I bought my AoA 1,600 hrs ago, it allows you to squeeze all the performance out of your wing, specially useful regarding backcountry or short field work.
Also when doing a canyon turn, flying slow and turning filming or taking pics, following low over rivers, take offs Vx ,Vx,Vg, it is very useful.
Mounted as a HUD is the way to go, because and it has been previously mentioned you want to look outside when landing.

I know pilots here have lots of experience and will not buy it now that they have 10,000 hrs or so, I would probably be the same, If you are kind of learning it or pushing it more and more, its a good tool to have.
When I bought mine I had 200hrs,and wanted to learn to fly the backcountry on my own since there were no backcountry instructors in Costa Rica.
I dont think I would have learned as much as I have learned without it, the AoA indicator teaches you to fly the plane by AoA.

You know, that might be the money shot right there.
I've watched several of your videos from here in the PNW and there's one thing no one can argue: You're getting out there and exposing yourself to really short field operations more than most

There is a stigma associated with devices that might damage a pilot's ego. Like when single lever FADEC was first offered.

Take away a pilot's control of a situation? Blasphemy.

Armed services adopted AOA and so have commercial carriers. Having the AOA doesn't hurt anything, right? It isn't known to provide bad information which results in crashes, right?

It doesn't encourage you to push the envelope, it just provides you with what turns out to be fairly useful information.

Your don't need an AOA for that ski jump runway you posted a video of recently but if it is tight it sure would be nice to have the AoA information so you could verify things are going as well as you hoped

Unlike MTV'S work and most pipeline pilots, I engage all targets through the front left wind screen. I think motoadve has the better heads up mount on that portion of the windscreen.

I find looking out the side window very dangerous in low work. The pipeline guys I have flown with, who do that, fly quite a bit higher than I do. To read a mile post, they have to circle back. I also found myself turning in about twice as many spot reports as the guy who trained me. I read every mile post.

Gunnery pilots work all targets out the front windscreen. What is out the side window is gone and probably shooting at you.

Those of you who have flown with me see the difference both in effectiveness and safety. It is also easier to miss things that have been engaged through the front windscreen. Also the energy management turn works better going right down the pipeline or river rather than out the side window.

I am doing a bunch of the work MTV used to do. My comments would be to repeat his.

Troy,

I understand the need to go round and round flat for some work. I was lucky enough to be able to use the safer energy management turn.

Jim

mtv wrote:...sticking an indicator up on the glareshield is only marginally more useful than mounting it in the panel. Opinion only.

Opinion only also:
I've never flown with an AOA meter, and I'm not all that sold on them.
But IMHO having it mounted atop the panel would make it easier to scan-
1) it's up there where your vision swings by it as youre scanning out the windshield and the side windows, and
2) it's the only thing up there, you're not having to visually pick it out of the rest of the numerous dials etc in the panel every time.

hotrod180 wrote:

mtv wrote:...sticking an indicator up on the glareshield is only marginally more useful than mounting it in the panel. Opinion only.

Opinion only also:
I've never flown with an AOA meter, and I'm not all that sold on them.
But IMHO having it mounted atop the panel would make it easier to scan-
1) it's up there where your vision swings by it as youre scanning out the windshield and the side windows, and
2) it's the only thing up there, you're not having to visually pick it out of the rest of the numerous dials etc in the panel every time.

I have other stuff on top of my panel, too, but I see my AOA indicator easily in peripheral vision--it's a pretty simple display (as are most AOA indicators), so that I don't have to stare at it to see what it's telling me.

Many who have little experience with AOA indicators have trouble being sold on them, but after flying with mine now for nearly 500 hours, I am very definitely sold. We've had previous discussions on BCP, with the same arguments pro and con being raised each time, but what I've noticed is that many who are against them, or who don't see their value, haven't flown with one.

Cary

I don't wanna debate pro/con AOA, to each their own.
Just wanted to comment on indicator location.