411A:. .When the word "rotate" is spoken or shouted it comes across the flight deck as a command to do something and do it now. This in turn tends to raise the temperature a little and the pilot flying reacts accordingly by (in extreme cases) hauling the aircraft into the air rather than flying it into the air with a smooth steady input. The "increase in temperature" can cause a tail strike especially on short runways when the shouter is sometimes phased by the end of the runway rushing towards him. On the other hand, "vee ah" tends to be spoken quietly and comes across in an advisory capacity. The pilot flying then reacts more sedately with a correspondingly smooth more controlled rotation. The company I flew for operated Convair 880, B707, L1011 and B747. Armrests and "vee ah" was what they insisted on and I did this for 20 years on the four different types. To my knowledge there was never a single tail strike over the entire period and I often thought that perhaps "vee ah" contributed much to this excellent record. Over to you.. .Regards,. .. .Prince of Dzun