The short-haul BAC One-Eleven is one of the most successful British airliners. Unlike most types covered in this series it sold a healthy amount and not just to the British state owned airlines and air force. Although no longer in passenger service two are known to remain in service with Northrop-Grumman as test beds.
| Information |
| First flight: |
1963 |
| Withdrawn: |
Early 2000s (except
for testbeds) |
| Number built: |
244 |
Development of the One-Eleven began in 1956 with a thirty-two seat turbojet powered design known as the
Hunting H.107. The design was later amended to use turbofans and the passenger capacity was increased to fifty nine. However the project, by then under the umbrella of the British Aircraft Corporation, was still considered not ready for market. Finally a stretched version with eighty seats gained favour and became the
BAC 111 (later
One-Eleven).
The aircraft first flew in 1963 a year before it's major rival the
Douglas DC-9. Despite the crash of the prototype customers were keen on the One-Eleven with a healthy order book when it entered service in 1965. Nearly two hundred and fifty One-Elevens were built, about half sold to US airlines. As the One-Eleven was not designed to the tight criteria of the state airlines like the
VC10 and
Trident it had a much wider appeal with customers. Production continued into the 1980s with the final aircraft being built under licence in Romania.
The One-Eleven remained in widespread service until the 1990s but began to fall foul to more stringent noise regulations and the last were withdrawn from airline service in the early 2000s.
 |
| In British Airways livery |
 |
| Two views of a preserved One-Eleven at Brooklands |
 |
| This aircraft ended it's days as a research test bed |
