Flight Training - August 2024 - 14
PREFLIGHT WHAT AM I?
BY SARAH DEENER
THREE TYPES
OF AOA SENSORS
Vane
Often seen on jets, these
small airfoils pivot in the
airstream as they align with
the relative wind.
Pressure
IN THE WIND
FORGET AIRSPEED, ANGLE OF ATTACK RULES
POP QUIZ: WHERE ON THE AIRSPEED INDICAtor
do you find the speed at which your
airplane will stall?
The simple answer is, you don't. Not reliably,
anyway. The one-G stall speeds on the
airspeed indicator and in the pilot's operating
handbook are accurate only at a specific
weight and as long as you don't climb, descend,
or turn. For a more accurate view of how much
lift the wing is producing, look to the angle of
attack indicator.
An airfoil can stall at any airspeed, in any
attitude-fast, slow, upside-down, or sideways.
Yet it always stalls when it surpasses its critical
angle of attack. AOA indicators measure the
angle between the wing's chord line and the
relative wind and deliver a visual representation
of the lift the wing is producing to the
pilot. As the angle of attack increases, the
14
FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2024
indication progresses from green to yellow to
red, which warns of an impending stall and loss
of lift. These useful instruments used to be relegated
to the world of jets, but lower-cost AOA
gauges have proliferated in smaller general
aviation aircraft over the past decade.
Angle of attack is independent of speed,
weight, and attitude, and it's not only relevant
at the edge of a stall. Each airfoil has
a specific AOA for best glide and range and
another for best endurance, among other
performance parameters.
The data for AOA indicators comes from a
probe or vane on the outside of the airplane. The
accuracy of the data may be affected by airspeed,
attitude, installation, and other factors, so most air
data computers correct for common errors.
sarah.deener@aopa.org
Leading-edge tab
A less-common sensor
derives AOA data from a
leading-edge tab like a stall
warning tab, which has a
system of counterweights
and torsion springs to
adjust for the very high
speed of the aircraft.
Smaller general aviation
aircraft may have lower-cost
angle of attack indicators
that measure the pressure
differential between two
holes in a probe to alert
the pilot of angles of
attack approaching stall.
Another type of pressure
sensor relies on pressure
equalization to move
paddles within the probe
as airflow passes into it at
several points. Some are
also integrated with the
pitot tube.
MIKE FIZER
Flight Training - August 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2024
Contents
Flight Training - August 2024 - Intro
Flight Training - August 2024 - Cover1
Flight Training - August 2024 - Cover2
Flight Training - August 2024 - Contents
Flight Training - August 2024 - 2
Flight Training - August 2024 - 3
Flight Training - August 2024 - 4
Flight Training - August 2024 - 5
Flight Training - August 2024 - 6
Flight Training - August 2024 - 7
Flight Training - August 2024 - 8
Flight Training - August 2024 - 9
Flight Training - August 2024 - 10
Flight Training - August 2024 - 11
Flight Training - August 2024 - 12
Flight Training - August 2024 - 13
Flight Training - August 2024 - 14
Flight Training - August 2024 - 15
Flight Training - August 2024 - 16
Flight Training - August 2024 - 17
Flight Training - August 2024 - 18
Flight Training - August 2024 - 19
Flight Training - August 2024 - 20
Flight Training - August 2024 - 21
Flight Training - August 2024 - 22
Flight Training - August 2024 - 23
Flight Training - August 2024 - 24
Flight Training - August 2024 - 25
Flight Training - August 2024 - 26
Flight Training - August 2024 - 27
Flight Training - August 2024 - 28
Flight Training - August 2024 - 29
Flight Training - August 2024 - 30
Flight Training - August 2024 - 31
Flight Training - August 2024 - 32
Flight Training - August 2024 - 33
Flight Training - August 2024 - 34
Flight Training - August 2024 - 35
Flight Training - August 2024 - 36
Flight Training - August 2024 - 37
Flight Training - August 2024 - 38
Flight Training - August 2024 - 39
Flight Training - August 2024 - 40
Flight Training - August 2024 - 41
Flight Training - August 2024 - 42
Flight Training - August 2024 - 43
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Flight Training - August 2024 - 45
Flight Training - August 2024 - 46
Flight Training - August 2024 - 47
Flight Training - August 2024 - 48
Flight Training - August 2024 - 49
Flight Training - August 2024 - 50
Flight Training - August 2024 - 51
Flight Training - August 2024 - 52
Flight Training - August 2024 - 53
Flight Training - August 2024 - 54
Flight Training - August 2024 - 55
Flight Training - August 2024 - 56
Flight Training - August 2024 - Cover3
Flight Training - August 2024 - Cover4
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