What Is the Vso of the Dash 8 Q400?

    I don’t know how to calculate Vso because I don’t know the equation, but even if I did I’m not sure how to figure out the weight of the aircraft. If I understand correctly all of the aircraft in Aerofly FS are at max weight or close. I’ve read that VSO is full flaps, gear, fine pitch, throttle idle, and its the lowest speed where stable flight is possible. Ive read that in the Q400 this speed is around 60-70 knots but I cant even get this slow if I try. I configured my plane this way and pulled full back on the stick to try and maintain level flight but the plane didnt start losing control and spinning out or dropping completely like a rock, it just stayed at like 98 knots and oscillated ever so slightly between a few degrees of downward pitch and level flight while descending quickly. Does this mean the Vso is somewhere around 120-130 knots where I can maintain the slowest speed possible before my plane can no longer maintain 0 vertical speed? Would love some help understanding.

    The weight is around the maximum LANDING weight, it is relatively light. Large complicated planes calculate the numbers for every flight but the approach speed calculation replicates the flaps down, gear down stall speed multiplied by 1.3. The stall speed in a big T-tail plane is definitely not a minimum stable flight speed. A developed stall with a T-tail should be presumed to be a fatal and unrecoverable disaster. Government aviation authorities invariably demand that such planes have reliable stall approach detection systems coupled with warning stick shakers and finally stick pushers to drive the nose down before a deadly stall develops.

    Aerofly presumably doesn’t show a stall break in a Dash 8 because the plane in normal conditions will not stall. Ice build up on the wings can defeat the stall protection but ice and anti-ice is not simulated.

    Quote from Overloaded

    The weight is around the maximum LANDING weight, it is relatively light. Large complicated planes calculate the numbers for every flight but the approach speed calculation replicates the flaps down, gear down stall speed multiplied by 1.3. The stall speed in a big T-tail plane is definitely not a minimum stable flight speed. A developed stall with a T-tail should be presumed to be a fatal and unrecoverable disaster. Government aviation authorities invariably demand that such planes have reliable stall approach detection systems coupled with warning stick shakers and finally stick pushers to drive the nose down before a deadly stall develops.

    Aerofly presumably doesn’t show a stall break in a Dash 8 because the plane in normal conditions will not stall. Ice build up on the wings can defeat the stall protection but ice and anti-ice is not simulated.

    So what is the gear down flaps down stall speed? I’m trying to calculate my approach speed Vapp (1.4 times Vso) and my final reference or landing speed Vref (1.3 times Vso). What is Vso in the Q400, or what are Vapp and Vref?