Originally Posted by OK465
Low Earth orbit?
Nope... try again. It is so basic thing almost every aeroplane that is considered to be practical flying machine will perform exactly the same, so it's not type specific.
Excellent posts, PJ2 and DozyWannabe
I'd wholeheartedly agree that powers that be today strive to become living example of the Oscar Wilde's definition of cynic: "One who knows price of everything and value of nothing". However, the rest of of us seem to be content with emulating them rather than resisting the depravity. When they started telling us we're not pilots but mere system managers, drivers, autopilot programmers, etc. did we rebel and tell them to go stuff themselves? Did we explained them that they are not paying us for hours on autopilot but to be prepared for minutes that may came once in a lifetime, when our knowledge of air and aeroplane, our quick and correct thinking and our dexterity with controls will save them millions in increased insurance premiums and damage to reputation? Or did we meekly say "Yes, you are probably true, we don't deserve our pays and pension plans. Go cut them!"? Did we get so demoralized as to be happy with knowing as little about flying as we believe we can safely get away with? Just what satisfies the Feds/EASA/company and that's it? Are we, pilots, left with any self-esteem at all? Are we so effed up that we are strangers to the air, letting FMS/AP/ATHR lead us along the narrow path of properly controlled flight and not knowing how to return to it when our guides suddenly decide to call it a day?
Not all of us are so, but I suspect many are. Look no further then TechLog to see some discussions there and check yourself whether my opinion is justified.
Regarding the AF447, I think William R. Voss, president and CEO of Flight Safety Foundation is on the right track
Originally Posted by William R. Voss
Did they think they were at risk of high-speed stall? Was this a real risk or was it mythology? Test pilots will tell you it is very hard to get into a high-speed stall in a modern aircraft. Do crews understand this or they get their high-altitude aerodynamics lessons from dog-fighting shows on Discovery Channel or old textbooks written about Boeing 707?
Originally Posted by David Pettit Davies
In other words, just as piston-engined aircraft were limited by performance so is the modern civil jet aircraft. The old days of coffin corner went out with the over-powered, low Mach number limited designs.
That's from a book first published in 1967 and last revised in 1971. Long time to absorb the lesson, eh?