flaps

twinprop · Post by **twinprop** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 6:17 pm

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Hey, in the cessna skyhawk, or other smaller props what kind of flap usage do you reccomend on landings.full flaps , 20 degrees or what. do more flaps seem to make your landings smoother? help.

ps. anyone at sault college, how are the zlins for flap usage on landings?? are they easy to land the zlins?

shitdisturber · Post by **shitdisturber** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 8:20 pm

For a normal landing in a 172, 182 whatever, I find that 20 degrees of flap gives you the best landings and control. While you'll probably land smoother without flaps; you'll also use up a lot of runway doing it. So 20 makes for a good compromise.

phillyfan · Post by **phillyfan** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 7:30 am

I use to like about 10 (maybe even a bit less.) Of course more if space was limited.

twinprop · Post by **twinprop** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:14 am

what about full flaps? do you guys use full often for touchdowns? I used full recently and with the right power setting made a smoother then usual landing, in less space, and slowed down alot faster.

OW · Post by OW » Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:21 am

One of my mentors once said to look at the wind sock. If it is straight out use '0' flaps, if it is half way down use half flaps and if it is dangling like a limp dick use full flaps.

Result is lower (or more consistently slower) ground speed and therefore less wear and tear on the gear.

With sufficient practice they should all be smooth landings!

twinprop · Post by **twinprop** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:53 pm

hmmmmm. not too sure about that wind sock thing...

RB211 · Post by **RB211** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 7:53 pm

OW wrote:One of my mentors once said to look at the wind sock. If it is straight out use '0' flaps, if it is half way down use half flaps and if it is dangling like a limp dick use full flaps.

Result is lower (or more consistently slower) ground speed and therefore less wear and tear on the gear. ...

Then full flap all the time would be better still, no?

Northern Flyer · Post by **Northern Flyer** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 6:04 pm

I would recomend full flap, get used to the feeling of it. It is benificial because you are able to approach slower, and it lowers the stall speed. Use a little bit of power after you roll out and the ass end drops into the landing additude.

On windy gusty days I would recomend less flap, and keep your speed up. Speed is your friend, you do not want to get caught to slow in gusty conditions or the bottom could fall out.

twinprop · Post by **twinprop** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:02 pm

is it better to keep a bit more power while doing full flap approaches in fairly calm conditions?

Highflyinpilot · Post by **Highflyinpilot** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:11 pm

I use 40 flap on short field and soft field landings. Normal landings I usually stick with 20 flap.

upn@m · Post by **upn@m** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:30 pm

Twinprop - mihgt be best to ask your instructor. They should have the time to talk itover with you and can esplain better than on a forum.

Basically, you should be able to alnad with any flap setting. The reason to use les flaps when windy is to avoid getting blown off centerline due to the high amount of drag caused with full flaps hangin out there in the breeze.

Northern Flyer · Post by **Northern Flyer** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 9:23 pm

I'm not worried about being blown off center line in gusty conditions, its more about the wicked amount of drag caused by the flap, and the sudden lack of lift when the gust passes. I find that with full flap in these conditions there is a far higher tendency to balloon up in the flair.

I think the best piece of advice is to experiment, and with a little experiance you will come to your own conclusions, and preferences. Remember, fly the plane you are in control, make it do what you want it to do. Never let her take advantage of you, your the boss.

Yoyoma · Post by **Yoyoma** » Sat May 01, 2004 12:43 am

Northern Flyer wrote:...Use a little bit of power after you roll out and the ass end drops into the landing additude...

Isn't that line from a pron movie? bootyshake

OW · Post by OW » Sat May 01, 2004 8:27 am

More flaps means lower airspeed. Lower airspeed means greater effect from crosswind and gust. More wind, less flaps.

If the wind is steady and straight down the runway then I would say there is nothing wrong with full flaps. I once landed in Saskatoon with 45 kt straight down the pipe. Ground roll in a C172, about three feet. Needed a lot of power and luck to taxi off the runway and over to the taxi way. The aircraft didn't want to turn. (notice I didn't claim skill)

I'd Rather Be Flying · Sat May 01, 2004 8:26 pm

I agree with a few of the other posts....you should be able to land your airplane with any flap setting. For normal approach and landings, I would recommend at least 20 degrees flap, and up to 40 degrees. But that would be dependent on the wind strength and direction on the landing surface. For short and soft field approach's, use full flap and the approach speed recommended in the POH.

Not only do flaps lower the stall speed, they also provide you the ability to approach steeper and ultimately shorten the landing roll.

Personally, I'll use the wind speed and direction and whether it's right down the pipe or more x-wind to determine the flap setting. Use your POH to determine what you should do and then find what works for the conditions you have at the time.

Safe flying.

twinprop · Post by **twinprop** » Sat May 01, 2004 9:36 pm

20 degrees seems to work nice for long wider runways. i use the full flap setting for shorter , less wide runways. it keeps the plane nice and stable during the approach, and also makes the landing slower(also abit smoother) with a shortter ground roll.