Thanks Chaps, thats reassuring. I have clearly over-reacted to some of the stories posted here. Again, as merely a passenger, I always enjoyed flying on Tridents and have many fond memories of those years.
One further question regarding visual approach procedures. As I mentioned in an earlier post in the 70's I lived in Newcastle and frequently flew LHR - NCL on Tridents. I distinctly remember on a number of occasions arriving in the NCL area (after a speedy flight from HRW) a rapid descent over the city and turning to finals over the A1/Gosforth Park Hotel which would be I would guess only 1-2 miles from the eastern end of NCL's runway. Was this a function of Tridents performance or just another example of the less controlled times we lived in back then?
Jolly exciting for us down the back but the short sector times (sub 40 minutes ?) certainly put pressure on the cabin crew to get the gin & tonics out !!!