The airspeed indicator may be the oldest and most fundamental of the flight instruments, but it is also the one least suited to its job, which is primarily not to tell us how fast we are going but rather where we are in the flight envelope. It is pleasant to know, as we cruise along, that we are indicating 137 knots; but the airspeed indicator is most important at low speeds, close to the stall, and it is there that it is most likely to play us false.
Kill All the Airspeed Indicators
Key Takeaways:
- The traditional airspeed indicator is often unreliable and misleading for pilots, especially near the stall, because crucial speeds (like stall speed) vary significantly with factors such as G-loading and aircraft weight, making it a poor proxy for an aircraft's position within its flight envelope.
- The author proposes that "percent of available wing lift" (or angle of attack) is a more universal and directly proportional measure of a wing's performance, providing consistent information regardless of an airplane's weight, G-load, or flap configuration.
- A primary, conspicuous "lift gauge" displaying this lift fraction would standardize flight information across all aircraft, automatically adjust for changing conditions and gusts, and offer intuitive feedback on the aircraft's proximity to its performance limits.
- Transitioning to a lift gauge as the central instrument would require a fundamental shift in pilot training and cockpit design, relegating the airspeed indicator to a secondary role for dynamic pressure information and ATC compliance.
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