{"id":21512556,"date":"2026-09-10T16:33:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T14:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/shortest-takeoff-distance-aircraft-valdez-stol-records\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:36:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T14:36:45","slug":"shortest-takeoff-distance-aircraft-valdez-stol-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fr\/shortest-takeoff-distance-aircraft-valdez-stol-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortest Takeoff Distance: From Valdez STOL Records to Airliners"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<p>Pioneer Field sits at sea level on the edge of Prince William Sound, and every May a steady breeze rolls in off the water. On 12 May 2018 that breeze was blowing 12 to 15 knots straight down the runway when Frank Knapp lined up a yellow, slat-winged Piper Cub that weighs about as much as a large motorcycle. He opened the throttle. The tail came up. Eleven feet later, the main wheels left the ground.<\/p>\r\n<p>Eleven feet. That is shorter than a parking space. It is the shortest takeoff ever recorded at the Valdez Fly-In STOL competition, the event a FLYING magazine writer once called the grandfather of every short-takeoff contest since, and it is the number people mean when they ask what plane has the shortest takeoff distance.<\/p>\r\n<p>The honest answer is more interesting than a single figure, because the question hides three different questions. What can a stripped-down competition aircraft do into a strong headwind? What does a manufacturer promise in the pilot&rsquo;s handbook, with no wind and a full load? And what does an airliner need, with an engine failure factored in? The gap between those answers runs from eleven feet to more than two kilometres, and understanding why is the whole story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px;line-height:1.7\"><li><strong>Shortest recorded competition takeoff:<\/strong> 11 ft (3.4 m), Frank Knapp, Valdez 2018, in a heavily modified 1939 Piper Cub weighing roughly 800 lb (360 kg)<\/li><li><strong>Shortest recorded competition landing:<\/strong> 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m), Dan Reynolds, Valdez 2018, in a Birdman Chinook<\/li><li><strong>Shortest factory ground roll on this list:<\/strong> Zenith STOL CH 701, 50 ft (15 m) with a 100 hp Rotax, at 1,100 lb gross, sea level, no wind<\/li><li><strong>Cessna 172S for comparison:<\/strong> 960 ft (293 m) ground roll, 1,630 ft (497 m) to clear a 50 ft obstacle<\/li><li><strong>Airbus A220-100:<\/strong> roughly 1,500 m (4,900 ft) of takeoff field length at maximum weight<\/li><li><strong>Headwind rule of thumb (FAA):<\/strong> a headwind equal to 10 percent of takeoff speed cuts the takeoff distance by about 19 percent; a headwind of 50 percent cuts it by about 75 percent<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Eleven feet at Valdez<\/h2>\r\n<p>Knapp&rsquo;s aircraft is called Lil Cub, and calling it a Piper Cub is a courtesy. The fuselage started life as a 1939 J-3. Everything else has been rethought: leading-edge slats, oversized flaps, tundra tyres on custom gear, and a 180-horsepower Lycoming O-320 in an airframe that Knapp told AOPA now weighs about 800 lb. It began, he said, at 685 lb with an 85-horsepower engine, and he has been adding power and shedding compromise ever since.<\/p>\r\n<p>The same weekend, Dan Reynolds of Dawson City in the Yukon put a Birdman Chinook down in 9 ft 6 in, breaking Knapp&rsquo;s own landing mark of 10 ft 5 in from the year before. Knapp&rsquo;s 2017 performance, a 14 ft 7 in takeoff and 10 ft 5 in landing, still stands as the lowest combined score in the event&rsquo;s history. A takeoff figure of 13 ft 8 in circulates in video titles as a record; it was in fact one of his 2017 landings, and it belongs in the landing column.<\/p>\r\n<p>The judging is deliberately low-tech. The competition rules measure a takeoff from a reference line to the point where the furthest main wheel leaves the ground for the last time; the tailwheel has not counted since 2017. Landings are measured from the line to the main gear after a full stop. Each pilot gets two cycles and the best combined takeoff-plus-landing distance wins. There are no lasers or timing gates, just painted lines and officials with quick feet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Bo7-BuNiP6Y\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Joe Prax, the president of the Valdez Fly-In, has been candid about why the records fall here and nowhere else. Pioneer Field is at sea level, the air is cool, and there is a reliable sea breeze that pilots can fly in. In 2017 it blew a steady 15 knots. In 2018 it was slightly weaker, and AOPA noted at the time that this could have affected the results even as two records fell.