Originally Posted by
gums
Could it be that the "flare mode" prevents the jet from reaching the advertised max AoA?
No - aircraft was not in flare mode from shortly (as in under a second) after it overflew the "copse"/"bosquet". Well out of flare mode when the trees were spotted, and as other A3x0 rated pilots have attested, flare mode can be cancelled simply with application of TOGA thrust*. As OG attested to (If I read him right, it's related to EFCS phugoid damping) - the Alpha Max command in High AoA Protection gives as much as it can, then likely waits a fraction of a second to stabilise before determining whether the remaining AoA is to be used for extra pitch or for bank input.
Oops - got the above regarding OG's post completely wrong - apologies!
EDIT : As I said earlier, I have a suspicion that the airspeed deltas have an effect on how long it takes to consider the attitude "stable", and in a case such as this one where the aircraft was decelerating almost right up to impact, the duration would likely be longer than if it had airspeed in reserve.
I swear, the 'bus has more "laws" and functions and everything else that the space shuttle, the Viper or the F-22 do not have.
The 'bus systems have three primary laws only. Alternate Law has a number of sub-modes, but the overall performance isn't a great deal different between them - the sub-mode is determined by which of the myriad systems has suffered a failure. It goes without saying that this will be more complex than a fighter, possibly even the F-22, because an airliner is a much more complex piece of engineering mechanically.
* - This aspect is discussed in more detail earlier in the thread.