Your stall speeds, versus flap settings?

JasonC wrote:

You must be taking your life in your hands every time you fly!

It doesn’t have a stall warner either. Not really… know the aircraft, watch the attitude, keep an eye on the ASI. Always bear in mind the demonstrated stall speed from the annual Permit to Fly air test.

OTOH that aircraft tells you what it is going to do… you just have to listen.

Peter wrote:

Some planes have a lot more difference than some others.

Some planes have very little or no difference in stall speed with or without flaps; their development was incremental. Biplanes don’t need flaps, they come down like rock and generally have low stall speeds. Earlier light monoplanes could be slipped nicely, and when flaps were added they were not really necessary: the Luscombe 8F is a good example, most owners don’t use them regularly. The Cessna 120/140 came optionally with or without flaps, the simple flaps on that wing adding drag but lowering stall speed by only 3 knots. The Cessna 150 added fowler flaps and they reduce stall speed by 6 knots. That seems to be a fairly typical spread for modern light planes, more for those like the Cirrus with a ‘fast’ wing.

@mh, that Bölkow Junior seems to land pretty fast for a 100 HP plane! Maybe 53 or 55 knots at touchdown?

mh you are so right. When I was being taught quite a few decades ago my instructor(s), after about 15 hours or so of instruction, started to have me recognise the “feel” of the aircraft and not rely on instruments. It has been most helpful on occasions, especially when after flying for many hours with only myself I then sometimes have a “full load”. I appreciate the big boys have all the calculations neccessary for every weight and landing distance available but a lot of the flying in GA is simply not like that and the pilot, as mh says, just has to listen and feel. get to know your aircraft intimately!

Some planes have a lot more difference than some others.

Given the different wing and flap designs, airfoils and masses, this isn’t too suprising, yet interesting to see a quantification of that effect on actual aircraft.

@Silvaire indeed, and being such a small aircraft it looks even faster. Many people say with a bit tounge in cheek it’s the fastet aircraft ….. in the circuit :-)

@Fenland_Flyer I always try to teach this to my students… doesn’t work all the time though

@Silvaire I have a video of a (power off) landing online. It is a tad on the fast side on landings, but still does well on 500m airfields. It is nicely controllable.

Here is another interesting data point of the ASH25Mi:

Peter wrote:

lot more difference than some others

It’s about drag. Slippery carbon fiber planes need the flaps to slow down…the Cirrus SR22T for example lands with full flaps. And needs its big constant speed prop to help make drag to land.

Peter wrote:

Does any plane land with less than full flaps?

Of course. The FD CTLS normal landing config in calm to small cross wind is 15 degree flaps…full flaps are 30. They are used for short and soft field landings. But then the CTLS is a very light plane, still slippery, but able to use far less runway than a big Cirrus SR22T.