← All explained questions · Supplemental · VII — Slow Flight, Stalls, and Spins
A stall occurs when the wing's
Choices
airspeed drops below a fixed value listed in the POH.
Stall speed varies with weight, bank, and load factor — it's not a fixed POH number.
✓ angle of attack exceeds the critical angle of attack.correct
regardless of airspeed or attitude. A stall is fundamentally an angle-of-attack phenomenon, not an airspeed phenomenon. Exceed the critical AoA (typically ~17° for a typical GA wing) and the airflow separates and lift collapses — at any airspeed and any attitude. This is why an airplane can stall in a steep turn, an abrupt pull-up, or a level cruise at high G.
lift coefficient becomes negative.
Negative lift would mean inverted flight or extreme negative AoA, not a stall.
rate of descent exceeds the climb rate.
Rate of descent is unrelated to stall.
Why
regardless of airspeed or attitude. A stall is fundamentally an angle-of-attack phenomenon, not an airspeed phenomenon. Exceed the critical AoA (typically ~17° for a typical GA wing) and the airflow separates and lift collapses — at any airspeed and any attitude. This is why an airplane can stall in a steep turn, an abrupt pull-up, or a level cruise at high G.
FAA source: FAA-H-8083-25C, Ch. 5, Aerodynamics of Flight - Stalls; FAA-H-8083-3C, Ch. 4browse the reference library →
Original study question written for this course — representative of FAA knowledge-test topics, not an actual current FAA exam question.