Definition
An aerodynamic stall that occurs at airspeeds well above the published 1G stall speed because the wing has been loaded beyond its critical angle of attack, typically during an abrupt or excessive control input that increases the load factor. The stall happens because the wing exceeds its critical angle of attack, not because the airspeed is low.
Plain English
A stall that happens at a fast airspeed because the pilot pulled hard enough on the controls to make the wing meet the air at too steep an angle. The wing stops producing lift even though the aircraft is moving quickly.
Context Anchor
Seen in load factor, steep turn, pull-up, and maneuvering discussions, especially when learning why stall speed rises as wing loading increases.
Derivation
“Stall” comes from an older sense meaning to stop or come to a standstill. In aviation, it does not mean the engine stops; it means the wing stops producing smooth, reliable lift because the airflow over it has broken down. “High speed” points out the important surprise: this kind of stall can happen well above the slow stall speed a student may first learn.
Why Pilots Care
High-speed stalls can produce an unexpected loss of lift and control during turns or pull-ups, requiring immediate reduction in angle of attack to recover.
Analogy
A car tire can lose grip even at high speed if the turn is too sharp for the tire to hold. A wing is similar: speed alone does not prevent a stall if the wing is asked to work at too steep an angle.
Grounding Statement
Picture pulling back hard at the bottom of a dive: the airplane is fast, but the wings are being forced to carry much more load, so they can stall anyway.
Intuition Check
A stall is not caused by being too slow by itself. A high speed stall happens when the wing meets the airflow at too steep an angle, even though the airplane is moving fast.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor demonstrated a high speed stall by pulling sharply back on the yoke during a steep turn, showing how the wing can stall well above the normal stall speed.
Example Sentence 2
Recovery began as soon as forward pressure was applied to lower the nose and reduce the wing’s angle to the airflow.