Originally Posted by Khashoggi
You don't need a speed indicator to keep out of trouble in cruise. Pitch, power, altitude, and attitude.
At cruise, you don't even need altitude for a while; basically, all you need is "pitch, power and attitude"... beside pilot's experience and training.
Originally Posted by gums
2) Flying with aft c.g. that most planes would not be certified for.
This is not correct: all Airbus aircraft are, at first, fully certified (in their final commercial configuration) without FBW (in pure direct law). Hence, the reversion system which is much less affected by FBW degradation than you may think. Basically, AF447 had only its Gee force prot left and everything else was direct.
Beside, there is few differences between combat aircraft flight envelope and airliners ones, as far as pure "flying abilities" are concerned.