Originally Posted by
Bob Viking
Do airliners routinely have AoA gauges? Is it something that is considered much during flying and approaches in particular?
Hey Bob. Couldn't help but smile at the question, perfectly valid though it is. Over the last six years in about twenty conferences and seminars around Europe on Flight Safety - and especially Upset Prevention and Recovery Training sessions - the debate is initiated: why don't airline pilots have easy access to an Alpha gauge? Mil guys mostly swear by them: flying alpha around the corner to final means that it's accurate and you don't have to do calculations about speeds based on your fuel weight, etc etc
And of course modern aircraft not only have alpha vanes, they drive all the translations into speed warnings on the PFD. It is possible to figure out what the alpha is with certain PFD settings, but for the main part commercial pilots are trained to follow flight directors and effectively be clueless about what is actually happening with the aircraft.
IMHO it is mostly engineers who argue that alpha is not necessary; I've also been told by OEMs that it would be 'too difficult' for commercial pilots...
The bottom line is that speed is only a proxy for alpha and a very large proportion of airline pilots that we fly during on-aircraft UPRT have to be taken back to basics in understanding how an aeroplane flies - especially with respect to the impact on alpha of relative airflow in a climb and a descent.
Just as an aside, if you buy a new Cessna 172 Skyhawk, it comes with an Alpha gauge included!