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Old December 26th 04, 06:54 AM
Peter Duniho
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"Ramapriya" wrote in message
ups.com...
Getting back to basics, wings produce lift only when wind hits them,
i.e. when the aircraft starts moving. This keeps increasing until the
airspeed is adequate enough to produce a total lift that can levitate
the aircraft. Since the angle of the wings can't be varied,


See my reply to George. The angle of the wings CAN be varied, and doing so
is essential to the art of flying.

ignoring
flaps momentarily, I can't see how the stall AOA can be independent of
airspeed. What then is 'stall speed' of an airplane?


The stall speed of an airplane is the airspeed at which the airplane will
stall, assuming straight and level unaccelerated flight. Any published
stall speed is actually specific to a certain weight (most popular stall
speeds to know are for maximum weight), and for a specific configuration
(for example, gear and flap extension both can change stall
speed...especially flaps).

If stalling AOA is reached, adding engine power before the plane goes
into a stall will prevent the stall by increasing airspeed, right?


Sort of. By the time you are down to stall speed, what additional engine
power actually does is to allow you to fly at *lower* airspeeds. However,
yes...commonly when one is near stalling and doesn't want to be, increasing
engine power is one part of the recovery. If not combined with a reduction
in pitch attitude, all that more power will do (assuming everything else is
held constant) is to cause the airplane to climb.

Pete