Chris
The introduction of Chapter 2 noise legislation in early 1986 sounded the death knell for Trident operations in Europe. The tri-jet soldiered on flying in China. The aircraft was dubbed the ”Ground Gripper” by the pilots who flew it due to its low power-to-weight ratio resulting in extremely long take -off runs. Well known FlightGlobal civil aviation expert Max Kingsley -Jones published this excellent piece on this now largely forgotten airliner more than 6 years ago.
The Trident can be perhaps best described as the British answer to the Sud Aviation Caravelle aimed at European short-haul routes. Hawker Siddeley built six variants of three Tridents, including longer-range and lengthened types with typical seating up to 136.
Marvic
