This thread is soo sooo funny
But a couple of final words before i ignore it
Comments re the RAF falling on its butt all the time, have a look at the stats! actually its pretty good %ratio of the jet getting round within a reasonable time (no more than 180mins delayed) Problem is when any trip is delayed the folk on board remember that one!
The crew ratio is not an issue, we prioritise the "theatre runs" and just like any airline! we do have slip crews, we have tried stby crew, we have tried augmented crew! with the limitations we have on routing, slot times, WAT limits.
As for comments about useless fuel tanks in the hold on the K1 and KC!, there are a lot of fast jet folks out there who during all the conflicts we have been involved in over the last 20 years who have been very pleased that we had the capacity!! The useless fuel tanks funny old thing did the job they were designed for, provided lots of fuel in the air!!!
The big difference with the RAF attitude to operating there AT fleet and ANY civvie operator, we are not MONEY driven, take from that what you will