<\/p>\r\n<p>That last point matters more than any engine modification. For an aircraft whose stall speed is well under 30 mph, a 15-knot headwind is more than half of its takeoff airspeed. The FAA&rsquo;s own performance handbook says a headwind equal to half your takeoff speed reduces the ground roll by roughly three quarters. An eleven-foot takeoff is not a trick; it is physics doing exactly what the handbook says it will do, in an aeroplane built to exploit it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/alaska-stol-planes-gravel-bar-knik-glacier.jpg\" alt=\"STOL aircraft parked on a gravel bar near the Knik Glacier, Alaska\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The habitat that produced the Valdez records: a Just SuperSTOL and a pair of Cubs on a gravel bar near the Knik Glacier, Alaska. Photo: Keith Showalter \/ CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why a headwind is worth more than horsepower<\/h2>\r\n<p>Takeoff distance is governed by one stubborn relationship: it scales with the square of liftoff speed. The FAA Pilot&rsquo;s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge puts it plainly: assuming acceleration is unaffected, ten percent excess airspeed increases the takeoff distance by 21 percent. Halve the speed you need and, all else being equal, you quarter the runway you need.<\/p>\r\n<p>Liftoff speed, in turn, is set by wing loading and lift coefficient. That is why every serious STOL machine looks the way it does. Slats and drooping ailerons let the wing keep flying at absurdly high angles of attack. Enormous flaps add lift. Everything that can be removed from the airframe is removed, because the handbook also notes that a ten percent increase in gross weight costs at least a 21 percent increase in takeoff distance. Lil Cub&rsquo;s 800 lb is not vanity; it is the design.<\/p>\r\n<p>Then comes wind, which is free speed. The handbook&rsquo;s rule of thumb is that a headwind equal to ten percent of takeoff airspeed reduces takeoff distance by about 19 percent, while a tailwind of the same size adds about 21 percent. Push the headwind to 50 percent of takeoff speed and the ground roll shrinks to about a quarter of its zero-wind length. This is the quiet reason competition figures and factory figures can never be compared directly: the factory quotes still air, and the competition prays for a gale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;It started out at 685 pounds with an 85-horse [engine], and it was a well-balanced machine. But you can&rsquo;t have too much horsepower, so now it&rsquo;s got an O-320 with about 180 horses, and with the different mods that we&rsquo;ve put into it, we&rsquo;re running about 800 pounds.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Frank Knapp<\/strong> &mdash; Valdez STOL record holder, speaking to AOPA in May 2017<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Surface matters too. The FAA notes that any surface that is not hard and smooth lengthens the ground roll. That is why Alaska&rsquo;s bush pilots run tundra tyres the size of tractor wheels: they are not for show, they are for rolling over river rock that would otherwise eat the acceleration a short strip cannot spare.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1012749834703400960&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The factory numbers, and why they disagree with each other<\/h2>\r\n<p>Manufacturers publish takeoff figures in one of three currencies, and mixing them is how most internet comparisons go wrong. Ground roll is the distance from brake release to wheels-off. Distance over a 50-foot (15 m) obstacle adds the climb to clear a tree line. Takeoff field length, used for airliners, includes the margin to stop or continue after an engine failure at the worst possible moment. Each is a bigger number than the last.