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Cruise speed vs. stall speed

Asked by: 5382 views Aerodynamics, General Aviation, Private Pilot

I am having some trouble trying to find clarity on what exactly is the difference between stall speed and just speed.

Several aerodynamic articles say that stall speed is the speed at which an airfoil is stalled but other books say that is the speed at which you will almost stall.

Thus, the real question is what exactly is "higher stall speed" VS. "lower stall speed"?

What is high stall speed in relation with the actual speed of the aircraft?

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1 Answers



  1. RickS on Jul 17, 2017

    A wing can stall in any attitude at any speed. But to answer your question, I think this is what you are looking for…. stall speed numbers in your airplanes performance specs refer to wings level flight. As you slow, the wing produces less lift until the point that it cannot produce enough lift to support the airplane, and it stalls. Vso is the same thing, but includes the flaps and gear being deployed in the landing configuration.
    Being in a steep bank increases stall speed due to the increased G load. If your airplane weigs 2000 lbs, and you’re in a bank and at 1.5 G, the wings need to support 3000 lbs to maintain altitude. Obviously, the wing will stop producing enough lift at a much higher speed if it’s trying to support 3000 lbs versus 2000 lbs for level (1 G ) flight.

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