Originally Posted by
bsieker
And what do you think is the reason the use of these is not more widespread? I would assume that the main reasons are: mechanical vanes are straightforward, and a standby instrument can just display a value without any computation.
But what's probably more important: they are robust. The "smart sensors" measure pressures at various holes to compute AoA, and these small holes are much more susceptible to icing and being clogged by dirt, in other words, these probes are much more sensitive to less-than-perfect environmental conditions. A partial obstruction of only one of those holes will (perhaps subtly) alter the value. And while that may be fine for an immaculately polished business jet, it is probably not ideal for commercial line operation.
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So? Just because something is "old style" doesn't mean it's bad, or that newer things are necessarily better. I think AoA sensors without moving parts have not yet proven to be as good as traditional vanes.
Bernd
One excellent use of the 'smart sensors' would be in combination with existing vane style.
This would greatly reduce chances of a common design/environmental fault affecting AoA values.
BTW: The B2 that was totalled in Guam went down due to blocked/miscalibrated sensors, so they are not infallible either.