The 12 Slowest Planes in the World, Ranked by How Slowly They Can Fly

The slowest plane in the world is the Gossamer Albatross, a pedal-powered aircraft that crossed the English Channel in 1979 at an average of about 8 mph (13 km/h). Its top speed was only 15 to 18 mph.

Among engine-powered aircraft, the slowest are ultralights and STOL kit planes that stay airborne at about 19 to 28 mph (30 to 45 km/h).

We rank by the measure that actually decides how slow a plane can go: its minimum flying speed. For most aircraft that is the published stall speed, the slowest airspeed at which the wing still holds the airplane up. Top speed is a different question, so the slowest top speeds get their own section further down.

Helicopters are left out, because a helicopter can hover at zero. This is a list of fixed-wing airplanes, from a bicycle with wings to a jet-powered crop duster.

Rank	Aircraft	Type	Slowest published speed
1	Gossamer Albatross	Human-powered	About 8 mph average over the Channel (top speed 15 to 18 mph)
2	Ruppert Archaeopteryx	Ultralight sailplane, electric self-launch option	19 to 24 mph (30 to 39 km/h) stall
3	Slepcev Storch	Ultralight replica	25 mph (40 km/h) stall
4	Solar Impulse 2	Solar-electric	27 mph (44 km/h) takeoff speed
5	Zenith STOL CH 701	Kit STOL plane	28 mph (45 km/h) stall
6	Braunschweig LF-1 Zaunkönig	STOL trainer, 1940	31 mph (50 km/h) stall
7	Fieseler Fi 156 Storch	Military liaison, WW2	32 mph (51 km/h) stall
8	De Schelde Scheldemusch	Sport trainer, 1935	37 mph (60 km/h) stall
9	Piper J-3 Cub	Light trainer	38 mph (61 km/h) stall
10	Antonov An-2	Utility biplane	40 to 46 mph (35 to 40 knots) stall
11	Zlín Z-XII	Sport two-seater, 1930s	43 mph (70 km/h) landing speed
12	Britten-Norman Islander	Airliner	46 mph (40 knots) stall, flaps down

How we measure “slowest”

An airplane stays up only while air flows over its wing fast enough to make lift. Below a certain airspeed the wing stalls and the aircraft starts to sink. That speed is the floor, and it is what separates a slow plane from a fast one with the throttle pulled back.

Stall speed depends on weight and on how much wing there is to carry it. Big, light wings stall late, which is why every aircraft at the top of this list looks oversized for its weight. Flaps and leading-edge slats lower it further by letting the wing work at a steeper angle.

Where a maker publishes a true stall speed, we use it. Where only a landing or takeoff speed exists, the table says so, because those run a little above the stall.

1. Gossamer Albatross: about 8 mph

The Gossamer Albatross had no engine. Its pilot, the cyclist Bryan Allen, pedaled the propeller himself.

On June 12, 1979, he flew it from Folkestone, England, to Cap Gris-Nez, France, the first human-powered crossing of the English Channel. The trip of about 22 miles (36 km) took 2 hours and 49 minutes. That works out to an average of roughly 8 mph (13 km/h), slower than a casual bike ride.

The secret was size against weight. The Albatross had a wingspan of 93 feet 10 inches (28.6 m), yet weighed just 70 pounds (32 kg) empty. Its top speed is given as 15 mph by some sources and 18 mph by others.

It was built by Paul MacCready’s team as the successor to the Gossamer Condor, which won the first Kremer Prize on August 23, 1977, by flying the prize’s figure-eight course under human power. The original Albatross now belongs to the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

2. Ruppert Archaeopteryx: 19 to 24 mph

The Archaeopteryx is a Swiss ultralight sailplane built by Ruppert Composite, and it first flew in September 2001. Its certified stall speed is 30 to 39 km/h (19 to 24 mph), and the maker quotes a natural speed range starting at 19 mph.

It is a glider first. The pilot can launch it on foot by running down a slope, but Ruppert also developed an electric self-launch version that takes off from level ground, which is what earns it a place on a list of powered aircraft.

Maximum takeoff weight is only 421 pounds (191 kg). Every ultralight trick is here: light composite structure, a long wing, and landing flaps for a slow approach.

3. Slepcev Storch: 25 mph

The Slepcev Storch is a three-quarter scale replica of Germany’s wartime Fieseler Storch, designed by Nestor Slepcev in Australia and first flown in 1994. Storch Aircraft Serbia later took over production, selling it as a kit or ready to fly.

The small copy is slower than the original. Its stall speed is 40 km/h (25 mph), against 32 mph for the full-size Fi 156, and it cruises at about 83 mph (133 km/h).

4. Solar Impulse 2: 27 mph

Solar Impulse 2 flew around the world on sunlight. Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg took it from Abu Dhabi on March 9, 2015, and landed back there on July 26, 2016, after about 26,000 miles (42,000 km) on solar power alone.

It could take off at just 44 km/h (27 mph) and flew at an average of about 43 mph (70 km/h). The wing carried 17,248 solar cells feeding batteries that kept its four electric motors running through the night.

At that pace, ocean legs took days. The flight from Japan to Hawaii lasted 117 hours and 52 minutes, a record for the longest solar-powered flight.

5. Zenith STOL CH 701: 28 mph

The STOL CH 701 is a two-seat kit plane designed for very short strips. Zenith Aircraft publishes a stall speed of just 28 mph (45 km/h).

With the 100 hp Rotax 912S, Zenith quotes a takeoff roll of 50 feet (15 m) and a landing distance of 80 feet (24 m). Top speed is 95 mph (153 km/h), so it is slow at both ends of the range.

Those rules also cap the empty weight at 254 pounds and the fuel at 5 gallons. Our guide to where ultralight aircraft can fly covers what else Part 103 allows.

6. Braunschweig LF-1 Zaunkönig: 31 mph

LF stands for Langsames Flugzeug, which is German for “slow aircraft.” Professor Hermann Winter designed it in 1939 as a foolproof single-seat trainer that was meant to be impossible to stall or spin, and it first flew in December 1940.

Its stall speed is 50 km/h (31 mph), and it lands at about 46 km/h (29 mph). After the war, the British took one to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough specifically for slow-flying tests.

7. Fieseler Fi 156 Storch: 32 mph

The Storch (“stork”) was one of the slowest warplanes of World War II. The National Museum of the US Air Force lists its stalling speed at 32 mph (51 km/h), with a top speed of only 109 mph (175 km/h).

The Luftwaffe accepted almost 2,900 of them between 1937 and 1945 for reconnaissance, liaison and medical evacuation. Its most famous mission was the 1943 rescue of Benito Mussolini from a small, rock-strewn plateau in the Apennine Mountains.

8. De Schelde Scheldemusch: 37 mph

The Scheldemusch was a single-seat Dutch pusher biplane built by the De Schelde shipyard at Vlissingen, designed to be easy and safe to fly. It first flew in November 1935 and was briefly tested by the Royal Air Force.

Its stall speed was 60 km/h (37 mph), and even flat out it reached only 78 mph (125 km/h). Only six were built, which is why it is the least known plane on this list.

9. Piper J-3 Cub: 38 mph

The Piper J-3 Cub is the slow plane most people have actually seen. In its military L-4 form it stalled at 38 mph (61 km/h), cruised at 75 mph (121 km/h) and topped out at 85 mph (137 km/h).

Piper built 19,888 J-3s in the United States between 1938 and 1947. Its simplicity and low price drew comparisons to the Ford Model T.

It grew out of the Taylor J-2 Cub, built from 1936 to 1938, which cruised at 70 mph (113 km/h). Engineer Walter Jamouneau reworked the earlier Cub into the J-2 while C. Gilbert Taylor was on sick leave; Taylor fired him, and William Piper hired him back.

10. Antonov An-2: 40 to 46 mph

The An-2 is a big single-engine biplane, built as a utility transport, parachute-drop aircraft and crop sprayer for short, rough fields. It is often cited as one of the slowest planes ever built, and it comes with a stubborn myth.

The An-2 operators’ site An2flyers lists a stall speed of 35 to 40 knots (40 to 46 mph), a minimum speed of 49 knots and a landing speed of 46 knots. It adds that controlled descents are possible at about 25 knots (29 mph).

Its slats deploy on their own at low speed, held shut by the airflow until they are needed. In a strong headwind, that slow flight lets an An-2 move backward relative to the ground while fully under control.

11. Zlín Z-XII: 43 mph

The Z-XII was a Czechoslovak two-seat sport plane, first flown in 1935, and Zlín’s first major design success. 201 were built. It landed at about 70 km/h (43 mph) and cruised at 78 mph (125 km/h).

After Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, production continued under German supervision. The Luftwaffe flew Z-XIIs until 1943.

12. Britten-Norman Islander: 46 mph, a slow-flying airliner

The Islander is a small twin-engine airliner with seats for eight passengers, and it flies slowly at both ends. With flaps down it stalls at 40 knots (46 mph), and it cruises at about 150 mph (241 km/h).

