With the first Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft having entered service as the earliest wide body passenger airliners just a few years prior, the first Lockheed L-1011 Tri-Star three engine passenger aircraft was delivered to launch customer Eastern Air Lines in 1972 after encountering a few setbacks in its development phase. In addition to many new amenities for passengers and crews, it was the first passenger aircraft to be equipped with a modern autopilot system. Able to transport up to 400 passengers - as a commercial airliner - on transcontinental routes, the L-1011 was manufactured between 1968 until 1984 in two lengths to serve different markets with a total of 250 aircraft having been produced.