Auto throttle authority
Salute!
Well, Chris, I pray that I am close to the scenario, and that we let the crew, et al rest in peace after their efforts to get the plane under control. We shall see.
The Hornet has auto-throttle, but it is not tied as closely to the overall control laws and autopilot modes. 'bird can explain better, but the Navy troops liked an approach that used AoA to control speed and throttle to control descent rate. We airdales normally pointed at the end of the runway and used throttle a lot more than AoA for speed. I used more of the "squid" approach procedure after getting bit in the butt one night in the SLUF, and flew at best AoA, using throttle for whatever it took. In short, I didn't worry about a grease job.
Something bugs me when I can't "push it up" with those levers and command more thrust.
I only flew one jet with a good autopilot approach mode, and it did not have an auto-throttle. It had good AoA/pitch rate protection and followed the ILS like a dream. Would watch the stick move back and forth as "we" came down the glide path ( F-101B, so it was a family jet. Heh heh). Runway environment in sight? Voila! Hit paddle switch and land the sucker.
Make no mistake. I do not want to see complete control of the control surfaces in a FBW jet. The things are designed with different aero considerations than "conventional" designs.
So I await the data plots, as most do.