Aviation Commons^™

Nothing But A Number: A Closer Look At Stall Speed, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

CFIS REPEAT IT LIKE A MANTRA: An airplane can stall at any airspeed, in any pitch attitude. Your trainer’s wing always stalls when it exceeds its critical angle of attack—and that can happen even if the airplane is pointed straight down and approaching VNE. So what do the stall speeds published in the pilot’s operating handbook mean? These only apply for the stated conditions: often level flight, maximum gross weight, and most forward center of gravity, with flaps retracted (VS1) or in the landing configuration (VS0). Factors such as total weight, load factor, power, and center of gravity location affect …