Scudrunners

[quote]http://www.alphasystemsaoa.com/[/quote]


If you would why?


If you wouldn't why?

In a short answer: It appears to be a great addition to general aviation and should be considered by any "casual flyer/owner. The only aircraft I flew with an AOA system was a Lear 35. I had never seen one before in my life and therefore because there was nothing pointed out in my training by flight safety it was a bit of a novelty and no one had hammered the significance into my head. Any equipment that enhances safety is certainly a good addition. To get people to buy it is another. To make it effective one would almost think legislation is required.


In reality most people will say what we have is good enough. Personally I think the last time I pushed the AOA close to stall (except in training) was about 50 years ago during my first year of flying for a living. If it would give me an indication of tail stall in icing conditions I would say it should be mandatory.


This brings us into stall recoveries. I recently trained some new pilots and they were horrified that I suggested we could train with no horizon in sight. I can't remember the last time I recovered from an approach to stall looking out the window, even on a clear day.

I fly a lot so I think that an AOA system like that would round down to never being needed and therefore not worth the cost.  Guys who own complicated airplanes that hardly ever fly them (imagine owning a turbine twin and only flying it around fifteen hours a year) appreciate systems like this and I know of some vendors that are pretty back logged on production of them.

I bought mine for use in training.

AOA is wonderful for an aircraft that is flown with an
extremely wide range of weight (or G, or pitch attitudes),

If an aircraft is always landed at the same weight,
well, the same airspeed every day is a pretty good
proxy for AOA for the 1G guys.


Flying on final without an airspeed indicator is
terrifying for people until they realize that pitch
is another very good proxy for AOA.

If you're approaching very slowly and the nose
is 'way up in the air, well, your AOA is high.

If you're approaching much too fast, your nose
will be tucked down and your AOA will be low.

After a little while, it's not hard to watch training
aircraft on final and spot who's approaching much
too fast, with a one-point landing on the nosewheel
a good possibility in their near future, especially
if they try to force it onto the ground.


Another decent proxy for AOA is the position
of the stick or control column. 

Try to create a scenario where you have a
high AOA and the stick or control column
[i]isn't[/i] all the way back, like AF447 or Colgan
3407.

I would want to rent one for the new type that I would fly or for my carrier night landings  :) .