Smarter Angle of Attack - Story by Larry Anglisano

[Frank Kunnumpurath]

Holy Micro!’s Absolute AoA is featured in the July 2026 issue of Avionics News in the article “Smarter Angle of Attack” by Larry Anglisano.
Discover how smarter Angle of Attack technology is helping pilots get better situational awareness and safer flight operations.

Read the full article — Pages 42–45:
Avionics News July 2026

 

[ve6yeq]

Interesting, my Carbon Cub EX-3 has the Garmin G3X Touch PFD and pitot with AoA. I haven’t added the flap position sensor yet to have separate clean and flaps-down calibrations, but even without it, it is clear I tend to fly way too fast. I have put together a spreadsheet to adjust all the book V speeds for the actual gross weight, and these values appear to be relatively close to the Garmin AoA.

I recently started flying by the Garmin AoA instead of the book V speeds, and my landings have improved greatly because the touchdown energy is much lower.

 

[ve6yeq]

I also recently read about a new generation of AoA sensors that directly measure airflow over the wing to assess airflow attachment, so they work correctly even in icing conditions...

 

[TailwindsJJ]

Interesting, my Carbon Cub EX-3 has the Garmin G3X Touch PFD and pitot with AoA. I haven’t added the flap position sensor yet to have separate clean and flaps-down calibrations, but even without it, it is clear I tend to fly way too fast. I have put together a spreadsheet to adjust all the book V speeds for the actual gross weight, and these values appear to be relatively close to the Garmin AoA.

I recently started flying by the Garmin AoA instead of the book V speeds, and my landings have improved greatly because the touchdown energy is much lower.

Craig hi
Suggest you do a lot of stall testing in various configurations especially power off landing config both full and 2nd notch to get a feel and numbers when the stall occurs In fact I never look at my aoa and have my stall horn breaker pulled. Just be sure to be at a safe altitude and coordinated flight when doing these stalls.
Another question where is your CG and do you use ballast to bring the CG close to center of envelope as this will help with 3 point landings

 

[ve6yeq]

I normally fly solo with both weight in the extended baggage and in the baggage area. Canadian regulations require various items, such as first aid and survival equipment, to be on board at all times, and I normally carry aircraft covers, wheel chocks, tools, spare oil, cleaning supplies, etc., which helps move the CG back. Even so, I have always needed to add some power to get the tail to touch before the mains at stall, even with a passenger.

My FX-3 doesn’t give any noticeable stall buffet or break with power at idle; it just mushes. The full-power stalls I did in the FX-3 for my Canadian PPL flight test are an interesting sensation with the high deck angle, but even then there is not really any stall buffet and only a soft break with no real wing drop. Every year, when I find stable, calm air, I spend time up high practicing power-off stalls at each flap setting, as well as slipping at each flap level. The lack of a defined “break” makes it hard to gather precise numbers the way I did during my PPL in a Grob G115C, but as far as I can tell, the Garmin AoA is reasonably calibrated to the gross weight-corrected stall speeds from the AFM.

In fact, one of my instructors used the mushing as a method for stable, controlled steep approaches - it feels really slow and like riding an elevator downwards. Although I usually perform power-off 180s to land with a continuous (slipping) turn to short final, I do try to “ride the elevator down” when I have a straight-in to final.