Why are most light airplanes not equipped with an angle of attack indicator?
Simple. The FAA does not require them. Nevertheless, I believe the fundamental problem with non-use of AOA indicators is the Law of Primacy; wherein something learned first leaves an almost unshakable impression. Most of us aviators have learned stalls by using some mark on an airspeed indicator. Then after we accepted that, we were told that a stall could occur at any airspeed, in any attitude, and with any power setting. How much safer would our pilots be today if all of us would have started with an AOA indicator and learned the phase: From Red to Green is our Dream? Jim Frantz of Proprietary Software Systems, Inc. (www.angle-of-attack.com) expands: “Early aircraft were equipped with simple AOA indicators, including the Wright brothers’ aircraft. However, when the tractor driven (propeller in front) aircraft became popular, it turned into a problem of where to put the AOA sensor. The sensor needed to clear the prop wash and still be far enough ahead of the wing to avoid configuratio
