....but the VC10's were frequently flown at 43,000 feet with a little help from the droops....
Complete and utter nonsense, Count Numbnuts! The VC10 did not have 'droops', the maximum altitude for flying with slats/flaps extended was 20000ft. Flying with flap/slat at 20/OUT or even 14.5/OUT at such heights at flap limiting speed burns a colossal amount of fuel; it would NEVER have been an airline's policy.
I look forward to some sane comments once the report has been fully released. Meanwhile, I hope that pilots will be encouraged to learn more about their aeroplanes and systems rather than becoming dumbed-down auto flight system and ECAM monitors.