Jacko - Arfur Daley was supposed to have fitted FRL Mk32B pods to the TriShaw back in the mid-to-late '80s when he was converting the ex-ba jets. But failed to - and when the amount of money being poured into the project was queried, work stopped after Questions were Asked in the House.
A gang from Marshall came flying with us once in the Vickers FunBus. When they saw the degree of hose whip associated with winding and trailing, there was some teeth sucking and long faces. "We're probably going to have to redesign the whole pylon", one said.... And that was years after the podded TriStar was supposed to be in service!
But Marshall got a nice hangar out of the whole deal.....
If they couldn't get it right then, what fatih can anyone have in their ability to do it today to ex-desert stored ancient TriShaws well past their use by date?
Mates still in the mob reckon that the RAF would be the laughing stock of the AAR world if, after all the pissing about over PFI/FSTA, they ended up flying yet more clapped-out desert dinosaurs. There's a significant retention incentive amongst many who have the prospect of flying the A330 MRTT - but they certainly don't feel the same about Marshall's plan!