Dozy,
IMHO there is nothing 'theoretical' about alpha-max. It is a somewhat arbitrary value chosen by the airplane manufacturer and programmed into the flight control system, just as alpha-prot and alpha-floor. It varies with configuration and (on some airplanes) with Mach number (when M>0.3 typically). And, as I said, it must be obtainable in free air by pulling the sidestick to the aft stop and holding it there until there is no further increase of AoA. I haven't seen any Airbus material 'explicitly' contradicting that.
Last edited by HazelNuts39; 16th December 2013 at 23:55.