That makes it ideal for the shortest flight in the world. Loganair’s Islander links Westray and Papa Westray in Scotland’s Orkney Islands, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) apart. The flight is scheduled for a minute and a half, and the record is 53 seconds.

The slowest jet: PZL M-15 Belphegor

The PZL M-15 Belphegor is widely described as the slowest jet ever built. It stalls at 108 km/h (67 mph) and its top speed is only 200 km/h (124 mph), slower than many piston trainers.

It is also believed to be the world’s only jet-powered biplane and its only jet crop duster. Poland’s PZL-Mielec built 175 of them between 1973 and 1981, after Soviet officials insisted the An-2’s successor be jet powered. Two thick columns between the wings held the chemical tanks.

It lost to the piston An-2 it was meant to replace, and production ended in favor of more An-2s. Here’s how low crop dusters fly on a normal spray run.

The slowest top speeds: the pioneers

If you rank by top speed instead, the early aircraft win easily. Their engines were so weak that their fastest was slower than a modern kit plane’s landing approach.

Wright Flyer, 1903

The first airplane had a top speed of about 30 mph (48 km/h). On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright’s first flight covered 120 feet (36 m) in 12 seconds, according to the Smithsonian.

Blériot XI, 1909

Louis Blériot flew this monoplane across the English Channel on July 25, 1909, the first crossing by a heavier-than-air aircraft. Its 25 hp Anzani engine gave a top speed of about 47 mph (76 km/h).

It was a tractor monoplane, with the propeller up front and a wire-braced ash fuselage, a layout that pointed toward the airplanes of World War I.

Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior, 1930

The Curtiss-Wright Junior was marketed as a plane for the price of a car. A 45 hp three-cylinder engine drove a pusher propeller above the wing, for a top speed of 80 mph (129 km/h).

About 270 were built, one of the classic 1930s airplanes aimed at ordinary buyers. Its engine had a habit of throwing cylinders, and the pusher prop behind the cockpit was a hazard on the ground.

Why airliners can’t fly this slowly

A jet airliner is far heavier for its wing area than anything on this list, because its wing is sized for fast, efficient cruise. Its stall speed is correspondingly higher, even with flaps and slats fully out.

The FAA groups aircraft by approach speed for exactly this reason. Category A covers approaches below 91 knots, typically small single-engine planes. Airline jets usually fall in Category C, at 121 to 140 knots, and large jets in Category D, at 141 to 165 knots.

For the other end of the scale, see our ranking of the fastest aircraft in the world.

FAQ

What is the slowest plane in the world?

The Gossamer Albatross, a pedal-powered aircraft, is the slowest plane to make a famous flight: it crossed the English Channel in 1979 at an average of about 8 mph, with a top speed of 15 to 18 mph. Among engine-powered planes, ultralights and STOL kit aircraft such as the Slepcev Storch (25 mph stall) and Zenith STOL CH 701 (28 mph stall) are the slowest.

What is the slowest a plane can fly without falling?

Every airplane has a stall speed, the slowest airspeed at which its wing still produces enough lift to hold it up. It changes with weight and flap setting. A Piper J-3 Cub stalls at about 38 mph, while airline jets typically approach to land at 121 to 140 knots.

What is the slowest jet plane in the world?

The PZL M-15 Belphegor, a Polish jet-powered crop-dusting biplane, is widely described as the slowest jet ever built. It stalls at 108 km/h (67 mph) and has a top speed of only 200 km/h (124 mph). PZL-Mielec built 175 between 1973 and 1981.

What is the slowest passenger plane in the world?

There is no official record, but the Britten-Norman Islander is a good answer. The eight-passenger airliner stalls at 40 knots (46 mph) with flaps down and cruises at about 150 mph. Loganair uses it on the world’s shortest scheduled flight, the 1.7-mile hop between Westray and Papa Westray in Scotland.

Does the Antonov An-2 really have no stall speed?

No. Its handbook does not print a stall speed, and at full back stick its automatic slats let it settle in a slow, controlled sink instead of a sharp stall. Owners still list a stall speed of 35 to 40 knots (40 to 46 mph), with controlled descents possible at about 25 knots.

Can a plane fly backwards?

Not through the air, but it can move backward over the ground. If a headwind is stronger than the plane’s flying speed, the plane drifts back while still flying forward through the air. Very slow aircraft such as the Antonov An-2 can do this under control in strong winds.

How fast was the Wright brothers' first flight?

The first flight on December 17, 1903, covered 120 feet in 12 seconds, just under 7 mph over the ground. The Wright Flyer was flying into a wind averaging more than 20 mph, so its speed through the air was much higher. Its top speed was about 30 mph.