AoA and HUD on commercial jets
Glad to hear from Cland that a few carriers are using a HUD.
His observations agree with mine to a large degree. That is, instrument approaches are much easier and safer. The down side is you can get spoiled and have to do the "human" reversion laws if the doofer fails. Just a few days until my digitized video is posted, and you will have no trouble seeing what was there to help.
I am not sure that any display should emphasize AoA in all flight regimes. However, even cruising, an AoA symbol referenced to the flight path marker would let you know within a second that something was gonna get bad and soon.
I have seen zero accident references to failed AoA sensors or inputs to the flight control system computers or even the old jets with basic control systems.
As some have pointed out, the basic airliners are much more sensitive to a mach stall than the jets I flew. Still, a display that shows a ridiculous AoA and low speed should be a clue for the pilot to use. You don't even need "bitching Betty" to tell you that you're about to stall. If that AoA bracket is way above the flight path marker, then....... duh?
Lastly, the solid-state HUD electronics were vastly more reliable than many old display systems. They either worked when you powered up or kept working unless you got hit by lightning.