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Old 17th Apr 2005, 15:59
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n5296s
 
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I do disagree with n5296s a little. My understanding is that a stall is an absolute thing and is related only to the AoA, is measurable and has a defined constant start point for a set configuration; the critical AoA.
It's a handy simplification but not really true. There's a range of aoa during which airflow separation is taking place. Separation starts at the trailing edge and as aoa increases it moves forward along the upper surface, reducing lift. In addition the stall does not happen equally along the span of the wing - depending on flaps, washout, dihedral, stall-modifying devices such as fences and vortex generators. Thus there is quite a range of aoa where some of the wing is stalled but not all of it.

That said, from a pilot's perspective the plane stalls when you go over the hump of the C/L curve such that increasing aoa reduces lift rather than increasing it. That's what causes the nose to drop. But as another poster says, you can fly a plane in a fully stalled condition - you will lose altitude but it is completely controllable (sometimes called a "falling leaf"). It's an excellent exercise in control.

I suspect that in a "fully stalled" landing (e.g. in a taildragger) the wing is somewhat stalled but typically there is still some back elevator left - not much, but some.

John
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