On Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 12:10:26 AM UTC-5, JS wrote:
During yesterday's flight I wondered how many times an AoA indicator would have been crying "The sky is falling!"
Seems OK for the C172 Family Truckster. Not sure how it would behave in turbulent narrow thermals or rotor, where AoA changes frequently.
Perhaps more aggravating than useful?
Jim

Was your stall warning going off? Because that little vane or whatever they use on Cezznas these days is just a crude on/off AOA indicator, calibrated to go off just before stalling AOA.

If it's turbulent enough to affect AOA that significantly, i would think it would be nice to know - so as to speed up enough to stay out of the stall range?

I will admit that it wasn't ever a problem in the F-4; 78 lbs/sq ft at 540 knots doesn't get bounced around much...

Information is information - AOA provides direct information, in real time, of what your wing is doing with regards to producing lift. Airspeed does not - it just tells you how fast you are moving through the air. Both are useful, for different reasons.

Ever tried a really hard slip in a modern glider? Or a K-21, even? What does the airspeed show? Hmm, it sure flies nice at zero airspeed! A properly designed AOA system would work at pretty much any realistic yaw angle, so you could slip without having to guess how fast you are going. Nice to have since the FAA still wants slips to a landing during a checkride!

(Just joking a bit there, but you get the idea...).

Kirk
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