Originally Posted by
simoncorbett
Tridents were nicknamed ground huggers !!
I believe the term was 'ground grippers' partly due to the comparatively small wing area; a similar phenomenon to the Beagle Pup 100.
I always enjoyed flying in Tridents; to me the takeoff run didn't seem overly long, certainly not as 'stretched out' as early '747s.
In the '70s, ATCO Cadets in their third year of training were sent on a short 2 week course to learn the operation of the Smiths Trident flight systems and we found it really interesting.
As for the 'booster' engine, I was stationed at Glasgow and when a 3b taxiied out for runway 24 (23 nowadays), they would try to start the booster as they passed the control tower and would emit a trail of vapour all along the taxiway until it finally ignited, sometimes causing concern to the fire station just along from the tower when a large gout of flame would erupt from it right in front of the fire crew.