<\/p>\r\n<p>In the ground-roll league, the kit and light-sport STOL designs sit at the bottom. Zenith quotes a 50 ft (15 m) takeoff roll for its STOL CH 701 with a 100 hp Rotax 912S at 1,100 lb gross weight, sea level, standard atmosphere and no wind. CubCrafters lists a 60 ft takeoff for the Carbon Cub SS at 1,320 lb in what it calls optimal conditions, and a demonstrated 90 ft for the more powerful FX-3, though that figure comes with half fuel and a single 190 lb pilot aboard, well below gross. Just Aircraft says its SuperSTOL can take off or land in as little as 150 ft, and Kitplanes reported ground rolls of 200 ft or less as routine at gross weight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/just-aircraft-superstol-slats-bush-tires.jpg\" alt=\"Just Aircraft SuperSTOL with leading-edge slats and bush tyres at Sun n Fun 2024\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Just Aircraft SuperSTOL at Sun &rsquo;n Fun 2024. Automatic leading-edge slats, huge flaps and long-travel gear are the STOL recipe in one airframe. Photo: ZLEA \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The grandfather of all of them is the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/fieseler-fi-156-storch\/\">Fieseler Fi 156 Storch<\/a>, the German Second World War liaison aircraft with full-span slats and a stall speed the National Museum of the US Air Force puts at 32 mph. Published figures of around 50 m into a headwind for takeoff are widely repeated and plausible for such a wing, though they come from secondary sources rather than a surviving factory handbook, so treat them as approximate. The Storch is why every modern bush plane has slats: the idea has been proven since 1936.<\/p>\r\n<p>Move up to certified utility aircraft and the numbers grow, partly because the metric changes. Pilatus quotes 440 m (1,444 ft) for the PC-6 Porter to clear a 15 m obstacle at its 2,800 kg maximum weight. Viking lists 366 m (1,200 ft) to 50 ft for the DHC-6-400 Twin Otter in STOL configuration at 12,500 lb, or 454 m under the stricter certification rules most operators fly to. A stock Cessna 172S needs 960 ft of ground roll and 1,630 ft over the obstacle at 2,550 lb, which makes it a useful yardstick: the Zenith 701 leaves the ground in about five percent of the distance a Skyhawk uses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/fieseler-fi-156-storch-short-takeoff.jpg\" alt=\"Fieseler Fi 156 Storch lifting off at Fantasy of Flight, 2010\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A 1942 Fieseler Fi 156C-2 lifting off in a few aircraft lengths at Fantasy of Flight, Florida, 2010. Photo: Valder137 \/ CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Jets are a different sport again. Cirrus publishes 1,910 ft (582 m) of takeoff distance for the Vision Jet and 2,815 ft (858 m) over the 50 ft obstacle at its 6,000 lb maximum weight. Airbus brochure data for the A220-100 puts its takeoff field length at roughly 1,500 m (about 4,900 ft) at maximum weight, which is why the type has become the airliner of choice for short-runway city airports. An A320neo at maximum takeoff weight needs on the order of 2,000 m. The A220 is a short-field airliner in the way a Twin Otter is a short-field bush plane: relatively, and impressively, but nobody is landing one on a gravel bar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/dhc-6-twin-otter-gravel-strip-takeoff-ivvavik.jpg\" alt=\"Kenn Borek Air DHC-6 Twin Otter taking off from a gravel strip in Ivvavik National Park\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Kenn Borek Air Twin Otter leaves a gravel strip in Ivvavik National Park, Yukon. Viking quotes 366 m to 50 ft in STOL configuration at maximum weight. Photo: Daniel Case \/ CC BY-SA 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Where a short takeoff is not a hobby<\/h2>\r\n<p>Outside Alaska, short takeoff performance is what keeps whole regions connected. Lukla&rsquo;s Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Nepal, the gateway to Everest, has a runway of about 527 m with an 11.7 percent slope, high terrain at one end and a drop at the other. Its traffic has been Twin Otters, Dornier 228s and PC-6 Porters, because little else can use it. In the Canadian Arctic, the Twin Otter is still the aircraft that lands on sea ice and gravel bars to move people and fuel. In Papua New Guinea, PC-6 Porters fly into strips carved out of hillsides.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/pilatus-pc-6-porter-lukla-takeoff.jpg\" alt=\"Tara Air Pilatus PC-6 Porter taking off downhill from Lukla in poor weather\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Tara Air PC-6 Porter departing downhill from Lukla in marginal weather. The runway is roughly 527 m long with an 11.7 percent gradient. Photo: James Heilman, MD \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In Alaska, it is the ordinary texture of life. Paul Claus, who runs a wilderness lodge deep in the Wrangell mountains and has flown at Valdez for years, told Air &amp; Space magazine that the competition is the only time all year he lands on pavement. Bush pilots like Kirk Ellis, with around 20,000 hours, described making 50 takeoffs and landings in a single day. The contest is a performance, but the skills it rewards are the skills that put hunters, geologists and groceries onto sandbars every week of the summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;If I had all the money in the world and I could buy anything from a 747 to an A-Star helicopter, I&rsquo;d choose a Super Cub. They&rsquo;re so much fun to fly. It&rsquo;s like strapping on a pair of wings.