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Path: utzoo!utcs!lsuc!pesnta!hplabs!hao!noao!terak!doug
From: doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee)
Newsgroups: net.aviation
Subject: Re: Flap Flap
Message-ID: <380@terak.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-Feb-85 13:49:51 EST
Article-I.D.: terak.380
Posted: Mon Feb 18 13:49:51 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 20-Feb-85 08:44:04 EST
References: <235@tekred.UUCP>
Organization: Terak Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Lines: 30

Boy, is this gonna bring out a wide variety of answers!!

While everyone discusses the routine aspects, I'll comment on some
seldom-mentioned points.  First, using full flaps in some planes
results in a hopelessly narrow zone between touching down with the
nose too low, and either stalling or just "running out of elevator".
Very-low-wing planes like the Mooney and the Comanche are most prone
to this.  To achieve a flared attitude in a Mooney with full flaps,
you are forcing all of the air being displaced by the underside of
the wing to try to go through the couple-inch-wide slit between the
trailing edge of the flaps and the ground.

For my second point, a true story about a CFI friend.  He was giving
lessons in a 150, and the manoeuver in question was a forced landing.
After the student had the emergency field "made", my friend put in 
the throttle and flipped the flap switch to "up".  All of the preceding
is totally routine.  But... the flap fuse blew, leaving 40 degrees of
flaps.  Now a 150 with full flaps doesn't want to climb anyway, but
this was with an outside temp of 105F.  He did find the spare fuse
in time, but a solo pilot wouldn't have.

But wait, there's more...  Some high-wing planes are laid out such
that with the flaps down the doors won't open.  Think about the
ramifications of a survivable forced landing where the battery
didn't make it.  Not that flaps are your only problem -- the frame
could have gotten bent, preventing the door from opening.

As for me, I never use flaps.  But that's because I don't have any :-)
-- 
Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug