D,B,W, Good post,
My Flight s to the USA are always heavey. At max wt for that segment on a B747. IF not payload , pilot added fuel. If light I always try and find room for that extra fuel. Min release with bad wx in anc....Everyone know that if anc goes down hard the wx 5 miles to the North east is always VFR, It must be true my " flight following " dispatch says so...
Now the flight from anc to the lower 48 require less fuel= lighter wt on those leg.
Now USA back to ASIA /Africa/Sa. I worry more about the D.G. on board. Nasty stuff. Kicked a pallet off my plane this month in the middle of loading.
I;m more worried about shippers and contract loaders than the fire system.
No fire surpression system we can carry can meet the fire fighting requirments of the D.G item we carry....Much more importat to watch / inspect the D.G. loads.
17 more years to retirement. ( I hope)