Bill Daniels wrote:

Maneuvering for landing in gusty wind shear is exactly where I'd want an
AOA. It will show the maximum gust induced AOA so the airspeed can be
increased just enough that no gust stalls the glider but not so much that
you'll need to dump a lot of energy in ground effect.

Bill, have you used an AOA indicator in the conditions you describe?
What one was it? And how did you know the "maximum gust induced" AOA it
showed you was the maximum you were going to encounter before landing?

My experience with selecting the proper airspeed in gusty wind shear
conditions is it's better done with a rule of thumb, like "add one-half
the wind speed to the approach speed", or from experience, than a
measurement made (like controllability) when I am high enough not to be
in danger.

My other observation is it's not stalling that's the problem in those
conditions, but controllability: I'm usually well above stalling speed,
but fighting to keep the attitude correct, and especially the altitude
during the flare. I hate it when I'm slammed into the ground, so I
usually touch down well over stall speed.

I suggest 5 to 10 proponents of AOA meters, and other interested pilots,
buy some AOA meters (like from Safeflight, DG , Aircraft Spruce) as a
group. This will reduce the cost for each pilot to try several AOA
meters. Have each member of the group try each of the meter(s) for
while, then report their experiences.

Without experience with meters in cockpits in actual flying conditions,
we're just guessing about how useful they are.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
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* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org