Originally Posted by
RetiredBA/BY
6500 feet for a VC 10, no problem , even at MLW 107, 500 kg ( if IRCC) even with only two reversers.
......and NO Beagle, BOAC instructors did NOT close the HP cocks for engine failure simulation, at least not in my time.
We learned the folly of that after the Meteor bloodbath at Driffied back in 50 s .
RW 23 at LHR was just about 6,500 feet.( yes I know it was used when the xwind on 29 was strong !)
That sounds dodgy, it reminds me of another..
10/08/1947 American Airlines
DC-4 El Paso, Texas
As a prank, a captain riding in the jump seat engaged the gust lock in flight. The command pilot, not knowing the gust lock had been engaged, rolled the elevator trim tab with no response. When the jump seat captain disengaged the gust lock, the aircraft went into into a steep dive, executed part of an outside roll and become inverted. Neither the command nor jump seat captain had seat belts on and they accidentally feathered No. 1, 2 and 4 engines when they hit the controls with their heads. No one realized it at the time but the feathering reduced power and allowed the co-pilot, who was strapped in, to pull out of the dive 350 feet from the ground.