What happens to stall speed as weight increases?

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Multiple Choice

What happens to stall speed as weight increases?

Explanation:
When weight goes up, you must generate more lift to balance that heavier airplane. Lift is L = ½ ρ V^2 S CL, and at the stall you’re limited by CLmax. With L = W at the stall, CL = CLmax, so the stall speed is Vstall = sqrt( (2W) / (ρ S CLmax) ). Since weight W increases and the other factors stay the same, Vstall must increase. In other words, stall speed rises with weight (roughly with the square root of weight). This also means a heavier airplane has less speed margin before stalling.

When weight goes up, you must generate more lift to balance that heavier airplane. Lift is L = ½ ρ V^2 S CL, and at the stall you’re limited by CLmax. With L = W at the stall, CL = CLmax, so the stall speed is Vstall = sqrt( (2W) / (ρ S CLmax) ). Since weight W increases and the other factors stay the same, Vstall must increase. In other words, stall speed rises with weight (roughly with the square root of weight). This also means a heavier airplane has less speed margin before stalling.

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