kirk.stant wrote:

That's a great custom, which I wholeheartedly endorse. Now, put
yourself in the postion to jump into a variety of gliders in rapid
succession. You are current and qualified in all of them, of course.
But can you instantly recall the exact speeds for all of them, under
pressure, without fail?

Yes. But if I really couldn't and were in the situation you describe, I
just would write them into a little booklet which I could take with me
and consult before getting into the glider. Just as I do with many other
things. (Besides: If you can't remember the exact speeds to fly, why
should you be able to remember the exact AoA to fly?)

My personal experience was in giving commercial rides (sightseeing and
aerobatic) in 2-33s, 2-32s, G-103s, and ASK-21s. With a wide variety
of passenger size, in no particular order, often moving to a different
glider immediately after landing.

I shudder at the thought that a pilot would give commercial rides to
passengers without being absolutely sure of the exact speeds to fly!

But it would still be nice to have ACCURATE instrumentation. While
airspeed works, it is by design only an approximation of the correct
speed.

It may not be ACCURATE, but it certainly is accurate enough. For me, anyway.

Now, get slow on your turn to final in a
2-32 and you may wish you had an AoA indicator!

The solution is simple: Just don't get slow on your turn to final. This
has been hammered into my head since my very first flight, and it works
for me. I don't see what an AoA instrument could add to this. If you are
distracted enough to get slow with an ASI, then I see no reason why you
wouldn't be distracted enough to get slow with an AoAI.