Hi 3eng, sorry, I think you must have read too much of the ATr blurb?
Getting away from the pi$$ing contest...why do FSTA supporters always claim "it is better, carries more fuel, got wing pods, shinier.. better than VC10 and TriStar... etc"? Well, it all depends on the circumstances! The VC10 was the best in some circumstances! The officially quoted RAF view is that the FSTA has a "similar" capability to TriStar so, why all the catcalling?
Getting back to the issue (you will notice that I do not mention, outside these brackets, that TriStar K did routinely lift over 125t of fuel and that serviceability levels were at the level chosen by the RAF!), of course you love your new shiny fleet (if you are really part of it?) the issue is..the RAF has scrapped a perfectly adequate fleet and, at HUGE EXPENSE hired another on the never-never!
OAP