Beagle,
As an ex Albert man, I find your argument compelling, yet, having served in a very much earlier time would question your "pond crossing for self support" argument. Maybe I'm just an old bloke, certainly feel it sometimes, but it wasn't the aircraft that got the job done in my day, we all knew its capabilities, it was the crew. I've taken spares to Belize for VC10s, Nellis for Buccaneers/ Tornados and a Tristar in Malaysia. And yes, on many occasions, spares for Albert. But operations like Sarajevo, Khana Cascade etc gave the Hercules fleet its reputation, not to be sullied by modern gizmos aimed at dumming down crew capability. Just my opinion !
Smudge
