... my abiding memory of transitioning onto the 74s and then 73s is that flying even at Vref over the landing threshold caused apoplexy amongst trainers and experienced capts, so that the only way to avoid criticism was to arrive at the threshold with minimum Vref+5kts and then everyone was happy.
Which has left me wondering why Boeing mentions Vref at all if it's never used.
I understand your comments. Surely the 1000' aiming point is to ensure a gear clearance height over the threshold and thus the approach lights shortly there before. Plonking it on the numbers with the gear many meters behind you and feet below is a challenging task fraught with tears.
In Boeing's FCTM they suggest a technique that is challenging and probably rarely achieved. Cross the threshold at Vref +5 + headwind & gust and touchdown at Vref + gust. The max addictive is +20. Dream on baby.
The technique suggested doesn't work. You arrive at 50' over the threshold at Vref + add ons. You false at 20' and close the TL's to idle so as to touch down at Vref or Vref + gust. So they some that this single technique can remove +5kts of whatever 1/2 the head wind was, which could be more. How is that possible for a constant drag scenario. If it removes 5kts how can it remove more than 5kts? Also, when committed to the landing, and n the flare, why is all the gust additive so important? For me, after 35 years on Boeing beasts Ive yet to achieve or seen achieved the perfect speed decay in the flare. It is a myth and perhaps only the Boeing sky gods can demo it. I suspect it is a numbers game to plug into the OPT landing performance calculation. Having said that, an over run is not caused by touching down in the correct place a couple of knots too fast; it is more likely caused by touching down too far, even at the correct speed, and then being too tardy with braking. Given all the buffers built into the calculations an over-run has to be either very different wind conditions than expected or gross mishandling; and that includes too fast or too long, usually both.