Which statement about stall speed and wing area is correct?

• A. Stall speed decreases as wing area increases
• B. Stall speed increases as wing area increases
• C. Stall speed is independent of wing area
• D. Stall speed varies unpredictably with wing area

Answer: (A)

Stall speed in level flight is determined by the amount of lift the wing can produce at a given speed. At the stall angle, the wing can’t generate any more lift than Cl_max allows, so lift equals weight: W = 0.5 ρ V_s^2 S Cl_max. Solving for V_s gives V_s = sqrt[(2W) / (ρ S Cl_max)]. This shows stall speed decreases as wing area increases because the wing has more surface to generate lift at a lower speed, all else being equal.

So the statement that stall speed decreases with increasing wing area is the correct one. It’s not independent of wing area, and it doesn’t vary unpredictably with it. The dependence is clear from the lift equation and the stall condition.