Evidence of how overall performance remained on the edge can be seen in the fact that Bahrain - Akrotiri, essentially an airways route, was accepted at the time as a valid Nav Route Check route. The two major issues I recall were, first, making net Safety Height on climb-out by the time one got to the mountains in Southern Iran, across the Gulf; and, later, dealing with a simulated three-engine driftdown and diversion once over Eastern Turkey. An entry in my Cat Card for 17 Jun 70 tells me I must have cracked it that day! (I only flew the fastback aircraft, doing the first or second OCU course once training was resumed in 1969, and I shudder to think how things had been beforehand.)
Thanks for explaining why our Britannia was able to carry the combined loads of two pre-GT Belfasts from Bahrain to Akrotiri. It would have been too complicated for my tiny (pilot's) mind.
Last edited by brakedwell; 21st Jan 2018 at 07:13.