Berf wrote:The Baron wrote: The question still stands though as to whether any research was done before hand to assess the suitability of the airframes to use Waddington.
If the research said that operating from Waddington would require the aircraft to be significantly under it's maximum take off weight and then be tanked once up, you have a choice, either do that or don't buy at all. So if you decide to purchase, you have to do the tanking bit as well, exactly the same as the USAF do when launching from Mildenhall now.
With the prospect of a longer runway at Fairford being available and the opportunity to work alongside the USAF operating the same type, as David Jones mentioned earlier, a move makes sense in some ways, regardless of whether Waddington is suitable or not.
I wonder if the longer take off distance available at Fairford (longer runway now plus an extra 1,000ft of underrun at the rolling end once work is complete) will allow the aircraft to be sufficiently heavy so as not to require a tanker for some of the shorter missions? Or perhaps they will continue to be refuelled, giving them the option of staying over the mission area for longer.