Originally Posted by
Just This Once...
Did you just make that all up?
Maybe your idea of widespread is different to mine as just one manufacturer of this style of probe has quite a broad customer base - including Boeing, LM, Airbus, Northrop Grumman, BAES, Bombardier, Embraer, Sikorsky, Dassault, Gulfstream et al.
Your claim on sensitivity to environmental conditions looks odd for a probe type used on everything from battlefield helicopters and tactical airlifters all the way through to supersonic fighter aircraft and supersonic bombers. Airbus have been using them for nearly 20 years across a number of types!
Have you ever looked at the nose of an A350? It clearly has a lot of mechanical
vanes, three alone for sideslip angle, and some combined probes (pitot plus mechanical vane). Same for the A380. So no, Airbus is not relying on fancy smart probes, although they may use them alongside traditional vanes.
And you are aware that the picture is from a sales brochure by the manufacturer. Maybe Airbus evaluated such probes, which would be enough for them to claim the type on their list. You may also notice that the picture uses the weasel word "... programs", which could mean anything. A "program" can also just be a theoretical evaluation, with a final decision against it.
There are also mechanical vanes on the A400M, the 787, the CSeries, etc. Business jets, yes, but other than the E2 I haven't seen one airliner without them. Not exactly widespread. And that's all just because ... manufacturers cannot be bothered to use modern technology?
Bernd