Accelerated Stall- Yikes!

Very, very close call. I’ll leave it to Spill to explain what exactly constitutes an accelerated stall (and the math behind it) but suffice to say, there’s only a certain amount of G a plane can pull at a given speed. And attitude has an effect on that as well. H/T Bold Method.

Very, very close call. I’ll leave it to Spill to explain what exactly constitutes an accelerated stall (and the math behind it) but suffice to say, there’s only a certain amount of G a plane can pull at a given speed. And attitude has an effect on that as well.

H/T Bold Method.

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  1. comanchepilot

    Just so we all know . . It’s not supposed to do that. No matter what explanation you get from Camlic.

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  2. juvat

    Looks like we have another tie for low altitude flying record.

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  3. SFC Dunlap 173d RVN

    Looks exactly like a mishap with a C-130 doing a LAPES drop at Sicily DZ, Ft. Bragg, NC a decade or more back. That event is on YouTube as well.

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  4. Quartermaster

    Taken from “Plane and Pilot,” here’s a good thumbnail sketch of the phenomenon:

    “The accelerated stall usually surprises a pilot because it occurs at a higher airspeed than a normal stall (in which a wing loading of 1 G is maintained). Remember, a wing can be made to stall at any speed—all that has to happen is for the angle of attack to get high enough. As G-loading increases, so does stall speed. If a wing reaches its critical angle of attack when the wing loading is 2 G, twice normal, the stall will occur at a speed that’s proportional to the square root of the wing loading. The square root of 2 is approximately 1.41, so the stalling speed at 2 G will be 1.41 times what it would be under 1 G conditions. Accelerated stalls are often caused by abrupt or excessive control inputs made during steep turns or pull-ups. If you’re in a dive and pull back with enough suddenness and force to load the airplane to a typical design load factor of 3.8 G’s, you’ll enter an accelerated stall if the airspeed drops below 1.95 times the stall speed at 1 G loading (the square root of 3.8 is approximately 1.95).”

    Many pilots have rediscovered the phenomenon, usually under conditions that result in fatalities.

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