After returning from Singapore I flew BIA Heralds for four months during the winter of 78/79 before joining a new start called Air Europe. My distant memories of the aircraft are very favourable and I would have been happy to have spent longer in what was a very pleasant job. Unfortunately, at that time BIA Herald captains earned less than Crawley bus drivers and I had a family to support!
Pro's: It flew a lot better than it looked. The Herald handled nicely and cruised at a respectable 200 knots. It was remarkably stable and cross wind landings were a piece of doddle, even in a howlng Manx gale! I can't remember ever being delayed by a technical problem. Being snowed in at Jersey and then Guernsey during January 1979 was a high spot. The BIA hosties!
Con's: A Heath Robinson nosewheel steering system, which consisted of left and right micro-switches activated by a small yoke on top of the control wheel. Straight ahead could be a variable wander!
The flight deck could get extremely cold, even on one hour sectors. Dark early morning newspaper flights to Jersey and Guernsey before fitting 50 passenger seats and another four sectors.