I was, many moons ago, (1980) duty bound to take a PA-31 into FRA at 07.00. My Ops guy told me he had to guarantee I could do 150kts to 4nm. Evidently he said yes. So there I was, coming onto approach freq at crz speed 150kts. I was told to maintain and position to a base leg orbit. ATC would try & slot me in. Problems due wake etc. When asked for IAS it was always 150kts. Clb power, 300 fpm ROD and it was just about possible. Orbiting at 150kts is not a good idea, so asked to slow down to keep it tighter. Agreed, but be ready to resume 150kts when given clearance to slot in visually following given target traffic. Last message from ATC at 2nm with landing clearance was that my wheels were still up. Too damn right if I didn't want to tear them off. Good job my apron was at the far end of a long runway.
No-one lies about speed capabilities, surely.
Last edited by RAT 5; 10th Mar 2017 at 16:24.