Cessna Aircraft Co. announced at SUN ‘n FUN that Safe Flight’s SCc Angle of Attack (AoA) system is now standard on all Cessna Skyhawk 172 aircraft and optional on the Cessna Skylane 182 and Cessna Turbo Stationair 206.
“Textron Aviation is constantly looking for innovative solutions for our piston customers and making the SCc Angle of Attack system standard on all Skyhawk aircraft is a great example of bringing the latest technology to our products,” said Doug May, vice president, Piston Aircraft. “We are thrilled to work with Safe Flight to bring this latest enhancement to the cockpit, providing an improved flying experience for our customers.”
Safe Flight has nearly 70 years of experience in providing primary stall warning and AoA systems. SCc is the only supplemental AoA system to utilize leading edge lift information, the most accurate and dependable measurement of AoA. This dash-mounted system provides trend and AoA information during all phases of flight, allowing for instantaneous visual and audio feedback.
I am not sure I agree with putting an AOA indicator in a primary trainer aircraft. I worry that this device will be heavily relied upon, and as an unintended result, not allow a student to gain necessary skills that they would have gained without this device. I would rather see a student in a 172 learn to use all of their senses rather than just their eyeballs to detect the onset of a stall.
To me, it is similar to teaching a student to always fly a VASI or a PAPI. Lots of airports do not have these devices. I’ve never seen a VASI or a PAPI on a farmer’s field either. If a student can’t judge their final approach without one, are they adequately trained pilots? I’ve certainly talked to and witnessed students who had “fly the VASI or PAPI, period” drilled into them.
Again, similarly, my primary instructor rarely let me use the landing light at night…. On my first passenger carrying night flight, the light burned out as I was turning final. We landed normally without any issues.
To me, this is just one more device, that further bloats the price of an already $400,000 trainer. Good grief.
I am just a private pilot and not an instructor…..so what say you, instructors?