Forget Boyd
Salute!
Thanks Okie, that about nails it. Biggest thing Boyd sold was energy management in the new jets. OTOH, I think Yeager and others way back had already cracked the code.
WRT to AF 447, the swept wing jets share many aero characteristics going all the way back to 1950. So Boyd and others figured out that you could pull real hard and not get the classic stall warnings and such that the previous planes had. What you got was a lotta drag, and a need to use rudder versus aileron for directional control. Buffet and burbling and such depended on your jet. A-7 and F-101 that I flew let you know real early. F-102 and F-16 were smooth as silk. First clue you had 'stalled" was vertical velocity of 10,000 per minute and speed below 150 knots. Sound familiar?
Biggest thing about the OODA concept for AF447 is the the "O" and "O". The big jets have lottsa inertia and momentum and such. They are not gonna snap roll in a second. They are not gonna overspeed in 10 or 15 seconds. You don't have Mig at close 6 o'clock or a SAM headed your way. So a few seconds observing, then orienting can really pay off.
later from this old man.