The Lockheed L-188 Electra was introduced on the market in 1959-60 and it was the new hotness!
DC-6 old n’ busted. L-188 the new hotness.
Larger than the Vickers Viscount and made by mama’s favorite Lockheed, it was to supersede the piston propeller Connie. Incorporation of turboprops which is effectively a mix of a propeller and jet engine (don’t at me with the acktually).
But the Electra had an initial design flaw that makes it fit in with other aircraft rolled out with occult flaws (the Comet 1- prone to metal fatigue. The DC-10- badly designed cargo door interface system. The B-737 Classic & Original rudder malfunction hardovers. The B-737 MAX auto stall protection pitch software).
The Electra had stiff wings and this isn’t good for an airliner; this is most notable in the B-787 which has wings curl upwards in flight. The energy of buffeting in the Electra manifested as wobbly nacelles and separate but equally wobbly props. The nacelle was a bay blade OK that’s the gist of it.
2 Electra’s disintegrated in midair within a year or two of the aircraft entering service. Both due to catastrophic inflight structural wing failure.
This quick clip shows the manifestation of what would be called whirl mode, a unique subtype of flutter.
I don’t claim any copyright over the material depicted. The video was produced by the CAB the predecessor to the NTSB. No copyright infringement intended. For educational use only.
