VFR · Lesson 12 · 9 min · ACS PA.VII · ACS PA.I.G

Stalls and Load Factor

Summary

Stalls are about exceeding the critical angle of attack, so they can happen at any speed; recover by lowering the angle of attack. Higher bank raises load factor, which raises stall speed.

FlightInsight · third-party video

Also watch

Speed 1 times
Quick check ▾

One question on what you just read.

Question 1 of 1

Stalls and the critical angle of attack · Topic mastery: Not started

Exit

0 of 1 answered

A wing stalls when it exceeds what?

Choose one answer
Knowledge check (4) →Ask about this lessonAll lessons in this module

Why this matters in flight

A stall is the loss of lift behind the most common loss-of-control accidents, and load factor is why a steep turn can stall you at a surprisingly high airspeed. Together they explain the single most important safety concept in low-speed flight.

Figure 5-70. Airflow separating from the upper surface once the critical angle of attack is exceeded (a stall).
Figure 5-70. Airflow separating from the upper surface once the critical angle of attack is exceeded (a stall).Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C) · public domain
Figure 5-54. Load factor in a level turn — a 60° bank imposes roughly 2 Gs.
Figure 5-54. Load factor in a level turn — a 60° bank imposes roughly 2 Gs.Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C) · public domain

A wing stalls when it exceeds its critical angle of attack — the airflow separates from the upper surface and lift drops sharply. The key insight is that a stall is defined by angle of attack, not airspeed or attitude, so an airplane can stall at any airspeed and in any attitude, including a fast, nose-low steep turn. Recovery always starts with reducing the angle of attack. Load factor ties directly into this: load factor is the ratio of lift to weight, measured in g. Banking in level flight requires extra lift, so load factor climbs with bank angle — roughly 2 g at 60 degrees of bank. Because the wing must work harder, the stall speed increases with the square root of the load factor, which is why the airplane stalls at a higher indicated airspeed in a steep turn than it does wings-level.

Key terms

Critical angle of attack
The angle of attack beyond which the wing stalls.
Load factor
The ratio of total lift to weight, expressed in g.
Accelerated stall
A stall at higher-than-normal airspeed caused by increased load factor.

Sources & references · 2 · 2 linked

Every claim traces to a source — paraphrased knowledge elements pointing at the governing FAA publication. Items marked verified have been checked against the retrieved source text; the rest are pending verification. Where the exact page or regulation has been located in a retrieved document, the source links straight to it.

Community

Community

Ask for more detail or suggest additions to make this lesson better. Community input — not authoritative and not CFI-reviewed.

Sign in or create a free account to join the conversation.

No comments yet — be the first to help improve this lesson.