Ladies and Gentlemen, it is becoming obvious to me, and I am one who has to find the time to read most of what is posted on this forum, that in order to try and keep some semblance of order to this now, massive, thread, it is time to close it. As and when there are some new developments then, no doubt, there will be a new thread and the discussion can be rekindled.
In the meantime, please use the Tech-Log forum for discussion on any technical issues raised in this thread. No one is trying to stifle the debate and any allegations of such are not really up for discussion. As the virtual editor-in-chief of this forum, I have to decide what does and what doesn't get to remain posted. I usually leave it alone but there are always occasions when posts either lead the debate off topic or else are so emotive that flame-war prevention has to take precedence and the posts are either removed or else placed in more appropriate forums.
This thread has become bloated and far too wieldy for it to be managed properly. I believe that the time has come to close it. Technical debate and discussion can continue over in the Tech Log forum and it is very easy to refer back to this thread and even individual posts.
I realise that not everyone will be happy with this decision. We have had some extremely interesting debate and discussion and I, and no doubt the vast majority of us who actually fly these aircraft every day, are very grateful to the input from the academics and those with a much greater technical understanding of many of the issues. I do not want to see anyone who has contributed to this thread go off in a huff of indignation. That is not my intention. Rather, I feel it would be beneficial to return to the topic of this thread when there is some new information. The technical debate will just move over to the Tech Log forum.