Flap retraction after take off - yes I witnessed that as well.
Even got to Burnham off 27 left at 365 knots and three grand.
Re high speed cruise / wing performance.
The Trident one approached around 30 knots faster than the DC 8 - I know as had to go around on my annual route check when an Eitie didn't understand " keep 180 knots to the outer marker" and reduced to an approach speed 30 knots below our minimum.
I believe that we rotated at a comparatively high speed due a very dirty wing and lots of drag. Don't forget that the T1 had a rather crude droop compared to the T2.
The clean wing was very thin - I believe that MMO was .92 but later reduced to .885 - therefore power wasn't a problem in level flight.
We used to race the Swiss Coronados (which were equally hot) into LHR - best trick was to get underneath them and match their speed.
Happy days.
