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52 or 51mph max stall
Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:17 pm
by Sam
I found a plane I want to buy. It’s a ZENITH 601 XLB with a lycoming 235. I asked the guy for the specs
Max Gross: 1320
Landing Configuration Stall, 45mph
Clean stall 52mph
The FARs say max clean stall of 45 knots. 45knots = 51.7mph
Will I have any problems flying and ensuring this plane?
Re: 52 or 51mph max stall
Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 5:56 pm
by Sling 2 Pilot
Sam wrote:I found a plane I want to buy. It’s a ZENITH 601 XLB with a lycoming 235. I asked the guy for the specs
Max Gross: 1320
Landing Configuration Stall, 45mph
Clean stall 52mph
The FARs say max clean stall of 45 knots. 45knots = 51.7mph
Will I have any problems flying and ensuring this plane?
What’s does the current airworthiness certificate state?
Re: 52 or 51mph max stall
Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 7:51 pm
by JimParker256
To rephrase Sling's reply slightly...
If the airworthiness certificate is "Light Sport" you should have zero issues. Sport Pilots are allowed to fly LSA. It would be the manufacturer's responsibility to meet the ASTM standards before obtaining approval.
If it is registered in the "Experimental - Amateur Built" class, you might or might not have an issue, if the builder documented 52 mph as the stall speed.
However, the data published by Zenithair (the manufacturer / kit source) for the Zodiac XL (
http://www.zenithair.com/zodiac/xl/performance.html) indicates that the clean stall speed is 51 mph, which meets the standards.
In my view, the statement by the current owner is meaningless, unless there is a manufacturer-supplied POH that documents a 52 mph clean stall speed...