JW411
In fact, having thought about this for a few minutes, BA managed to fly VC-10 G-ARVM into Cosford without any difficulty.
One of my old Argosy mates (the late Pete Moore) flew the last Vanguard G-APEP into just a few hundred metres of remaining runway at Brooklands. He told me that he and Garry practiced at EMA at light weights with FULL reverse and MAX braking on touch down before doing the deed.
After all, the aircraft is never going to fly again.
I have also accomplished "one way" arrivals in the past when I was in the RAF so I don't understand the problem.
Perhaps, with all the outsourcing that goes on nowadays in the military, we could ask BA to have another go?
All well and good, sounds wonderful. I've also thought about this for a few minutes - didn't your late chum drop it in short and end up rolling through the rough at Brooklands?
Big holes in the ground, big holes in the approach briefing, big holes in its execution.
All's well that ends well could I suppose be used as a defence, but this particular crew were nevertheless very lucky. The arrival could easily have been something of an even greater embarrassment.
And before you ask (as in the past you have) : could I have done better?
Yes. I'd have landed on the runway. But I wouldn't have worn my cap for the post-op pictures. Pilots don't need a cap to be a pilot - but they do need to land on the runway and stay out of the rough. There are no excuses.