Question about Flaps

[WildBill813 0]

These posts create such wonderful opportunities for teaching. Unfortunately, most people play flight simulators instead of flying them. Even many people with thousands of dollars in hardware, expansion packs, and addons never actually learn to fly while using flight sims. Sure, they may be able to move the stick, adjust the throttle, and mash the buttons (especially the big-iron folks that fly 99% on AP), but even though flight sims are games, they can still be used as training aids.But in real life, flight training starts on the ground, and in a book. And that's where I recommend even simmers begin. Just as the OP asked about the flaps in an RV not reducing airspeed, while it's by no means a "dumb question", it simply demonstrates a lack of fundamental understanding of the purpose of flaps. There are numerous resources out there, and some even focus on the PC flight sim, where new players can get valuable information. From the fundamentals of flight, aircraft systems and performance, and basic navigation, to radio navigation, the flight environment (the airspace) and aviation meteorology. Many books and some software can be found for under $20 but most are a bit more. And check Ebay. I was able to locate several used private pilot manuals for a fraction of the cost. (And let's face it, the physics of flight haven't changed any since 1903, only the way we employ them.)For what it's worth, I still have my 20 year old Jeppesen Sanderson "Private Pilot Manual" and I refer to it enough that it doesn't collect dust. As a matter of fact, even my 8- and 12-year-olds have been seen thumbing through it's pages, not that they fully understand their contents, but at least they demonstrate an interest beyond the visuals on the screen. :Party:Even if a simmer never intends to fly in real life, but even more so if they do, it's important that we not give out bad or partial information. Ozzie has corrected me a time or two for saying things that could create bad habits in the sim that then transfer to a real aircraft. And I take his criticism seriously but not personally. As for the OP's question, the purpose of flaps is two-fold. 1. They increase lift created by the wing and reduce the stall speed of an aircraft. (Any increase in lift also creates an increase in drag which is why aircraft will slow down when flaps are applied unless throttle is increased to compensate.)2. They change the angle of incidence of the wing, the angle between the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and the wing's chord line, by lowering the trailing edge of the wing. This increases the angle of attack with a relatively level attitude and has the added benefit of increased visibility over the nose during approach.Note that neither of these functions is to directly reduce airspeed, but only to allow for controlled flight at an airspeed lower than what is possible without flaps.Good luck, and good flying!WildBill

[styckx 1,872]

These posts create such wonderful opportunities for teaching. Unfortunately, most people play flight simulators instead of flying them. Even many people with thousands of dollars in hardware, expansion packs, and addons never actually learn to fly while using flight sims.

Funny you mention this, as long as I've flown flight sims I've alway self taught myself or picked up on something along the way. I always considered myself a decent `sim pilot' in the GA range. Not navigation. Just the flying part. I'm 35 and have been glued to aviation since the age I started retaining memory. Been in and out of planes constantly my whole life. Just never flew one :) Been through MS Flightsim since I my teenage years up till FSX and now MS Flight. With MS Flight though it has not only rekindled my child like fascination with flight but made me have the desire to actually learn and know some proper techniques. To no surprise most of what I was doing while `looking legit' was totally unacceptable in real world use. Sure I could have kept going `looking the part'. but it has been really fun kind of retraining myself a bit to do things properly. Instead of racing to runways and landing with zero prep. I'm now the one holding back and making sure all my ducks are in order, settings trim, this that and the other thing etc etc etc before committing to lining up and beginning my approach.To the op, I can't recommend this Youtube channel enough. Probably one of the best flight education series that goes over the basic fundamentals in great, but easy to understand detail.http://www.youtube.c...ser/undaerocast