I must admit that, as an Aeronautical Engineer by training, I have always wanted to have an Angle of Attack indicator in my airplane because, well, we all know that is how wings stall, and geeks like instrumentation. However, I also leaned to fly many decades ago in J-3 Cubs (and the like), and have spent many, many more flight hours without an AOA than with one. In fact, most of my AOA flying is in simulators at hypersonic velocities - very important there, but bearing no resemblance to using it at low speeds. I know many Naval Aviators who have never flown without an AOA, and learning to use one from scratch probably gives on a unique perspective on the device. But picking it up ?later in life? is interesting, because, well, I tend to feel the wing first, and then look at the AOA later. (To be fair, I don?t generally have to look at my ASI in a light plane that I am used to on final either - you get to know what it feel like - unless my loading is way different from normal).
But flying with the new AOA software on my GRT EFIS for the past couple of months has given me some interesting insights into how it can be useful - even for those of us that ?don?t need it?. The bottom line is that if you operate away from the edges of the low-speed envelope, it is not going to dramatically change your scan or habit patterns. But if the goal is to get the maximum performance out of your bird at the low end , then yes, AOA can really help!
The best example that I can give is that at my normal approach speeds in the -8, I can land and stop in about 1,000? - 1,200? of runway. Because I almost always have 3,000? or so available, I rarely worry about doing a short field landing (and I get at least two years on a set of brake pads), and concentrate on being safely over the threshold, and working on a nice touchdown. This is easily accomplished with an approach speed of about 70 knots, and the C/S Prop brakes you pretty quickly when it?s time to dump speed. At my normal approach speed, the GRT AOA indication doesn?t even appear on the screen until I am down below 70 knots (calibrated to a 1.3Vso approach speed), popping on with a pitch up indication as I come over the fence. You can say that I am carrying plenty of margin over the fence - or that I am flying way faster than I need to. Either way, the AOA works fine - I am just choosing to have a little better ?penetration? speed down final.
Now, if I go out for some short field landing practice, the AOA is fantastic! Pitch up until I get the green dot, and the plane just seems to hover it?s way down final - in fact, there almost isn?t enough energy to flare - a little bump of the throttle makes the touchdown much softer. And, of course, it re-emphasizes just how short an RV can land - I spend more of my time enjoying the high speed aspects of the design than the low speed. Playing around with slow flight at altitude, the AOA is a great tool for seeing when you are getting the most out of the wing - but it just reinforces what my seat-of-the-pants already knows.
So I guess I will never be accused of being an ?AOA Cripple?, unable to fly comfortably without one, but that is just because I have flown without one too much in my life. But, for precise speed control on an approach where it makes a difference, the AOA is a very handy tool to have. I guess that sort of sums up many of the features I have built in to my aircraft - Synthetic Approaches, HiTS, ILS, multiple GPS?s?.much of the time, they are superfluous. But when you really need that one tool to make the flight safer and more successful, it sure is nice to have! (Let?s face it, that?s how we justify buying shop tools as well?right?
)
Paul
But flying with the new AOA software on my GRT EFIS for the past couple of months has given me some interesting insights into how it can be useful - even for those of us that ?don?t need it?. The bottom line is that if you operate away from the edges of the low-speed envelope, it is not going to dramatically change your scan or habit patterns. But if the goal is to get the maximum performance out of your bird at the low end , then yes, AOA can really help!
The best example that I can give is that at my normal approach speeds in the -8, I can land and stop in about 1,000? - 1,200? of runway. Because I almost always have 3,000? or so available, I rarely worry about doing a short field landing (and I get at least two years on a set of brake pads), and concentrate on being safely over the threshold, and working on a nice touchdown. This is easily accomplished with an approach speed of about 70 knots, and the C/S Prop brakes you pretty quickly when it?s time to dump speed. At my normal approach speed, the GRT AOA indication doesn?t even appear on the screen until I am down below 70 knots (calibrated to a 1.3Vso approach speed), popping on with a pitch up indication as I come over the fence. You can say that I am carrying plenty of margin over the fence - or that I am flying way faster than I need to. Either way, the AOA works fine - I am just choosing to have a little better ?penetration? speed down final.
Now, if I go out for some short field landing practice, the AOA is fantastic! Pitch up until I get the green dot, and the plane just seems to hover it?s way down final - in fact, there almost isn?t enough energy to flare - a little bump of the throttle makes the touchdown much softer. And, of course, it re-emphasizes just how short an RV can land - I spend more of my time enjoying the high speed aspects of the design than the low speed. Playing around with slow flight at altitude, the AOA is a great tool for seeing when you are getting the most out of the wing - but it just reinforces what my seat-of-the-pants already knows.
So I guess I will never be accused of being an ?AOA Cripple?, unable to fly comfortably without one, but that is just because I have flown without one too much in my life. But, for precise speed control on an approach where it makes a difference, the AOA is a very handy tool to have. I guess that sort of sums up many of the features I have built in to my aircraft - Synthetic Approaches, HiTS, ILS, multiple GPS?s?.much of the time, they are superfluous. But when you really need that one tool to make the flight safer and more successful, it sure is nice to have! (Let?s face it, that?s how we justify buying shop tools as well?right?
)Paul
