Flying with flaps

Flying with flaps feels different in flight no matter which type you have: plain, split, slotted, or Fowler. When engaged, flaps effectively change the camber of a wing. This, in turn, will increase lift and increase drag, and leads to lower stall and landing speeds. All good, right? Well, sometimes that extra lift may include a pitch change as an unexpected ride-along, and compensation may be needed. Don’t experiment with your new beauty on its test flight. After the proper flight trimming is done and with a fresh flight pack, take the plane back up. Way up. Once you’re “two mistakes” high, lower the flaps and observe the aircraft. If a pitch change occurs—and they do—the pilot may have to respond quickly with some elevator input. Do what is necessary to maintain positive control, and remember that you can always raise the flaps and resume flying as usual. When ready, land the airplane. Note the amount of elevator you added in flight. You can create a flap-to-elevator mix in your radio, which will add in a specified amount of elevator input for you when flaps are deployed. Finding the sweet spot takes a few flights, so be patient and adjust it to your liking. Of course, if you are a Spektrum transmitter user, you could always download the Carbon-Z Cessna 150 file to your SD card and upload it into your radio to eliminate any of the guesswork.