In article ,
"Gord Beaman" ) writes:
Mike Marron wrote:


In other words, in your scenario above when the pilot increases
the wing angle of incidence (7-deg's), he simultaneously adjusts
his pitch and throttle settings as needed so as to remain stabilized
on the glideslope. He just doesn't gaily "pop the AoI switch" and
then react to what the airplane does...he thinks ahead and anticipates
what the airplane will do and plans accordingly (e.g: "fly the
plane" and pitch for airspeed power for altitude" etc.).


Of course Mike, I understand that but I just broke it down so
that it's easier for me to describe.

I still don't see what this AoI control will do _other_ than
give the pilot better downward visibility for landing and less
drag for high speed operation. Is there some other aspect that
I'm not seeing?...or is that it in a nutshell?...

No, that's pretty much it, really. The wing, for purposes of lift,
doesn't care particularly much what the attitude of teh fuselage is.
The variable incidence wing on the F-8 allowed better visibility, and,
as Guy said, better deck clearance, but it also allowed a shorter and
stronger main landing gear. This was pretty important in the
Crusader, as the loads on the gear as it trapped on the carriers of
the day were pretty much pushing the limit of what would work.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster