Safest go-around procedure

[DALMD-11]

For What It's Worth:
Here's what the AA-1A Owners Manual says:

Balked Landing:
1. Apply full throttle
2. Carburetor heat; OFF
3. Establish climb attitude
4. Flaps: Retract, after accelerating to a safe airspeed

Now, it doesn't say exactly when to retract the flaps, but on page 18, the manual does say that the best angle of climb speed (Vx) with full flaps is 70 mph. Vx with flaps retracted is 75 mph.

[FI_JOB_HUNTER]

DRAG FLAP CONCEPT:
Flaps have two uses, reduce the stall speed (increasing the Clmax) and increase the Descend Path Angle (increase the Drag).... and to increase the forward visibility ok maybe more than 2 uses....

Drag flaps are called to those which only increase the Cd and not the Clmax or very slightly, thus not reducing the stall speed.
Only used to decelerate the aircraft speed not to land slower...

You don’t have to go through the Roskams to find that, I don't recall seeing this term in any book other than PPL text books.

BTW most of the flaps increase the Drag and because of that the ROC is decreased. So for me accelerate over Ground effect and at least retract the full flap one notch will make sense generally.

No offense intended in the vage definition and I stand to be corrected.

[Pull what]

A 'minimal climb rate' is a positive rate of climb! You should have retracted the flap as soon a rate of climb was detected.

[SNS3Guppy]

The procedures in the Grumman POH have undergone some kind of scrutiny (I wouldn't like to say how much, but they passed the FAA's tests) and they are the published procedures for the aircraft. They are the procedures by which, by law, the aircraft must be flown, and they are the procedures which, if followed, achieve the relevant safety standards.

There is no "safety standard," nor is there minimum performance prescribed. It's a Part 23 airplane. It's not a transport category aircraft certificated under Part 25. Don't expect the repeatability, or any climb or performance guarantees. The information in the aircraft flight manual is mostly interpolated, applicable to one airplane during tests, and wasn't all demonstrated. Only some of it was demonstrated, and the rest interpolated. Don't get too carried away with the flight manual in a light airplane, believing published numbers or performance values, because there's a high probability that your airplane won't achieve it.

One is NOT obligated by law to follow the procedures prescribed in the aircraft flight manual. They are not limitations.

The subject in question in this case is establishment of a positive climb before retracting flaps. Establishing a positive climb isn't necessary; achieving a safe speed prior to flap retraction is necessary. The amount of climb required is contingent on what the pilot elects to make necessary. If one intends to climb over a large obstacle, one might seek best angle. If one doesn't intend to climb, one might not climb at all. If one intends to climb to pattern altitude, one might seek best rate of climb. One might seek a different climb on a hot desert day, for cooling. The important aspect is achieving a safe airspeed prior to flap retraction.

As mentioned in another post - the POH was developed by the (actual) people who created and tested the aircraft, and one should assume they know more about the aircraft than most owners combined.

The aircraft was certificated to a lower standard, depending on when it was made, and that standard (Part 23) doesn't set a requirement for guaranteed performance. One should make no such assumption.

As for the use of flaps, or no flaps, I'm sure every imaginable scenario was test flown and graphed before the aircraft was certified.

Bad assumption. Aside from the fact that much of the performance data in Part 23 aircraft flight manuals is interpolated, one should note that the data should not be considered repeatable, and is not guaranteed. Every number in the performance section of your AFM/POH/AOM wasn't determined by actually performing and demonstrating that value, and one shouldn't assume that what did occur in the demonstration airplane will occur in your airplane.

Old-timer, would you be so kind as to describe how one might define 'drag flap' and 'lift flap' on a particular aircraft, please? None of the training I've received, nor the text books I have on design, certification, testing, or aerodynamics are any help.

Some posters here have confused flap types and don't seem to understand that performance is aircraft-specific. None the less, in many light airplanes, small amounts of flap contributes to lift far more than drag, while greater flap settings contribute little to the coefficient of lift, but represent a rapid rise in induced (and parasitic) drag.

You asked about a particular airplane. Several posters have addressed Cessna single engine airplanes, which are a better example than the Grumman Cheetah. At early flap settings (eg, 10 degrees), lift is enhanced with very little increase in drag. For short/rough field operations in a Cessna 206 (without a STOL kit), a very handy way to establish takeoff flaps is to fully deflect an aileron, then match the flap to the aileron. The aircraft flight manual won't tell you this, but after ample hours and years doing back country work in 200 series Cessnas, I can tell you it's a common technique that works very well.

Then again, another example I use often regarding fallibility of manufacturer procedures involves the fuel flow fluctuation procedure in the same airplane. Following the manufacturer procedure can cause an engine failure or prevent the engine from being restarted if it happens to quit during fuel flow fluctuations. Understanding the airplane and the systems will make clear why this is.

So my question is, is there anything I could've done better?

Yes. Go around sooner. If you're too close to an obstacle when you go around, you may not be able to climb over it.

Never overlook an opportunity to go around the obstacle. You don't necessarily need to go over it. It's far better than running into the obstacle.

My suspicion is that I should have ignored the procedure recommended in the POH and retracted a notch of flaps immediately after application of full power, without waiting for positive rate of climb. Thoughts?

If you had the safe speed to do so, why not? You already indicated that you were "fast." The issue is getting fast enough to retract flaps.

Consider your options here. Can you climb over or go around the obstacle with flaps extended? If so, then who cares if you ever retract the flaps? The obstacle is your overriding concern. Forget procedure, forget practices, forget flaps. Think obstacle. If you can go around the obstacle, then you're golden.

If you can't get over or around the obstacle with flaps extended, are you going to be able to get the flaps retracted and do make it around or over the obstacle? If so, then you're golden.

If you're too close to the obstacle to get over or around, then you've put yourself in a position from which there may be no extrication. In this case, you're going to need to do your best to seek a favorable outcome. Try to get stopped on the remaining runway. Try to hit something inexpensive. Try to put the fuselage between two trees to let the wings take the impact. Try to land on a road, field, parking lot, golf course, or lake. Do something to negotiate the best outcome for you.

Monitor your approach and if you see it going badly, try to go around sooner.

[Piltdown Man]

Mr Guppy - Is there a book with your name on? I there was I'd (even buy it and) read it. No, I'm not being sarcastic, I just find myself learning rather a lot from your posts.

PM

[JammedStab]

Get rid of some of that drag and reduce the flap setting. If the speed is slow, do it in level flight and then you can start accelerating after which you can start climbing after which you can reduce some more flap, etc,

You have way more drag reduction by reducing the last 25% of flap travel than loss of lift. There was no stall warning mentioned so increasing the stall speed by the 1 knot or so by reducing your flap setting is well worth it in the tight situation you were in.

I flew an AA5A today for pattern work. That last flap selection to full is a significant increase in drag.

[BullHughes]

Don't underestimate the importance of keeping the aeroplane in balance throughout. A lot of students and low-hour pilots fail to add sufficient rudder with application of full power and this will seriously degrade acceleration and climb performance.