Posted for "Luke Alcorn" <lalcorn@natca.net>:

I don't know where the other poster was going with this, but I will just add
an answer.  Slow flight by the FAA definition is 1.1 times the stall speed
in the configuration.  If your stall speed is 67 knots clean, then slow
flight should be accomplished at 74.  Stall speed dirty 60 slow flight 66.
These airplanes fly fine at 10 percent above stall speed.  Do I do this is
the pattern?  No.   Approach speed should be 1.2 times stall speed and I
usually add another 5 to 10 knots to that any time the wind is not dead
calm.  My only point to this is, I do not have any experience in a IV but
110 on final seems a bit excessive, when the numbers I've heard here say any
where between 72 and 80 for stall speed.  95 to 100 sounds much more
reasonable.  Just my uninformed opinion.

[Food for thought... the Frantz (now AFS) AOA Pro pierces the approach AOA donut at 1.3 X stall AOA, or 1.3 times the stall speed. 1.2 x Vs is too high an angle of attack for the approach, IMHO. Heck, the stall warning comes on at 1.15 x Vs. FWIW      <marv> ]

Bill,

I can fly as slow as the next guy, but why. What is your definition of slow
flying? 1 knot above stalling AOA, 2knots or maybe 10 knots? What?

This discussion started with trying to figure out how not to crash a
Lancair. Normal traffic pattern speeds are not my idea of "slow flying". As
a result, when someone talks about doing "slow flying, in a Lancair, at
traffic pattern altitudes the hair on the back of my neck starts to rise.
IMO, Lancair airplanes should only be flown in the "slow flight" envelope
above an altitude from which you can recover from the worst possible outcome
of flying in that envelope.

Lynn Farnsworth

Luke Alcorn

Air Traffic Control Specialist

NATCA Safety Rep

Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center