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By any chance does the rate of the "tick" change with the engine RPM? If so, probably a bad ignition lead or internal mag capacitor. Or does it match the constant rate of your strobe flashing? Bad strobe ground. Check by turning off the strobes.

Many thanks. In my own flying in the pattern I glance at the color of the AoA during any turn. On short final I glance at the AoA to optimize the airspeed for the situation, and as a cross-check that I'm still safe. Other folks really hang on the data, especially the folks flying bush in Huskys. I have one customer in Europe who, apparently, regularly makes landings in the mountains on 40 degree slopes at 12,000 feet. Why, I do not know, nor do I dare ask!

All of the probes are roughly equal in drag to a very short antenna. Not only will you NOT notice a decrease in airspeed, you don't have the instrumentation to measure it. It will be someting like 1 gallon of avgas per 1000 hours.

No, sadly, Scotty told me that the vane will revert to pure neutronium at warp 10.8

Funniest thing I've read this week! Eventually your Mooney will collapse into a black hole, and reach Warp 11 (the fastest you can go without the Quantum 2 Warp drive, but I'm working on it). Of course, ADS-B is then worthless, because you arrive at your destination before you leave. Rip

There has to be, because the probe adds drag. The CYA-100 probe is roughly the size of a transponder or DME blade antenna, with a drag of less than 0.7 pound at 250 knots. You certainly won't notice it on the airspeed indicator or GPS. Rip

Several factors led to the price increase. The biggest one is the hefty cut my distributor takes. There have been design changes too (like brighter LEDs) which didn't help the price, but enhance the product. Originally the circuit boards were done in small batches, but are now done in larger batches (lower cost), but are gold plated (higher cost). Ideally, I'd like these things to outlast the aircraft while keeping the price within the realm of reason. Rip

Many thanks, Alex. You can download the Installation and Operation Manual from the link at the top of the "Tech" page on my website: http://www.ackemma.com/index.html The display is designed to be flush mounted behind the panel, but as you can see that's not always where it ends up! It was also designed to be a "command" instrument, like a glideslope needle. The nose follows the needle, or in this case the LED. Again, I've seen them mounted up-side down, and even sideways (which would personally drive me nuts). The programming switch is a simple pushbutton switch. The FAA requires that it be removed after programming. Does everyone actually do that? Well, um.... Rip

This gentleman mounted the display in a box on the glareshield, rather than in the panel: http://mooneyspace.com/topic/10120-cya-100-aoa/ Rip

Oh, yes indeed. After deciding on a tone rather than voice, I polled all of the pilots I know which tone they found the LEAST like what was already in their planes (stall, gear, etc.), and the MOST likely to get their attention immediately. The result is the aggravating, warbling, high pitched tone in the CYA-100. I'm pushing "old age", and have high frequency loss in my left ear, but it even pisses me off. I just gotta push the stick to escape it ;-)

In a spin, by definition, the wing has stalled. The AoA gadget will show that (or at least should. I know mine does). The idea is to never get there. I've had a few aerobatic pilots ask me if they could install two, one for inverted flight. It would work, but the "prototype" Pitts isn't flying yet.

I did consider voice alerts. There's an old military study out there that determined pilots will respond more quickly to a tone than to a voice. You have to hear, interpret, and act upon a voice command. A trained pilot will react to a unique tone like Pavlov's dogs. Plus, voice is expensive. I wanted the CYA-100 to be as simple and inexpensive as possible. Do one thing, and do it well. I wanted the price to be about one fill-up of avgas for my Navion. I wish I could price track avgas prices, but electronics manufacturing doesn't follow the price of crude, and my distributor takes their cut, too.

Recurrent training automatically determines the optimum approach, in real time, taking into account weight, bank angle, and density altitude? And how much training do you get for $625? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for recurrent training. IMHO the vast majority of pilots don't get enough. But an angle of attack indicator tells you, directly, the ONE thing you must know about your wing. No other device does the same thing. We've all been taught to rely on second order information, like airspeed. An AoA indicator is a tool, like any other instrument. It can be mis-used. I also believe it can save lives, and urge everyone to get one, even if it's not one of mine! I'd also like to address the idea that there is an "AoA bandwagon". If there is, it's only because it wasn't until recently that the confluence of technologies became available to make these things simple, reliable, and affordable. I looked at designing a unit back in the late 70's. It wasn't reasonable back then.

