One reason the Russian fighter pilot could not identify the Korean 747 in 1983 was that the crew had all their external lights off, thinking that would reduce the electrical load enough to make a difference to fuel burn. A common practice in that airline at the time.
SQ turns off the logo light above 10,000 for a similar reason, and does not use the landing lights below 10,000 if the strobes are working.
All these examples are to show that what is ridiculous to us makes a lot of sense to some airline managements.
But I thought the BAC111 joke was a good one, having watched a takeoff at a small island airport by a crew who ran out of water meth half way down the strip (or forgot to turn it on?). Made a big dust cloud in the overrun area!
Boofhead (A derogatory term)(used in Australia)
[This message has been edited by boofhead (edited 13 February 2001).]
[This message has been edited by boofhead (edited 13 February 2001).]