Originally Posted by
80ktsClamp
Thanks, Carl. That AA briefing was pretty good it seemed, but definitely overemphasized the rudder which I understood. I didn't think it overemphasized it so much to where you shouldn't use it at high alpha which is where it is most effective at assisting roll control. Did you you at least use rudder to keep coordinated?
No, it was literally a feet on the floor maneuver because using rudder at high alphas can turn Dutch Roll into a stall/spin situation really quickly.
Another misconception that this discredited AA briefing perpetuated is what you excerpted above:
Originally Posted by
80ktsClamp
I didn't think it overemphasized it so much to where you shouldn't use it at high alpha which is where it is most effective at assisting roll control".
Ailerons on swept wing transport aircraft are
very effective at high alpha. Where they are not effective is at stall alphas and beyond because they are receiving disrupted airflow from the wing stall. Even this is mitigated in today's aircraft by wing twist or "washout angle". This is where the wing's angle of incidence is twisted lower as you approach the wing tip so that wing tips stall later than the rest of the wing which gives you good aileron control even when the rest of the wing is stalled. Conversely, rudder becomes
decreasingly effective at high alphas because the rudder is
increasingly blocked by the fuselage and receives turbulent airflow. Exactly the opposite of what this briefing asserted.
That AA briefing was a great example of a few training department guys going rogue and thinking they could apply F-4 Phantom flying qualities to a transport airplane without ever checking with the manufacturer or flight testing their theories. I recall the NTSB report being particularly scathing on this point.
Carl