This is kind of a nerdy question but as a former engineer it keeps popping up in my head. I've asked a few captains that have flown both but am still not satisfied with the answer
During my brief time on the 320 one of the things I had to get used to was slowing down and getting down. With the speedbrakes out Vls would shoot way up to the point of having to get Flaps 1 out, often well above Green Dot so that I could even select the speed I needed. Now in the *cough* 7ER, *cough* i mean 757 and 767, you can be at clean speed or whatever flap maneuvering speed, with full boards, and not have to worry. Talking to my 737 friends it's not an issue there either. So my question is, why such a big difference?
Are the wings so different to have dramatically different performance? Does Airbus calculate Green Dot differently from Boeing's clean speed? Do they just add a much higher safety margin? Or is Boeing simply a case of "what you don't know can't hurt you?"
During my brief time on the 320 one of the things I had to get used to was slowing down and getting down. With the speedbrakes out Vls would shoot way up to the point of having to get Flaps 1 out, often well above Green Dot so that I could even select the speed I needed. Now in the *cough* 7ER, *cough* i mean 757 and 767, you can be at clean speed or whatever flap maneuvering speed, with full boards, and not have to worry. Talking to my 737 friends it's not an issue there either. So my question is, why such a big difference?
Are the wings so different to have dramatically different performance? Does Airbus calculate Green Dot differently from Boeing's clean speed? Do they just add a much higher safety margin? Or is Boeing simply a case of "what you don't know can't hurt you?"