Originally Posted by
canopus27
I'm not an aerodynamics engineer, nor am I an expert in CFD -- so I'm willing to be wrong about this, but I presume that any aerodynamic changes you make to reduce lift at a high AoA, would have side side effect of increasing drag at normal AoA. Increased drag == increased fuel burn == bad for the airlines == bad for Boeing sales ... and my bet is that's why Boeing went with an alternative approach (MCAS).
Some ways would clearly do that, such as forcing the upper boundary layer to detach. But that sounds like a pretty extreme approach (although possibly very easy and quick to implement). On the other hand, for instance increasing the angle of attack would typically increase both lift and drag, although much more lift. Lowering the flow speed on the upper surface might actually lower drag. Anyway, surely the lift due to the engine shape is pretty small, only an issue because of its location so even if the drag would increase somewhat it would likely not be very significant.