Good grief, is there not a Lockheed rep with the RAF now?
IF so, is he not listened to?
From what I understand about such things (very little I'll freely admit) aren't 'modern' (and I'm including the Tristar in this) passenger aircraft designed to be operated almost constantly? As in, fly, land, disembark pax, fuel, embark pax, take-off, fly, etc, with minimal serious servicing required outside of minors/majors?
Isn't part of the problem with the RAF Tristar fleet the fact that even though they are used a hell of a lot they aren't operated at anything like the frequency that they were designed to be operated at by civil airlines, with the periods of relative idleness being what causes problems to appear?
Oh and yes, I'm aware that the recent instances of Tristars going U/S is down to the UOR kit rather than the airframes themselves, its just a shame some others haven't read the whole thread.