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Paul Claus<\/strong> &mdash; Alaska bush pilot and lodge owner, Air &amp; Space magazine, 2015<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The community has also learned the cost of chasing the edge. Mike Patey&rsquo;s Draco, a PZL Wilga rebuilt around a 680-horsepower turboprop, was the most spectacular STOL aircraft of its era and a crowd magnet at Oshkosh. It was destroyed in a September 2019 takeoff accident in gusting crosswinds at Reno-Stead. Patey and his passengers walked away, and the aircraft became a cautionary tale about the fact that short-field performance is only useful when the wind is doing what you expect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1326290049445601280&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>STOL has meanwhile grown into a spectator sport of its own. Kevin Quinn&rsquo;s STOL Drag format puts two aircraft side by side on a 2,000 ft course: take off, land past a line, stop with the tail down, turn around, fly back, and stop again. The first aircraft to come to a complete halt wins. In 2020 it became the first new class added to the Reno National Championship Air Races in about two decades.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"display:flex;justify-content:center;margin:2em 0\"><blockquote class=\"reddit-embed-bq\" data-embed-height=\"500\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/aviation\/comments\/fizjhy\/short_takeoff_and_landing_stol_competition_held\/\">Short takeoff and landing (STOL) competition held in Valdez, Alaska<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.reddit.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">So which aircraft has the shortest takeoff distance?<\/h2>\r\n<p>If the question means the shortest takeoff ever recorded under competition rules, the answer is Frank Knapp&rsquo;s Lil Cub, eleven feet at Valdez in May 2018, into a 12 to 15 knot sea breeze, in an aircraft flown far below any gross weight a manufacturer would quote. If it means the shortest factory-published ground roll for something you can actually buy and build, the Zenith STOL CH 701 at 50 ft and the Carbon Cub family at 60 to 120 ft lead the field, with the caveat that CubCrafters&rsquo; demonstrated figures use light loads.<\/p>\r\n<p>If it means the shortest takeoff for a certified aircraft that earns its living, the Twin Otter and the PC-6 Porter are the practical answers, and Lukla is their proof. And if it means airliners, the A220-100 at around 1,500 m is the short-field champion of the jet age, which tells you how differently the word short is used once you add passengers and a second engine to lose.<\/p>\r\n<p>The thread running through all of them is the same equation. Distance goes with the square of speed; speed goes with weight and wing; wind is free speed. Get all three on your side, on a cool morning at sea level with the breeze in your face, and the runway you need is shorter than the aeroplane.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w8DLJRWaA34\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Above: a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch demonstrates the short-field takeoff and landing that made it the template for every STOL design since, filmed at an airshow display in 2014.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What plane has the shortest takeoff distance?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Under competition rules, the shortest takeoff on record is 11 ft (3.4 m), flown by Frank Knapp at the Valdez Fly-In STOL competition in Alaska in May 2018 in a heavily modified, roughly 800 lb Piper Cub known as Lil Cub, into a 12 to 15 knot headwind. Among factory-published figures, the Zenith STOL CH 701 quotes a 50 ft (15 m) ground roll at its 1,100 lb gross weight in still air, and CubCrafters lists 60 ft for the Carbon Cub SS in optimal conditions.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is the 13 ft 8 in Valdez takeoff record real?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. The 13 ft 8 in figure that appears in many video titles was one of Frank Knapp&rsquo;s landings at Valdez in 2017, not a takeoff. His shortest recorded takeoff is 11 ft, set in 2018, and his 2017 takeoff was 14 ft 7 in. The shortest recorded landing is 9 ft 6 in by Dan Reynolds, also in 2018.