I've read elsewhere that the F27 was very sensitive in pitch when in the cruise, so much so that the movement of the drinks trolley was distinctly noticeable.
So, with no AP, was it hard, tiring work to hand-fly on longer sectors? ABZ-AMS must have been over two hours, and the brief NCL-CPH, circa 1985-6, was around 2hr 35 eastbound and longer westbound. The yokes reminded me of the steering wheel of a mid-fifties tractor.
The noises heard on some of the older Air UK machines used to make me smile. On some, the cabin bell was exactly that, a bell, or so it sounded. And the air systems sounded quaint. Put these two together, and you could be on a tramcar.
Like all Darts, brown liquid streaming back over the nacelles was another quirky feature.