Alpha Systems AOA

[CaptRJM]

I am seriously considering installing the Alpha Systems AOA on my K model.  Can anyone give me any advice?  Which model display?  Valkyrie HUD?  Mounting options?  Accessories?

Pictures of installed display would be fantastic!

Thanks

[DonMuncy]

I have an Alpha AOA. I looked on their web site, an do not see mine. But it is the round instrument with a series of lights (multiple yellows and red on top, one blue on right and multiple greens on the bottom. I mounted mine in the panel. I removed the clock and shifted an instrument down, so the AOA is on the top left position in the panel. I just can't stand the thought of an installed instrument sitting up on the glare shield. I do not find it to be a problem to look at it that position. Once calibrated, it is really nice. I find I consistently land slower than I did using the ASI. I now know that when the blue light is on, I am at (what corresponds to) 1.3 VSO, and when the second yellow turns on, it will buffet. I did not opt for any accessories. Glad to give any  additional info.

Don 214 207-6744

[Oscar Avalle]

I installed one and I love it. As Don mentioned once it is calibrated it works really well. It has become even more strategic than the ASÍ. I fly most of my approaches based on the AOA.




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[Bob_Belville]

I like my CYA 100 AOA. 9 light "tower" at the top of the panel between Aspen and BU ASI. Less than 1 AMU installed.

[KSMooniac]

I have their Eagle kit in my J and love it. It is more useful than ASI in the pattern as mentioned above. I mounted the display on my glareshield as far forward as possible, just left of the center slot and think it is an ideal location. Your eyes should be up there on landing so it makes sense to put the display there. If you put it in the panel, then their HUD might be a great idea. The display works great on the glareshield, though, so no need to add the HUD IMO.

No pics handy, unfortunately. Can get some later in the week.

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[KSMooniac]

Oh, they sometimes have show discounts around 10%. I got lucky and bought a new/un-installed kit via eBay for a great price.

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[Roger O]

The one thing this shows for sure, is that you guys have drop dead gorgeous panels!  Wow, am I envious!

[gsxrpilot]

I had the same CYA-100 in my C that @Bob_Belville has. It worked really well, was easy to calibrate and very small/light. It doesn't take any room in the panel which is nice.  I haven't thought of putting on in the K yet.

I found a picture. It's the small horizontal item just above the right most AI.

 

[FloridaMan]

I might lean towards the Dynon D10 with AoA now that it's available. You get a full suite of redundant flight instruments and AoA for not much more. I find a digital GPS course indication available in my scan to be incredibly useful for ILS approaches since once you establish your course to match the plate (cross-checking the HSI deflection, of course), you don't have to chase the needle's deflection to line up. 

[HRM]

Might want to wait for the BOM.

[donkaye, MCFI]

I have the Alpha Systems Eagle with Valkyrie HUD.  Here are some pictures.  The HUD should be in your field of vision.  In flight I just put it down for obstruction free viewing out the window.

[LANCECASPER]

10 hours ago, donkaye said:

I have the Alpha Systems Eagle with Valkyrie HUD.  Here are some pictures.  The HUD should be in your field of vision.  In flight I just put it down for obstruction free viewing out the window.

 

Beautiful installation - do you remember how much it was installed?  Thanks

[Danb]

I agree with DK, my BK is in the same spot as Dons is right in the sight line when needed the most

[donkaye, MCFI]

I got a bit of a deal on the unit plus HUD at Oshkosh a few years ago.  I think the Eagle plus HUD was around $2,200.  The installation was combined with the installation of the FS 210 so I'm not sure what the cost would be.  Mine was a little more expensive because I had it installed in the back instead of somewhere up front.

[slowflyin]

On 4/18/2017 at 7:09 PM, donkaye said:

I got a bit of a deal on the unit plus HUD at Oshkosh a few years ago.  I think the Eagle plus HUD was around $2,200.  The installation was combined with the installation of the FS 210 so I'm not sure what the cost would be.  Mine was a little more expensive because I had it installed in the back instead of somewhere up front.

Don, 

I've just received my HUD and I'm prepping for install.   As we have the same size panel and glare shield  I thought I'd pick your brain.  Any after thoughts regarding the location of yours.   I notice it's off center to the right slightly.  Was that to clear obstructions underneath or just your preferred location?  Any other comments would be appreciated.  I prefer to cut only one hole in my glare shield.    

