What’s the absolute minimum speed a plane has to go for it to stay in the air?
In: Physics
There’s no theoretical minimum…if you have a big enough wing with a light enough aircraft it can be single digit miles per hour (relative to the air). Like /u/HappyHuman924 aid, for small prop planes it around 50 mph. Human powered aircraft like Gossamer Albatross had *top* speeds below 20 mph but it could fly considerably slower than that.
For a really good paper airplane, you get can get it down to a brisk walk (~4 mph). If you purpose built with exotic materials you could go even lower.
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