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The USAF put an AOA gauge on the T-38 to stop it from killing students and their instructors. You don't have to visualize anything, you just associate cues (buffet, stick position, KIAS, etc.) to an accurate indication of AOA instead of associating those cues to some ignorant hallucination of what you visualize AOA to be. Sure, the T-38 is a pretty extreme example, as most pilots with less than 100 hrs won't be piloting them, but in military training that's the program. Having that AOA gauge reduced the fireballs in the traffic pattern to a reasonable number in short order (here's the study: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=AD0757243 )
I really don't care to visualize all that crap the AFH talks about. I think that statement is wishful thinking by someone who should know better. I'd rather have an AOA guage to KNOW my angle of attack, a g-meter to KNOW my load factor, and an airspeed indicator to KNOW my KIAS (kinetic energy). I can fly better and with less effort if I have those indicators (and if I've used them and then you take them away I probably have a more accurate feel for the plane than if I never had them in the first place).
The vast majority of GA pilots will never step anywhere near a T38 and that type of airfoil. Yes, AOA may be useful in that type, and as we discussed it is essential in airliners up in thin air.Originally Posted by Fluglehrer
Doc, consistency is not always a virtue. The USAF put an AOA gauge on the T-38 to stop it from killing students and their instructors. You don't have to visualize anything, you just associate cues (buffet, stick position, KIAS, etc.) to an accurate indication of AOA instead of associating those cues to some ignorant hallucination of what you visualize AOA to be. Sure, the T-38 is a pretty extreme example, as most pilots with less than 100 hrs won't be piloting them, but in military training that's the program. Having that AOA gauge reduced the fireballs in the traffic pattern to a reasonable number in short order (here's the study: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=AD0757243 )
I really don't care to visualize all that crap the AFH talks about. I think that statement is wishful thinking by someone who should know better. I'd rather have an AOA guage to KNOW my angle of attack, a g-meter to KNOW my load factor, and an airspeed indicator to KNOW my KIAS (kinetic energy). I can fly better and with less effort if I have those indicators (and if I've used them and then you take them away I probably have a more accurate feel for the plane than if I never had them in the first place).
I think that is where the disconnect lies. The posters here are truly unfamiliar with the way that GA pilots, airfoils, and operations take place, and want to force your way of flying / thinking onto them. This is why my experiences are similar to expert GA pilots, not freight dogs or jet jocks. Unless you are pulling G's in the pattern, ASI give appropriate info and safety margin. If you are pulling G's in the patten or don't have a good feel for the airplane, then IMO you have bigger problems.
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Tell me, would you rather have test results to look at, or would you just look at the patient and VISUALIZE what's wrong with them? Would you find it naive to think a blood test could help with accurate diagnosis? I'm sure you also visualize, as do pilots, but don't professionals prefer to use the most objective indicators?
Perhaps a better analogy would be is it worth hooking a patient up to a costly and redundant instrument "just in case" when identical information is available via other means? Just in case the surgeon is reckless and decides to hot dog during the case instead of remaining with good margins of safety, as he has done countless times without a single incident?Tell me, would you rather have test results to look at, or would you just look at the patient and VISUALIZE what's wrong with them? Would you find it naive to think a blood test could help with accurate diagnosis? I'm sure you also visualize, as do pilots, but don't professionals prefer to use the most objective indicators?
I'd say judge by the scoreboard, not naiive idealism. I don't fly my 182 anywhere near the edges of the envelope (without intentionally doing so), and an AOA gauge would not help my type of flying. After the initial fun factor I'd rarely even look at it.
If you need one in your GA plane, go ahead and install one! I never stop anybody from improving their own safety, but don't legislate for others. My "position" remains unchanged!
