Originally Posted by
cardiomd
The ones I've seen are still the mini-weathervane sticking out of the side of the plane that rotates with the relative wind. Vulnerable to freezing, so may need heater. Heater goes - gauge may stick. It could also be broken off or damaged. It is hard to ignore a noncovered invalid instrument and if that failure is subtle it may contribute to a chain of events instead of preventing it.
Nowdays everything is microcontrollers and digital instead of old systems, so I'd bet the electronics are very reliable.
Oh come on... If you did it unintentionally on a routine base to final turn then yes, you shouldn't be flying. I suspect it was not though, and more of an intentional maneuver or practice, and you know and appreciate the difference.
I don't think you understand my position at all. I have zero experience with AOA gauge, and wouldn't retrofit my plane if it were zero cost. I'm a fan of it though with new planes and I personally would use it, but do not feel it is remotely needed for most GA pilot who doesn't go into the flight levels or pull high g maneuvers into near accelerated stalls at the edge of the performance envelope. The average pilot, who finds the G1000 exceedingly complex, would simply ignore it.
The beauty of AOA is that it's exceedingly simple. The systems for GA use take about 10 minutes of instruction to fully understand. They are also not usually vane type systems. Most for GA incorporate pressure sensors in the heated AOA probe or like in my aircraft differential pressure via two small holes in the wing.
Most GA systems also incorporate a aural warning. Mine simply says angle, angle push at about 5 knots above the 1 G stall. It however will always warn me before the aircraft stalls regardless of aircraft attitude or G loading. One of the interesting side effects of installing AOA is some very high time GA pilots realizing that they were very close to stall in the turn to final.
Where AOA really earns its keep is when things go wrong. It instantly lets you fly a best rate turn back to the airport without fear of a stall. It's going to warn you when a bug gets lodged in the pitot tube and your airspeed is way off. It's going to scream at you when you are turning final in heavy turbulance, just got a oil pressure warning and a aircraft announces he is at ¾ of a mile on a straight in at your position and you over bank and pull a bit to hard. AOA is the cheapest insurance you can't get against the number one cause of death in a GA aircraft.