Originally Posted by
sixchannel
Rog, not to go too far off topic, why did they need a brake parachute? A bit short of stopping power?
Yes, the first early Caravelle's were the series 111 and the V1-N (no reverse) these did not have thrust reversers but had parachutes deployed from the tail cone.
UAL's order in the USA was for the V1-R series that saw the first Caravelles to have their RR Avons with reverse thrust. (I think the FAA required this plus bigger cockpit windows)
All subsequent series 10/11/12 had PW JT8D's with T/R.
Not sure why at LHR landing on 27R did the AF need to deploy the chute on such a long runway, but it was quite spectacular.