Stall Strips - has anyone tried them?

[karmarepair]

There seems to be some confusion between stall strips, which are mounted on the leading edge, and vortex generators, which are typically mounted just aft of the point of maximum thickness.

Stall strips INDUCE flow separation. Vortex Generators REDUCE flow separation. Both tailor the stall characteristics of a planform. Stall strips will probably INCREASE the stall speed slightly, since the wing will quit flying, albeit in a smooth and predictable way, a little earlier than it would without them.

I'm interested is using them as a stall WARNING - simpler, cheaper than horns, vanes, spoons and probes. As others have pointed out, some stall/spin accidents happen so quick no device will ameliorate them (which is why I train for engine out climbs - I'm off to do that TODAY, as soon as I hit SEND), but I'm looking for something that gives me a reminder I'm getting too slow, so that on a semi-routine approach or climb, I don't stall due to a distraction in the cockpit for example.

[Scott Todd]

Both of you are correct. I've been hanging around too many Redneck (sorry) back country wanna-be's lately that interchange the terms. I interpreted the inquiry wrong. It seems everyone these days want a slower stall speed and I thought that's what he was asking about. My Grumman Yankee that I flew for several hundred hours had stall strips. Some of the Glasair's I've consulted on have them. Some of the Race guys ask about removing them for speed and I ALWAYS tell them don't! VG's can also be mounted near the leading edge on the upper surface. I've tested them on many airplanes thru the years.

Its a really good discussion and education for future readers :)

[N190YX]

To add to Noel's post, the stall strips* on my factory low wing airplane (Beech Debonair) have one purpose: To cause the inboard part of the wing to stall before the outboard part stalls, with the result that the outboard part of the wing where the ailerons are does not stall and I have aileron authority throughout the stall. If the outboard portion of the wing, where the ailerons are, stalls, the ailerons no longer work. Stall strips do not lower the stall speed, vortex generators may lower the stall speed but their installation may have other purposes such as maintaining control effectiveness throughout all flight conditions. *The Debonair's stall strips, one on each wing about 12" out from the fuselage, are small essentially triangular shaped metal strips about 8" long and 1/4 or 3/8" wide.

[radfordc]

I'm curious what the intended usage/benefit would be. To put it another way: *Why* are you interested in stall strips on a Sonex?

--Noel

To provide a tactile (shaking, buffeting) warning of an incipient stall.

Tony Bingeles said this, "Stall Warning Devices? Who Needs Them?
If your airplane requires a very pronounced and deliberate rearward pull force on the control stick to make it stall, you don't need a stall warning device."

Sounds like a Sonex to me.