Now I might be fooling myself, but is it possible all this Pprune to-ing and fro-ing between us 'drivers, aluminium' and you gentlemen on the ground actually achieves something positive?
Just back from Heathrow, where we received the dream ride on approach.
(Abridged), it went something like this: (on 250k descent inbound to LAM)
LHR App: "XYZ, reduce to 220k."
Us: "Can we make that 230?" (min clean speed was 229k)
LHR App: "Oh, you're a -300, are you? OK, maintain 230k, leave LAM heading 280."
We maintain 230k all the way through the scenic S-bend, basically at idle power most of the way. (With flap out, that wouldn't have been the case.)
LHR App: "XYZ, turn right (inbound for the runway), reduce to 180k." (Pretty well the time we needed to start dirtying up.)
LHR App: "Maintain 180k to 8 miles, 160k to 4. Call tower 118.7."
Very nicely done, gents. (And my boss would thank you too, I'm sure, if he knew, for the 400 to 500 kg of fuel still in the tanks on arrival that might otherwise not have been there.)