[donkaye, MCFI]

2 minutes ago, slowflyin said:

Don, 

I've just received my HUD and I'm prepping for install.   As we have the same size panel and glare shield  I thought I'd pick your brain.  Any after thoughts regarding the location of yours.   I notice it's off center to the right slightly.  Was that to clear obstructions underneath or just your preferred location?  Any other comments would be appreciated.  I prefer to cut only one hole in my glare shield.    

I have not been sorry about the placement of the HUD.  I can easily glance at it during approach, and would place it there again.  Make sure it is far enough forward so that you can open it and it won't touch the windshield.  I put it down once in level flight and put it up for approach to landing.

[slowflyin]

4 minutes ago, donkaye said:

I have not been sorry about the placement of the HUD.  I can easily glance at it during approach, and would place it there again.  Make sure it is far enough forward so that you can open it and it won't touch the windshield.  I put it down once in level flight and put it up for approach to landing.

Thanks Don!   As far as opening it seems about 45 degrees would be the max angle?   With the aggressive slope of the windshield anything more puts it pretty far aft.  

[aviatoreb]

On 4/17/2017 at 4:39 PM, CaptRJM said:

I am seriously considering installing the Alpha Systems AOA on my K model.  Can anyone give me any advice?  Which model display?  Valkyrie HUD?  Mounting options?  Accessories?

Pictures of installed display would be fantastic!

Thanks

I have had the Alpha Systems AOA for almost 10 years.  I LOVE it and I use it and enjoy it essentially on every flight, every climb out, every landing.  And just in case every slow speed turn, e.g. base to final.

I got the one that has voice annunciator "getting slow" since I figure one thing I wanted it for is if I am ever not attentive to avoid an inadvertent stall say base to final or on an approach in IMC.  So I figure the standard indicator lights is not enough in that scenario if I am trying to screw up - better to have an audible annunciator. But then there are so many bells whistles and sirens - better if the annunciation of getting slow is in English in your headset "getting slow".  Which I hear reassuringly every flight as I am deliberately getting slow a few feet above the runway.  And there just in case other times.

As for mounting - that heads up display is a superb idea since it is great to be able to see the AOA at the most critical phase of flight - which is on short final, and then as you flare, when your eyes are supposed to be down the runway rather down and on your panel.  The heads up display certainly does that.

But I mounted my older row of lights style display as you see here, before the heads up display, and I feel it is 100% as good when mounted this way, as the heads up display.  it is on my glare shield as you see, down at the end of the glare shield, so easy to see what the lights are doing as my eyes are focused at infinity outside the plane.  So I use it exactly the same and a tad cheaper than the HUD.  SO I am watching the airspeed indicator and the AOA and out the window on approach, back and forth, but then on short final, I stop looking at airspeed and now just out the window I see AOA and down the runway.

[brndiar]

I let the  CYA 100 angle of attack indicator system mounted on my Bird during Annual (do not have a bill yet).

Upper point I set at 75 knots (Solo, no baggage- theoretically between Vy and Vx) and  lower point just above flap power off stall.

Vso 1.3 should be right where the display changes from green to yellow, Vso 1.1 where it changes from yellow to red. 

Did "slow flight" exercise in altitude, steep turns,  couple of "slow flights down the runway", together 2 hours.

I do not have much experience yet, but I was really impressed how quickly it goes from yellow to red. Mainly interesting to me was to see 

how close to eternity we are in steep turns with airspeed in green. Easy to imagine what happens in uncoordinated sharp turn in stress.

Lg,

m

 

 

[M20F-1968]

On 4/18/2017 at 12:08 AM, donkaye said:

I have the Alpha Systems Eagle with Valkyrie HUD.  Here are some pictures.  The HUD should be in your field of vision.  In flight I just put it down for obstruction free viewing out the window.

 

 

 

I also have the Alpha Systems Eagle with Valkyrie HUD.  It really is the only way to go.  You want  your eyes outside the windscreen and the HUD just inside your visual field.  The owener of Alph Systems suggested that it be directly in your field of vision so you are looking through it, but that seemed to obstruct vision too much as I already have the higher "Bravo height" panel.  When you install it, sit in the pilot's seat and angle the HUD unit so the reflection of the display centers of the HUD with you looking straight ahead.  

