Wookey,
Steve has given a very succinct resume of climb performance and I never felt that the ‘Gripper’ was dangerous in that respect. The nickname came from the long take-off run it required (thanks to early meddling), but once in the air it was beautiful to fly and it felt like a well worn and familiar glove. I only managed one V1 cut, at GVA so plenty of room. However, even at that speed, the stopping distance raised no eyebrows (except in approval) though there were a few ‘pops’ after taxiing to a stand, plus a small pile of carbon dumped on the tarmac as a souvenir. Lack of fuel space was a drawback and certainly caused me a few nail biting moments, as the T1 and T2 were operated at the extremes of their range. But Wookey, no, I never got the feeling that any of the crew regarded it as dangerous, nor even marginal (except as above).
Prober