Originally Posted by
Denti
Hmm, and what if after Step 1 all you see is grey in grey? Or dark with little sparkling lights both below and above you? Not that uncommon, both scenarios. However, Step 2 is even recognized by Airbus, if you read their golden rules. And if you look at their recent airplanes, they are bristling with probes and AoA vanes.
Indeed. Forgive my sarcasm - it's Monday.
As for a serious answer to an interesting question: if you mean without using an AoA at all as a concept then, I guess, no - for all the reasons you mentioned. That would require some serious thought - and questions about what kind of envelope protection, if any, we require etc etc.
If you mean without using AoA vanes, but artificially creating a figure we could refer to as AoA which we could use to keep us away from the trees - then yes. Using modern INS data in 3 axes you could artificially derive a sensible figure for AoA.