the Boeing 727-220 and 737-200, the company decided to deactivate the Electras and leave them on the platform near the TAME hangar; at the same time, VARIG sought to increase the number of its L-188 fleet, so in the middle of 1988 entered into negotiations with TAME for the purchase of these two copies; The company executives did a good deal and sold the Electra. The payment was made in the form of renewal of the other two copies, since the VARIG facilities for this type of work were considered among the best for the maintenance and overhaul of this type of aircraft.. The Electras that passed to VARIG were FAE-1050 “Guayas” and FAE-1040 “Azuay”, planes that operated in Ecuador during 12 and 11 years, respectively.

The “Guayas” in particular, They belonged to AMERICAN AIRLINES (N-611A) about 1959, Then it passed through several airlines and operators until its arrival in Ecuador in 1974; after negotiations with VARIG, became PP-VNJ and operated in Brazil until 1992, It was later sold to INTERLINK (Congo) as HR-AML in 1998, where it is apparently still stored

What would later become FAE 1040, was first delivered to Braniff in 1956, as N9701C, it was later operated by Citizen's National Bank and later sold to the United States Department of the Interior; Come in 1972 and 1975 was stored in Arizona, until it was received by TAME; moved to VARIG in April 1986 as PP-VNK where he served until 1991, when it was sold to FILAIR (Zaire) and registered as 9Q-CDU in 1994, being the last Electra to leave Brazil; sold to a Canadian company that transformed it into a firefighter plane and unfortunately crashed in the 2003.

As far as I know, There is only one Electra left stored in Argentina who belongs to the Navy.

The most famous and well-known operational variant, still in service with some naval air weapons around the world, is he P-3C «ORION». It is about, of course, from a highly modified cell, since it is no longer a transport plane, becoming an anti-submarine warfare platform, naval reconnaissance and AWACS, as used by the US Customs Service USA.

With this article I try to emphasize the historical importance of this plane, who served our country for many years, and that without a doubt was a true icon in Ecuadorian commercial aviation, The inexorable passage of time causes many details and information to be lost., But those of us who make history are here to relive those years of glory, even on paper..

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