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Thread: Angle of Attack
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Old 8th Jan 2016, 07:44
  #20 (permalink)  
Capn Bug Smasher
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: with bosun Blue Sky and the jenny haniver "Hot Stuff"
Posts: 106
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AOA indication in the million-dollar cockpit chez Smasher is my butt which also does sideslip. Bargain!

If my bum tells me my ship is languishing and the controls are labouring at the air (ok, my hands are in on this, too) then AOA is high. If my behind says the ship feels tight and buoyant, AOA is low and it's all good. I sense the aeroplane's motion, weight and response through my magic posterior which is absolutely art rather than science.

The further away you get from flying by the seat of your pants the closer you come to flying by numbers. By the time you reach jet fighters, airliners and tankers this justifies investing in a proper AOA gauge, one that gives you useful, calculated metrics like best range and endurance, rather than vague notions like "low" (aircraft feels firm beneath me), "high" (mushing around) and "dead" (clenched.)
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