On Friday, April 15, 2016 at 1:26:07 PM UTC-5, Bruce Hoult wrote:

"We wouldn't think of flying without an airspeed indicator".

But it's not that difficult. We expect students to be able to make a safe flight and landing will all instruments "failed" (covered) before they fly solo.

I completely agree that AOA is *the* prime thing you want to know, and it would be nice to have an instrument for it. However, the stick position is a pretty good proxy for it, I think.

e.g. winch launch failure? There's no need to shove the stick hard forward (in fact this can cause the wings to stall in -ve AOA). Leaving it in the middle is fine, no matter how low the airspeed over the top. Just don't pull it back into your stomach in an attempt to stop the nose falling through!

Bruce, I would agree with you (and have flown a 500k without an airspeed indicator or TE vario), but the crash record seems to indicate that it's not that easy!

Airspeed, stick position, wind noise, buffet, stick "feel", these are ALL indirect indications of how the wing is doing. We all learn to compensate for their inaccuracies and limitations, and many of us get really good at flying by "feel", but the penalty for getting it wrong can be pretty severe!

Sure, if you are current, it's easy to "feel the force" as Dan would say; but for a low time or out of practice pilot, perhaps in a strange glider with different speeds and controls than he is used to, and a stressfull situation - the picture is depressingly different. And all the pundits shake their heads and can't imagine how someone could pooch a pattern so badly, or spin out of a thermal...

Cu's out the office window today - hoping for some XC tomorrow - who hoo!

Kirk
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