One of my Mooney customers claimed that 6% of Mooney accidents were turn to final stall/spin, while 20% (!!!) were loss of control on the runway after landing. His thought was that carrying too much speed on final was the primary contributing factor. An angle of attack indicator automatically corrects for weight, bank angle, and density altitude so you can nail a safe and reasonable approach every time, with no "fudge factor" (if 80 knots is OK, 85 is just a bit better). I've never confirmed his numbers, but based on my admittedly limited Mooney time they make sense. Rip

No plans for heat, and here's why. If you calibrate for a clean wing, and then get ice, you become a test pilot. You have no idea what the stall angle of attack will be. Heating the vane would imply that you could rely on it during an ice encounter. You can't, and my own opinion is that implying otherwise is dangerous. Rip

Hi Erik; It is counter-intuitive, isn't it!? The best thing to do is look at the lift/drag plots for a given airfoil. A given airfoil will stall at a lower angle of attack with flaps deployed. Because the lift coefficient is greater with flaps, you can fly at a lower airspeed for the same required lift, but the angle of attack will be lower at stall. Rip

Hi Hank; Remember that angle of attack is defined as the angle bewteen the relative wind and the chord of the airfoil. For a given airfoil, the stall angle is always the same. When you drop flaps, you effectively have a new, thicker airfoil which will stall at a lower angle of attack. Airspeed and pitch angle only enter into this as secondary effects. It's hard to come up with an "average" install time. I've heard stories of as little as 2 hours, but certainly no more than one easy day. Calibration involves pushing a button at Vx or Vy (or whatever airspeed you want to be your minimum angle of attack), and pushing it again just above stall. You could certainly do it yourself, but for safety sake it's best to have a pilot fly and watch for traffic, and the "flight engineer" push the button. Rip

No problem, Don. There's a lot of confusion as to what these devices actually do, and don't do. Don't hesitate to e-mail me at rquinby@snet.net or call at 203-431-9056. Rip

The number of degrees is that at which stall occurs, regardless of bank angle, weight, or density altitude. Rip

Don, define the condition please. Most GA wings stall somewhere between 16 to 18 degrees. The CYA-100 resolution is about 0.35 degrees

Don, don't be embarrassed. Most pilots don't realize that a wing stalls at a LOWER angle of attack with flaps than without. Even the other Angle of Attack manufacturers have this wrong. And that's why they have their calibration wrong,too. Rip

The CYA-100 meaures true angle of attack, defined as the angle between the relative wind and the airfoil chord. It can be calibrated (with two button presses) anywhere you like. I specify "stall" AoA at full flaps with gear down, since that is a "worst case" condition. Rip

Then you need the CYA-100, available from Aircraft Spruce. The only inexpensive FAA approved TRUE angle of attack system for general aviation. But if you don't like it, buy one of the others. Please. I truly believe these things can save lives! Rip

Pressure differential devices act just as you say. Vane devices, like my CYA-100, measure TRUE angle of attack. The CYA-100 calibration for stall is done "dirty" (full flaps, gear down, landing configuration) because that is the worst case angle of attack. NOT the worst case airspeed. The two have nothing to do with one another.. You can stall at ANY airspeed. You WILL stall at only ONE angle of attack, regardless of weight, airspeed, or bank angle. Rip

Don, your flaps do no such thing. A wing with flaps down will stall at a LOWER angle of attack than with flaps up. It will also stall at a lower AIRSPEED, which is what confuses most folks. The wing stalls at ONE angle of attack, and at an infinite number of airspeeds. A vane, like the CYA-100 (which I make and market) measures TRUE angle of attack. Differential pressure does not, although it may be good enough for government work. Rip