Hey guys,
Dont get me wrong. I know exactly what my manual states with regard to W/S recovery. And that basically says roll wings level, pitch smoothly to 15 degrees then follow the flight guidance display commands. These are generally trying to avoid climb degradation up to the point of maximum pitch. Should the moment heat up enough I have no confusion as to what I need to achieve. This procedure will at least have me (or my representatives if its a real bad day) on the right side of the law.
What I am trying to point out is that it is a hazardous thought process to think that max lift is achieved just before the stall. This is miles from the truth. I do like Intruders concept of turning Kinetic energy (Airspeed) into potential energy (Altitude). That is sound thinking. But the reality is if you need to spend any time up near Alpha Max, the reality is that you now have no A/S to turn into gains, Drag is now starting to really f**k you off and controlability is not to be taken lightly.
Paddy,
Sorry if I was a little ambiguos but there is no confusion here between Vx and Vy. Trouble distinguishing between the 2 is Vy is constant given WAT and config. But with Vx, it tends to be a dynamic beast. If you look at a lot of AC types the difference between Vx and Vy in zero wind tends to be in the order of 15 to 20%. But with a good strong headwind, the two become closer together. I agree that if ground contact is an issue, Vx must be adopted. But should you overcook Vx, the gains very quickly become loses.
Dont get me wrong though, I still respect the recovery procedures. I guess I harp back to intruders statement of making the most of your current kinetic energy. Lets pray that kinetics alone are enough to get us to that dinner engagement.