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I decided to spend an extra day in Chicago on my way home from Oshkosh and stopped for a visit with Scott Krueger, whose 320 and Legacy are based at the Aurora airport. We spent most of the hot afternoon on the ground looking at his and a few other projects on the field, but after the sun had gotten a bit lower we decided to go for a ride in his 320. As always, I was really pleased with the performance and handling of his airplane, and even though it has the small tail I thought the handling was simply wonderful.
Scott has Jim Frantz's AOA Pro installed in his airplane and he recently did a new calibration. I noticed during the approach that we were still well "into the green" and suggested that he "fly the ball" during the remainder of the approach. This increased the AOA by several degrees and reduced the airspeed by a bit, but there was plenty of cushion between there and the stall so we continued on down to the runway. While working at the AOA booth at Oshkosh I fielded many questions about how long the lady yells at you when you leave the yellow and move into the red during the flare and provided the stock answer of "you'll hear 'angle angle push' perhaps 2-3 times during the flare" as a matter of course. In Scott's airplane, however, I noticed that we heard "bitching Betty" tell us 'angle angle push' only one time during the flare, and never again once the wheels hit the pavement and the wings unloaded. For those of you who are reluctant to fly the approach as per the AOA's advice, I can say first hand that the darned thing really works and that energy management at the end of the approach will be much easier if you heed the AOA's indications and fly it by the book. This was my first opportunity to actually fly behind one and can say without reservation that it's a great gadget to have on board.
BTW, this IS an endorsement of Jim's AOA instrument, however, if you choose not to install one, please install some kind of stall warner on your airplane, even if it's a brand-x. Just make sure that whatever you install has an aural warning of some kind, as that's what's going to save the day when you're too busy to watch the panel for an indication of that approaching stall. Fly safely and fly often......
<Marv>
LML website: http://www.olsusa.com/mkaye/maillist.html
LML Builders' Bookstore: http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair
Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.
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