Well thanks for the flying lesson M.85, I'll try to remember that.
If you'd read my previous posts you'd see that I already referred to the stupidity of having to operate a heavy in that manner - gear down at 7000' downwind!
Its all the more ridiculous when there's absolutely no call for it on ATCs behalf - they throw you at the approach even when there is no traffic around.
If it looks like you're hacking it (gear down at 7000'!) they'll even attempt to tighten you up!!!
I guess bad habits are just hard to break.
Another 'solution' is to ask them (if you can get a word in around all the non-standard chatter) how many track miles they intend to give you.
If you try it, this question is usually met with a moments stunned silence (as they try to figure out what you mean by it) followed usually by a request to repeat the question - followed by another 3 minutes silence while they try to figure out how to calculate such a far-out concept. Followed by a snide comment to the effect 'I ain't got time for dat' (in other words, I haven't a clue what I'm doin.).
Do they ever really think what an aircraft is capable of when they're throwing you at the runway - or is it just some kind of big game of space invaders to them?
Cant be worse than Africa,Greece or Italy...
It should be A LOT BETTER.
Well 411A, the Dutch can be stupidly bloody-minded and argumentative too - but I'll take them over the US bunch any day.