On Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 8:05:44 PM UTC-8, SoaringXCellence wrote:
Tom,

Is the Artificial Horizon really an AoA Indicator? If you hold a true nose-on-the-horizon in a glider, it will slow down and begin a descent, which means the AoA is increasing, but the nose still shows a 0 degree reference to the horizon. I've been teaching and flying instruments for 22 years and even in a power plane the Artificial Horizon almost never shows the Angle of attack.

Mike

You're right: it is not a true AOA indicator, but it will suffice when you fly normal pattern speeds. As I wrote, I don't use it and prefer instantaneous winds and ground speed instead. Wind shear can be a real killer, even if you think you're doing everything right.

Tom