Flying All The Angles

Are you a proactive or reactive pilot? From our early primary training days, weve learned to fly by the airspeed indicator and listen for the stall warning horn when we venture too close to the lower edge of the planes airspeed envelope. Or, we live with the monotone blare while practicing the stall series. But what does it really tell us? Like other traditional primary instruments, there is some level of lag in their indications, and the information we receive is delayed or incomplete. Enter the angle of attack (AOA) indicator. While ubiquitous in gliders, where lift is life, chances are good your primary trainer did not have such instrumentation on board, although your training covered the concept of angle of attack. Ah, stalls. During primary training, we memorize the aircrafts stall speeds, clean and dirty, in 1G flight. We are further admonished that the stall speed increases as the wing loading, as well as gross weight, increases. And then theres density altitude to consider. All these factors conspire to sabotage lift, and while the dissipation of lift has its place (such as right before touchdown), its better to be proactive in preserving lift than chasing its loss.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Traditional flight instruments like airspeed indicators and stall horns provide reactive or delayed information, making it challenging for pilots to proactively avoid stalls, particularly during high-workload phases like takeoff and approach.
Angle of Attack (AOA) indicators offer a proactive solution by providing real-time, instantaneous information about the critical angle at which an airfoil stalls, regardless of airspeed, attitude, or weight.
Utilizing AOA instrumentation enables pilots to consistently maintain optimal lift, achieve safer and more consistent landings, and significantly reduce the risk of stall-related accidents.
While long common in experimental and military aircraft, AOA indicator technology is increasingly being adopted and integrated into the certified general aviation sector to enhance overall flight safety.