I have included a pic.....but I don't have a nice pilot view....will try to get one.

John Breda

[Lance Link]

I have a CYA 100 ready to install.  I made a bespoke plastic mount and housing that zip ties onto the center bar just below the compass.  Easy to make with scrap plastic and a disc sander.  Super inconspicuous but easy to see just inches from the aim point.  And as mentioned very inexpensive.

[carusoam]

You would think...

by going from 90° of bank to 0°...

The AOAi would turn all green again...

-a-

Brindiar’s pic reoriented...  

check the orientation of the red lights... are they supposed to be red at the bottom of the stack or the top?

Logic would say... if the lights creep up to the red zone, push the yoke to push the lights back down to green... (?)

[brndiar]

7 hours ago, carusoam said:

You would think...

by going from 90° of bank to 0°...

The AOAi would turn all green again...

-a-

Brindiar’s pic reoriented...  

check the orientation of the red lights... are they supposed to be at the bottom of the stack or the top?

Logic would say... if the lights creep up to the red zone, push the yoke to push the lights back down to green... (?)

Hi, 

In my opinion "alpha device" should be located within our peripheral vision. For me location next to ASI and below "Pizza piece" of

windscreen is ideal, because here i transition my eyes before touchdown. 

Display is color-coded and transition from one color to another clear visible  when perceived with peripheral vision (change from yellow to read at cca 1.1 VSO  and from green to yellow at 1.3VSO - at least that's how I would like to have it).

The "green up" was in installation Manual (which direction is needed to push-"command" instrument?) .

There are indicators from other manufactures with red at top (video below).

 

lg,m

 

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by brndiar

[Ross Taylor]

I'm also looking at the CYA-100 and the instructions do, indeed, show the light orientation with green at the top.  But, personally, it seems that as I'm pitching up the lights should follow me up until they turn red.  Hmmm...  I might just install it upside down.

On the CYA-100 is only one LED illuminated at a time, or does the bank of LEDs "grow and shrink" (how do I explain that?) as AOA changes?  I saw a review on AS complaining that only one LED was illuminated at at time, which the user said made it hard to quickly identify exactly where in the range (within a color) he was.  What's your experience with it?

[brndiar]

On 7/23/2020 at 2:40 PM, Ross Taylor said:

I'm also looking at the CYA-100 and the instructions do, indeed, show the light orientation with green at the top.  But, personally, it seems that as I'm pitching up the lights should follow me up until they turn red.  Hmmm...  I might just install it upside down.

On the CYA-100 is only one LED illuminated at a time, or does the bank of LEDs "grow and shrink" (how do I explain that?) as AOA changes?  I saw a review on AS complaining that only one LED was illuminated at at time, which the user said made it hard to quickly identify exactly where in the range (within a color) he was.  What's your experience with it?

CYA -100 could be programmed. You have 10 LED diodes which can cower AOA range according to the pilot setting.

Wane have resolution of 0,35 degree over a user programmable range of 0-360 degrees. System is easy reprogrammable.

Theoretically you can set upper point  at VNE and lower point at VSO. However such a setting (personally I didn't try yet)

would not be  practical, because bei such a setting 16? degrees of AOA would be covered with 10 diodes available on the indicator.

When setting a smaller range (VSO ... Vx oder VSO ... VY oder VSO ... Vg)  the indicator would be more accurate (till resolution of 0,35 degree).

At angles above upper point only top green will be illuminated. Between two set point of AOA only one of 10 LED will illuminate. At lower point

will red LED diode start to flash ( clearly visible with peripheral vision) and should be set before horn (in landing configuration) goes on.

I would like to have color change at VSO 1.1 and VSO 1.3 so that i do not have to focus repetitively  my eyes from distance to indicator and back and 

indicator could stay covered with peripheral vision only. There is optional audio output from the system und system will operate over voltage 7-35 V DC.

Advantage is that performance speed like Vy, VX, Vg occur at fixed Aoa independent of weight or loading.

lg,m.