Acronym used for a fixed-wing aircraft specially designed for Short Take-Off and Landing. These aircraft usually accomplish their function by special aerodynamic devices providing high lift. The ability to have short take-offs is highly dependent on the aircraft being able to perform well at low forward speeds, and until World War 2 this was not a major problem because of the generally low speeds employed. The war brought a need for slow-speed STOL observation aircraft, of which the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was the most famous.
STOL is an acronym for Short Take-Off and Landing, a term used in the aircraft industry to describe aeroplanes with very short runway requirements. Many STOL aircraft are bush planes, though some, like the de Havilland Dash-7, are designed for use on prepared airstrips; likewise, many STOL aircraft are taildraggers, though there are exceptions like the de Havilland Twin Otter and the Peterson 260SE. The landing run is minimized by strong brakes, low landing speed or spoilers (less common). Overall STOL performance is set by the length of runway needed to land or take off, whichever is longer.
Of equal importance to short ground run is the ability to clear obstacles, such as trees, on both take off and landing. For landing, high drag allows the aeroplane to descend steeply to the runway without building excess speed resulting in a longer ground run.
Normally, a STOL plane will have a large wing for its weight. Typically, designing an aeroplane for excellent STOL performance reduces maximum speed, but does not reduce payload lifting ability.
Most STOL aeroplanes can land either on- or off-airport. Typical off-airport landing areas include snow or ice (using skis), fields or gravel riverbanks (often using special fat, low-pressure tundra tires), and water (using floats): these areas are often extremely short and obstructed by tall trees or hills. A STOLPORT is an airport designed with STOL operations in mind, normally having a short single runway.
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