Here we go again! Stepwilk and Terpster, hang on to your hats!
It's not particularly physics, it's primarily a culture thing.
John Farley said it 6 months ago in
http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/41992...ml#post5791913.
The discussion goes on from there. Hurt's Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators is quite clear on the theme:
Originally Posted by Hurt, AfNA, p27
Angle of attack is the primary control of airspeed in steady flight
but his examples are unconvincing.
The discussion was not long, and was inconclusive, because to resolve it seems to require numbers which nobody was providing. But the issues are by no means simple.
PBL