Definition
A performance chart in the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) or Aircraft Flight Manual that shows the airspeed at which the aircraft will stall under various combinations of bank angle, flap configuration, and power setting. The chart presents stall speeds for level flight and for angles of bank (commonly 0°, 20°, 40°, and 60°), allowing the pilot to determine how stall speed increases with bank angle and changes with flap position.
Plain English
A chart in the aircraft's handbook that tells you the slowest speed you can fly before the wing stops producing enough lift, for different bank angles and flap settings.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft performance planning, especially when reviewing handbook charts for takeoff, landing, slow flight, turns, and stall awareness.
Derivation
“Stall” originally carried the idea of stopping or coming to a standstill. In aviation, the airplane does not stop moving forward; the wing reaches a point where it can no longer make enough lift for the situation. That helps explain why the chart is about a critical flying speed, not about the engine stopping.
Why Pilots Care
Allows the pilot to know the actual stall speed for the current flight conditions so that adequate margin above stall can be maintained during turns, climbs, or approaches.
Intuition Check
Do not read “stall speed” as one permanent speed for the airplane in every situation. The stall speed performance chart shows the stall speed for the actual conditions, such as weight, flap position, and bank angle.
Example Sentence 1
Before practicing steep turns, the student checked the stall speed performance chart and noted that stall speed jumped from 50 to 71 knots at 60° of bank.
Example Sentence 2
During preflight planning the instructor used the stall speed performance chart to set a safe entry altitude for the upcoming power-off stall practice.