If Angle of Attack is associated with lift can we sense the angle of Attack?
Yes, No and Sometimes. The question should be " How reliable are our Senses to sense Angle of Attack?"
Speed
Low Angle of Attack and speed are almost the same thing in fast flight. High Angle of Attack and its relation to Load were discussed in an earlier post.
Reason
Ever play Blind Mans Bluff? There is way too many variables to trust your "reasoning" when it involves Angle of Attack. Here are several rationales,
- You "reason" since your power is on full and your planes attitude is slightly up you have good air speed.
- My power is very reduced and my nose (aircraft attitude) is down therefore I have good but not super fast air speed.
- Taking off from a high altitude airport the engine does not perform as well in the thrust department and a pilot trusting his throttle will rotate to his usual takeoff angle and the plane will stall.
If you are using your "reasoning" to judge "speed" it is wise to make sure your "reasoning" is correct and you are aware of all the factors involved.
Be aware of our old friend "g-load" where, in a tight turn, the airplane flying at a certain speed loads itself up with centrifugal force (load). This causes the plane to assume a larger Angle of Attack and gets itself closer to a stall. (Remember lift reserve?)
The plane, at a larger Angle of Attack, the wings have more drag and slows the plane. To prevent the plane from slowing you must apply more power. This, if you think back, creates an even higher Angle of Attack and the plane edges ever closer to a stall.
You must realize and understand how dangerous this effect is. A small plane fully loaded and with the throttle set to maintain a level cruising speed will not maintain indefinitely any turn with bank at 45 degrees or more. The plane will slow down gradually as it circles as the pilots stick comes further and further back. If everything remains constant the plane will complete more turns until it stalls. This happened out of level flight at cruising speed.
An example may be a pilot taking his family out for a "spin", so to speak, to enter a tight turn to show them several things above their town that requires many turns to view completely. Things happen fast and you may suddenly see them as you hurdle down in a stall-spin accident.
Sounds
Airplanes make all sorts of big and little sounds that tells a pilot, by their pitch (high pitch=faster and low pitch=slower) that relates to speed and to the changing sound that indicates whether the plane is increasing or decreasing in speed. The problem is all planes are unique. The sounds one plane makes in different attitudes, speeds, etc. are all different. The beginning pilot hears the sounds but ignores them. The greatest danger of all is nothing at all - silence.
With experience, a pilot get away from just using the sense of sight and use his other senses to provide a "sense" of attitude that vision alone cannot.
Unfortunately the sounds of flight are not a good clue to provide the flight condition out of which a stall-spin accident develops.
Flight safety is learning from the good experience of others. Talk frequently to your instructor. Ask him how he can recognize dangerous flight situations in the air.
