52 or 51mph max stall

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Sam
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:42 pm

52 or 51mph max stall

Post 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?
Sling 2 Pilot
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2018 4:53 pm

Re: 52 or 51mph max stall

Post 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?
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JimParker256
Posts: 164
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 4:47 pm
Location: Farmersville, TX

Re: 52 or 51mph max stall

Post 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...
Jim Parker
2007 RANS S-6ES (Rotax 912ULS)
Light Sport Repairman - Airplane - Inspection
Farmersville, TX
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