New answers tagged flaps
1
Tires. Tires are under very high stress normally due to the compromise between extreme performance requirements and low weight. Tires aren't cheap. By doing a higher-speed-than-necessary takeoff, you're increasing tire wear and inviting tire problems that you just don't need to invite.
It would be a very false economy to save a little in what exactly, ...
3
It is theoretically possible to do a flaps up take off if you have a long enough runway, but why would you want to? An airplane is designed to be most efficient in the air, so the sooner you get there, the better.
The lift available to an aircraft is proportional to the area of the wings (and flaps increase that area), however, the drag those wings produce ...
3
Several other good answers, but one reason I haven't seen yet is pilot proficiency. You don't want pilots only practicing short-field takeoff and landing technique on actual short fields, which might be rare depending on 5he routes any given pilot happens to fly. If they use that technique on every takeoff and landing, though, then you know they'll always be ...
9
For an aircraft designed for cruising efficiency it is important to have as little trim drag as possible.
See ATR 72 link:
The wing may appear unusually small, but it is made to produce the needed lift at cruising speed at its most efficient Angle of Attack, where lift to drag ratio is highest. If the wing produced too much lift for level flight at its ...
5
In addition to the previous answers, you could argue that yes: provided you had a long enough runway you could theoretically perform a takeoff run that accelerates you to a speed which is sufficient for taking off and remain airborne with no flaps (and for this exercise let's assume an A320 has a flaps-up speed of 210 knots, give or take), but you'd be ...
9
One function of common inner span flaps that's not often discussed is stall management.
Not only does some flap lower the stall speed, but it ensures the wing root stalls while the tips are still flying; this prevents an incipient stall from turning into a low altitude stall-spin if a wind gust or unplanned maneuver pushes the aircraft from "controlled ...
7
Aside from the decreased takeoff speeds, there are a couple reasons why typical Part 25 aircraft do not allow flapless takeoff:
There is usually a sweet spot at lower flap settings that generate the best climb gradient at V2, and it's usually not with flap retracted. It is typical to see several takeoff flap settings that cater to best climb and best field.
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