The center of gravity position affects the stall speed. Does a forward center of gravity increase or decrease the stall speed? You may wish to view our videos on stalling and moments of force for some background information on this subject.

A forward center of gravity causes the aircraft to develop a pitching down tendency. Equilibrium is regained with help from the elevator, which creates a counterbalancing downward-facing force. Unfortunately, this downward-facing force increases the aircraft's apparent weight, which means that more lift needs to be generated to keep the forces balanced.

According to the lift formula, once the critical angle of attack has been reached, more apparent weight requires more lift, causing the only other variable, stall speed, to increase as well. Remember the two Fs: forward center of gravity equals faster stall speed.