On Mon, 23 May 2005 14:13:26 -0400, T o d d P a t t i s t
wrote:

By using LOL, we'd be substituting a word that IMHO
perpetuates the misunderstanding of what happens at the
aerodynamic stall AOA. Many pilots seem to think that lift
somehow "disappears" when the plane stalls. It doesn't.
Above the stall angle of attack lift begins to decrease with
AOA, while below that angle, it increases with AOA.
Nonetheless, it's quite possible to fly with a wing fully
stalled, and less lift than at the lower AOA. Airshow
performers do it often, and we do it with one wing or both
wings in a spin.

But Todd, aren't you playing a bit with semantics here? After all,
not many of us fly tiny extreme performance airplanes that have a
power to weight ratio that allows them to literally hang vertically on
their prop. In that case, the prop has taken over as the wing, and
it's obvious that it isn't suffering from LOL. ;-)

As to the spin, which way is the airplane going in the spin: up, down
or staying level? If the airplane is going down, isn't that an
indication that the airplane has suffered an overall loss of lift?

I'm not lobbying for LOL as THE proper and only term to use, "Wing
Stall" seems pretty accurate too.

Corky Scott