Page 57 - EAA78.Newsletter.Archives.(February.2017-July.2021)
P. 57
CHAPTER CHATTER, EAA Chapter 78 4
Quiz: Could You Save The Day On
These Takeoffs?
How It Works: Angle of Attack Indicator
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the
1967 Earhart Commemorative Flight
Fifty years ago, Ann Holtgren Pellegreno departed
Oakland, California, on June 9 in a restored 1937 twin-
engine Lockheed 10 Electra. She and her crew
followed the “Earhart Trail” eastbound around the The AOA provides the perfect approach angle, making the
world, and returned to Oakland July 7, 1967. airspeed indicator almost irrelevant.
An angle of attack indicator offers a visual indication of
Ann and her crew — mechanic Lee Koepke, the owner the amount of lift the wing is generating at a given
and restorer of Lockheed N79237; co-pilot Bill Payne; airspeed or angle of bank. The AOA delivers critical
and navigator Bill Polhemus — had meticulously information visually or through an aural tone to indicate
planned the Earhart Commemorative Flight, as closely the actual safety margin above an aerodynamic stall.
as possible, to arrive over Howland Island at the same
time and day of the month that Amelia Earhart’s flight
would have in 1937… (CLICK HERE) AOAs are created around one of two systems, either a
lift reserve indicator or a normalized AOA. An LRI is
normally accurate in a single configuration, usually
near the approach angle of attack. The advantage of a
normalized AOA is that the angle of attack
measurement is accurate in all aircraft configurations.
