Technique: Angle of Attack

Airspeed is not a reliable proxy for angle of attack, and AOA is far more relevant when landing, as CFI Laurence Balter shows us.

[calliepieters]

I found a plane hidden in a Barn. Kitfox 4 I bought it CHEAP !! its ready to fly, just minor engine repair. I don't even fly, but its been my dream as a child. This plane just fell in to my lap !! I will for sure have a AOA on it. LOW And SLOW.

[DaleBoyce]

Is this using an external vane to measure AOA?

[pgreenx]

I came here to understand how it works but have to go and find another video to do

[daszieher]

speed is no real guidance to stall avoidance. speed only helps you figure out, if you have energy for the next manoeuvre and will probably not bust critical AOA.

i have always found it ridiculous to paint a line on an airspeed indicator and go off that arbitrary number, which is only accurate under a specific set of conditions. when flying gliders off the winch we had to account for the added pull from the winch cable which would add gees to the wing, increasing AOA without you feeling it. trouble is, the faster you flew, the more cable you "wasted", so the incentive was to climb as steeply as safely possible. with an AOA indicator this would have been achievable in a much safer fashion.

[chrisstrobel]

‘I don’t worry about airspeed .. I worry about lift’ he said .. but if you don’t have enough airspeed you ain’t gonna have no lift despite your AOA .. maybe I’m not hearing him right 🤔

[stevenrojas]

But how do you know if you are approaching fast or slow?

[publicmail]

Why do the pros say if you need an AOA sensor, you are doing it wrong?

[chucklemasters]

if you are flying along close to stall and you input a bunch of aileron while you are staring at that stupid worthless gadget you are still gonna spin! one more distraction along with your fancy glass panel to take your attention away from where it should be. you are looking at that thing in the flare while touching down? that's way past time to look at ANYTHING inside the plane! i'm not flying with you ever thanks!

[Nolonge]

Since the FAA is all about safety it would make sense if them smart idiots would have made it mandatory for every airplane personal and commercial to have an Angle of Attack Indicator.