404titan, your memory does not fail you.
The route was initially flown only by the -400 from about 1991.
Later in the 90's, the scarebus was put on during the 'cool' season.
The periods HK junkie may be refering to are possibly the month before or just after the changover. Indeed these months could be hot, and departures were often 'interesting'.
The extrapolation of quickly rising temperatures to guestimate RTOW coupled with the anticipated changes in wind for sched dep time, were things you didnt want to get wrong, as the TO was often at a realistic max weight.
Many crew often mused that the a/c frequently seemed above MTOW.
If one adds in the unknown factor of 200 big meat eating South Africans who's combined weight was an unknown, but a negative factor, it often combined to give an individual for whom it was his first Joberg departure, the widest eyes at V1, and the tighest sheepskin grabbing sphincter at Vr, only relieved, but incredulous at accel alt, that the aircraft didn't accelerate on profile.
Occasionaly a level accel had to be flown, and on one occasion(maybe 250 big meat eaters), I heard a 1-200'/min descent was needed for to accel past first flap retraction speed.
But of course the aircraft would still get airborne with an eng fail just after V1, ......wouldn't it??