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why are Valdez STOL distances so much shorter than manufacturer figures?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Three reasons. Valdez is at sea level with cool air and a steady sea breeze of roughly 12 to 15 knots down the runway, and the FAA rule of thumb says a headwind equal to half your takeoff speed cuts the ground roll by about 75 percent. The aircraft are flown far below gross weight, with a single pilot and minimal fuel. And they carry slats, huge flaps and tundra tyres that manufacturers of standard aircraft do not fit. Factory figures are quoted at gross weight in still air.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How much does a headwind reduce takeoff distance?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">According to the FAA Pilot&rsquo;s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, a headwind equal to 10 percent of the takeoff airspeed reduces takeoff distance by about 19 percent, while a tailwind of the same size increases it by about 21 percent. A headwind equal to 50 percent of takeoff speed reduces the distance to roughly a quarter of the zero-wind figure.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the difference between ground roll and takeoff distance over a 50 ft obstacle?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Ground roll is the distance from brake release to the point where the wheels leave the ground. Takeoff distance over a 50 ft (15 m) obstacle adds the airborne climb needed to clear a tree line at the end of the runway, so it is always a larger number. Airliners use a third measure, takeoff field length, which also includes the margin to stop or continue after an engine failure. A Cessna 172S, for example, needs 960 ft of ground roll but 1,630 ft over the obstacle.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the shortest takeoff airliner?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Airbus A220-100 has one of the shortest takeoff field lengths of any modern jet airliner, at roughly 1,500 m (about 4,900 ft) at maximum takeoff weight according to Airbus brochure data, which is why it is used at short-runway city airports. By comparison an A320neo at maximum weight needs on the order of 2,000 m.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How short a runway can a Twin Otter use?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Viking Air quotes a takeoff distance to 50 ft of 1,200 ft (366 m) for the DHC-6-400 Twin Otter in STOL configuration at its 12,500 lb maximum weight, sea level, zero wind, and 1,490 ft (454 m) under the stricter SFAR 23 certification rules. It is one of the aircraft types that operates daily into Lukla in Nepal, whose runway is about 527 m long with an 11.7 percent slope.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is STOL Drag racing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">STOL Drag is a head-to-head format created by Kevin Quinn in which two aircraft fly a straight 2,000 ft course side by side: take off, land on or after a line, come to a complete stop with the tail down, turn around, fly back and stop again past the start line. The first aircraft to a complete stop wins. It was added as a new class at the Reno National Championship Air Races in 2020, the first new class in about 20 years.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What plane has the shortest takeoff distance?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Under competition rules, the shortest takeoff on record is 11 ft (3.4 m), flown by Frank Knapp at the Valdez Fly-In STOL competition in Alaska in May 2018 in a heavily modified, roughly 800 lb Piper Cub known as Lil Cub, into a 12 to 15 knot headwind. Among factory-published figures, the Zenith STOL CH 701 quotes a 50 ft (15 m) ground roll at its 1,100 lb gross weight in still air, and CubCrafters lists 60 ft for the Carbon Cub SS in optimal conditions.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is the 13 ft 8 in Valdez takeoff record real?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. The 13 ft 8 in figure that appears in many video titles was one of Frank Knapp\u2019s landings at Valdez in 2017, not a takeoff. His shortest recorded takeoff is 11 ft, set in 2018, and his 2017 takeoff was 14 ft 7 in. The shortest recorded landing is 9 ft 6 in by Dan Reynolds, also in 2018.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why are Valdez STOL distances so much shorter than manufacturer figures?