Robertmudd1u wrote:

Some may think this a cheap shot, but what the heck.

Believe it or not some pilots fly gliders with fixed gear. They even fly them
X-C and make land outs. They even stall/spin them.

Too many people in this sport think you need ALL the bells and whistles and a
$100,000+ glider to be a "real" glider pilot. That attitude is hurting us.

Robert Mudd

I certainly would not use the word "need" with respect to a
glider AOA indicator.

And yes, cheap and simple is important. Perhaps the cheapest idea
is simply the ol' harmonica style Cezzna AOA indicators, one
mounted on each wingtip of a 1-26 (easier to install on a metal wing,
and the 1-26 is a glider with more than it's share of stalls
leading to fatalities).

Then, if added complexity is warranted, a small switch on the
spoilers which deactivates the audio vario when the spoilers are out,
so one can now just barely hear the stall horns.

Ideally, it would be nice to have removable wingtips, so
one could experiment without modifying a whole wing...

Perhaps there are other types that would have this feature
to allow inexpensive experimentation. Then maybe try the electric
AOA tabs too...

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Mark Boyd
Avenal, California, USA