I'm not sure if this carries over at all to a carrier approach, but I teach studs that pitch controls airspeed, power controls glide slope. I know AOA is used in jets as opposed to airspeed, but does the power play the same role? I know I've read that with any bank to correct alignment jets on a carrier approach need to add power to avoid sinking, just trying to understand this a little better. Thanks.
Yes. Power works the same way. AOA is used instead of airspeed as Paddles is actually waving your hook, not your eyeball. So regardless of gross weight, in order to fly the hook to the right place in space (between the 2 and 3 wires), you must use your eyes to fly the meatball. Your eyes and the hook are not in the same place. So the meatball is calibrated for each aircraft's hook-to-eye distance, in order to put the hook in the proper spot when you see a centered ball. So if you're fast, you are at a lower AOA, and the hook is higher than the meatball shows you. This results in a bolter. If you're slow, the hook is lower than the meatball shows you. This can, at worst, result in an inflight. The position of the hook is also why Paddles(es?) beat into their charges to NEVER, EVER, EVER do what the Rooskie pilot did and pull the nose up on a waveoff. You are to add full power and MAINTAIN ONSPEED until the VSI is positive. Otherwise, you do just what he did, which is place your hook in a position to not let you wave off, but instead come crashing to the deck.
You too, technically, need to add power to avoid sinking. An aircraft at airspeed X generates a given amount of lift Y in the direction of its lift vector, which is straight above your head. This counteracts gravity, either allowing you to fly straight and level or inducing a sink rate. But if you induce bank angle θ, then the lift which is counteracting weight now becomes Y cos θ, which is less, thus inducing a greater VSI. It just doesn't (usually) matter as much.