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Three reasons. Valdez is at sea level with cool air and a steady sea breeze of roughly 12 to 15 knots down the runway, and the FAA rule of thumb says a headwind equal to half your takeoff speed cuts the ground roll by about 75 percent. The aircraft are flown far below gross weight, with a single pilot and minimal fuel. And they carry slats, huge flaps and tundra tyres that manufacturers of standard aircraft do not fit. Factory figures are quoted at gross weight in still air.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How much does a headwind reduce takeoff distance?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"According to the FAA Pilot\u2019s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, a headwind equal to 10 percent of the takeoff airspeed reduces takeoff distance by about 19 percent, while a tailwind of the same size increases it by about 21 percent. A headwind equal to 50 percent of takeoff speed reduces the distance to roughly a quarter of the zero-wind figure.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the difference between ground roll and takeoff distance over a 50 ft obstacle?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Ground roll is the distance from brake release to the point where the wheels leave the ground. Takeoff distance over a 50 ft (15 m) obstacle adds the airborne climb needed to clear a tree line at the end of the runway, so it is always a larger number. Airliners use a third measure, takeoff field length, which also includes the margin to stop or continue after an engine failure. A Cessna 172S, for example, needs 960 ft of ground roll but 1,630 ft over the obstacle.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the shortest takeoff airliner?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Airbus A220-100 has one of the shortest takeoff field lengths of any modern jet airliner, at roughly 1,500 m (about 4,900 ft) at maximum takeoff weight according to Airbus brochure data, which is why it is used at short-runway city airports. By comparison an A320neo at maximum weight needs on the order of 2,000 m.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How short a runway can a Twin Otter use?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Viking Air quotes a takeoff distance to 50 ft of 1,200 ft (366 m) for the DHC-6-400 Twin Otter in STOL configuration at its 12,500 lb maximum weight, sea level, zero wind, and 1,490 ft (454 m) under the stricter SFAR 23 certification rules. It is one of the aircraft types that operates daily into Lukla in Nepal, whose runway is about 527 m long with an 11.7 percent slope.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is STOL Drag racing?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"STOL Drag is a head-to-head format created by Kevin Quinn in which two aircraft fly a straight 2,000 ft course side by side: take off, land on or after a line, come to a complete stop with the tail down, turn around, fly back and stop again past the start line. The first aircraft to a complete stop wins. It was added as a new class at the Reno National Championship Air Races in 2020, the first new class in about 20 years.\"}}]}<\/script><p><em>Sources: Valdez Fly-In Association competition rules; AOPA (Mike Collins, 2017 and 2018 Valdez reports); Air &amp; Space\/Smithsonian; FAA Pilot&rsquo;s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 11; Zenith Aircraft; CubCrafters; Just Aircraft; Kitplanes; Pilatus Aircraft; Viking Air; Cessna (Textron Aviation); Cirrus Aircraft; STOL Drag; Reno Air Racing Association; National Museum of the US Air Force.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/minimum-interval-takeoff-b-52-mito-twelve-seconds\/\">Minimum Interval Takeoff: B-52s Twelve Seconds Apart<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/gran-sasso-raid-fieseler-storch-mussolini-1943\/\">Gliders, a Dictator, and an Impossible Takeoff<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/boeing-yc-14-mcdonnell-douglas-yc-15-amst\/\">The STOL Contest With No Winner That Built the C-17<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/the-worlds-most-dangerous-airport-approaches\/\">The World&rsquo;s Most Dangerous Airport Approaches<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eleven feet at Valdez, 50 ft for a Zenith 701, 1,500 m for an A220. Which aircraft has the shortest takeoff distance depends on which question you are asking.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":21511395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21512556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shortest Takeoff Distance: Valdez STOL Records to Airliners | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Which aircraft has the shortest takeoff distance? 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