AOA & Load Factor Lab

Before you play

Angle of attack is chord line vs relative wind. A stall happens when you exceed the critical AOA—at any airspeed. In turns and pull-ups, load factor rises, so the airspeed at which you hit that same critical AOA goes up: \(V_s = V_{s1}\sqrt{n}\).

Geometry — see AOA, not pitch to the horizon
CL curve — raise AOA to the critical angle and stall
Load factor — bank angle → Gs → higher stall speed
Scenarios — level, steep turn, accelerated stall
Guide — story + quiz

Read the AOA / stall / load factor note, then walk the tabs.

Skip to lab ↓

Wing vs relative wind

Drag the AOA. Pitch attitude (vs horizon) is drawn separately on purpose.

Angle of attack 6° Pitch attitude (horizon) 4°

Try: set pitch attitude nose-low but AOA high (e.g. pitch −2°, AOA 16°)—still a stall picture. Attitude ≠ AOA.

AOA

6°

Pitch vs horizon

4°

Schematic

CL vs AOA

Schematic lift curve. Stall when AOA reaches critical for the flap setting.

AOA 8° Flaps

CL (schematic)

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Critical AOA

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State

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Flaps change the curve and critical AOA (toy model). Ice/damage (not modeled) can reduce max CL in real life.

Lift curve

Toy CL(α)

Bank → load factor → stall speed

Level coordinated turn: n = 1/cos(φ), V_s = V_s1√n

Bank angle 30° 1 G stall speed V_s1 50 KIAS

n = 1 / cos(φ) · V_s = V_s1 × √n

Load factor n

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Stall speed

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% above V_s1

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At 60° reference

2.0 G · +41%

Critical AOA is unchanged. You simply reach it at a higher indicated airspeed when n > 1.

Bank diagram

Level turn

Scenario builder

Same wing critical AOA; different speed and load factor.

Preset Airspeed (KIAS) 90 Load factor n 1.0 V_s1 clean 50

Stall speed now

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Margin (IAS − Vs)

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Assessment

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Margin picture

Speed tape

Guided story

1 / 5

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Check yourself

About

CL(α) is a cartoon peak-and-drop curve, not a wind-tunnel polar.
n = 1/cos(φ) assumes coordinated level turn; climbing/descending turns differ.
Vs = Vs1√n is the standard training relationship for accelerated stall speed.
Sources: PHAK Ch. 5; MIT 16.687 AOA/stall framing.