Hans set up for a classic STOL touchdown in his 701
With VGs instead of slats
Easier Landings with Vortex Generators
Put Feathers on your wings and land easier!
It’s landings gone wrong that bend all too many aircraft and embarrass too many pilots.....
You may not aspire to STOL performance or slow flying in your aircraft,
but you still have to get slow to land it!
Let’s face it – a lot of pilots dread landings......
So put some Feathers on your wings and make it easier!
Stolspeed VGs make the stall so gentle and gradual that you don’t get ‘dropped’ suddenly if you flair a bit too high – the aircraft just settles on – it’s very forgiving!
........it's like a bird with feathers.......
........it's like a bird with feathers.......
VGs give better control for hold off to a slower touchdown speed.
It’s quite astounding to round out and then hold off in ground effect by easing the stick back and back and farther back until the nose is way high and the airspeed is way slow before the aircraft finally settles on gently!!!
This is especially valuable for tail wheel aircraft to get good classic ‘three-pointers’. The slower touchdown speed much reduces the chance of a bounce or a ground loop.
Allows nose wheel aircraft to hold the nose wheel high at touchdown, thus protecting it from impact especially on rough strips. Touchdown like a tail-dragger, then lower the nose wheel and have all that directional control - the best of both types!
It’s so much easier to do good landings in any aircraft with VGs!
This is the benefit from VGs that you will notice the most often -
ie –
ie –
Every time you land !
Once you try Feathers you won’t want to land without them!
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Fly Safer with Vortex Generators
Put Stolspeed VGs on your wings and fly safer!
“....much better low speed handling and control....”
Some other suppliers claim dramatic reductions in stall speeds,
but usually this more due to ASI error at the high angle of attack that VGs allow.
but usually this more due to ASI error at the high angle of attack that VGs allow.
The real verified reduction in stall speed is usually 3-5 knots.
I don't claim such large reductions in stall speed,
but do claim much better low speed handling and control,
which improves the safety margin, and allows slower landings safely.
but do claim much better low speed handling and control,
which improves the safety margin, and allows slower landings safely.
Have a look through the testimonials and you’ll find this comment usually mentioned as an extra benefit of the VGs, but really it’s the most important benefit!
The improvement in low speed handling with VGs is remarkable!
- Much crisper and more positive aileron response.
- Much less tendency to drop a wing in a slow turn.
- Stall doesn’t ‘break’ but becomes a gentle and gradual 'mush'.
- Recovery from that increasing 'mush' is much quicker and easier than recovery from a stall - just ease the stick a bit and it's flying again.
These are the benefits that could save you and your aircraft from damage!
- Much crisper and more positive aileron response.
- Much less tendency to drop a wing in a slow turn.
- Stall doesn’t ‘break’ but becomes a gentle and gradual 'mush'.
- Recovery from that increasing 'mush' is much quicker and easier than recovery from a stall - just ease the stick a bit and it's flying again.
These are the benefits that could save you and your aircraft from damage!
Improved Safety Margin
Yes, vortex generators will allow you to fly slower turns and approaches, but that doesn’t mean that you should. It’s much safer to keep the same flying speeds, but with an increased safety margin. This applies to all aircraft, and particularly to higher speed aircraft that tend to have a ‘sharp’ stall without VGs.
Yes, vortex generators will allow you to fly slower turns and approaches, but that doesn’t mean that you should. It’s much safer to keep the same flying speeds, but with an increased safety margin. This applies to all aircraft, and particularly to higher speed aircraft that tend to have a ‘sharp’ stall without VGs.
Far too many tragic accidents happen in stall/spins from climbing turns that get too slow. How does your aircraft stall in a slow turn??? Better only try it at altitude, and be ready for a quick and correct response, or you could find yourself very nose and wing down, headed straight for the ground in a spin....... If that happens on climb-out or on turn to final there won’t be enough height to recover........ It keeps happening all too often, even to competent pilots........
VGs dramatically reduce this risk on any aircraft!
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STOL Performance with Vortex Generators
Do you sometimes wish your aircraft had Leading Edge Slats for STOL performance???
Have a look at the "Slats v/s VGs" page and see how we got equal STOL performance on our Zenair CH701 and Savannah aircraft by replacing the Leading Edge Slats with VGs!
So you could put VGs on your wing and get STOL performance as if you had Leading Edge Slats, but without all the downsides that they bring: ie- drag, drag, drag, and more drag......
VGs allow any wing to ‘hang on’ at a much higher angle of attack than normal, just as Leading Edge Slats do, but without all the horrendous drag penalty.
It’s truly amazing how such tiny devices can have such a dramatic effect on the performance of any wing!!! But the effect has been proven again and again on many different aircraft.
So you could also improve STOL performance on your aircraft just by adding Stolspeed VGs to your present wing.
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More Elevator Control with Vortex Generators
Many aircraft run out of elevator control at low landing speed, so you can't hold the nose up for a good controlled landing. So despite their claims of a low stall speed, many aircraft are unable to actually land safely at those quoted speeds.
VGs on the horizontal stab can give more control
and fix this problem!
With the slower landing speeds enabled by VGs on the main wing , the elevator may not be able pull the increased angle of attack that the VGs allow. This does have a benefit in that the wing can never really stall (some aircraft are designed this way), but it does mean that you can't get the full STOL performance that the VGs allow. So in order to get the full benefit from VGs on the main wing you may need to install them also on the under-side of the horizontal stabilizer.
VGs under the elevator of a 701 make a dramatic difference!, even with the original slats.
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Improved Rudder Authority with Vortex Generators
The application of vortex generators on the vertical fin in order to improve rudder authority has had mixed results of some aircraft, but some have dramatically improved rudder authority. It seems that some aircraft may have a rudder that is just too small from the start, a common design fault in an attempt to get the highest cruise speed. But the fault of this compromise often shows up at the slow speeds necessary on take-off or landing. So I can't guarantee positive results by placing VGs on the vertical fin, but it's certainly worth a try if you are feeling marginal rudder authority at slow speeds.
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