Originally Posted by
double_barrel
That reminds me, my attempts to side slip in the C172 have been very unimpressive
I once got an instructor to play side slipping with me for an hour in a C172. It didn't make an awful lot of difference to the rate of descent - some, but not an awful lot. And I didn't really get my head around the varying ASI position error in different sideslips and what slipping does to the stalling speed, so I'd want some more training before I tried to use it for anything that mattered for real.
If there's some reason to get down quickly the other approach - slow to flaps speed, full flaps, then point the nose down as far as necessary - seems to me to get you down just as fast, without the same worry about whether I'm risking a spin from deliberate low slow out of balance flight. Not pretty, though, if anyone's watching.