Thanks CliveL - not gloomy at all, just realistic.
It certainly helps to better understand the context of the FL68 and m2.23 figures.
I had assumed from these figures and other comments that she had more speed, more climb and was held back by operational parameters, when in fact she flew close to her limits as a matter of course. In my mind, this is yet more proof of the incredible engineering and design.
I was interested to read, some months ago, of attempts to recreate the texture of shark skin in a paint in order to reduce drag on "the bluntys".
This made me wonder how much engineering/materials time was spent on reducing drag due to texture, fairings and so on - in fact, how significant that actually was.
Would rrivets, wheel bay doors etc have any sort of significant impact on drag? Does localised flow disruption actually reduce drag under some circumstances?
I would imagine that much attention was given to ensuring the nose droop mechanism was as seamless as possible, especially in the zero position - can anyone comment or elaborate on these aspects please?
Or, am I over-emphasising the significance of these aspects.