Originally Posted by
vetflyer
...
So why is flap retraction such a bad thing ?
Genuinely interested
Rgds
Retracting flaps results in the initial sink. If the altitude is high, then the sink may be acceptable to gain more glide distance. But being low and slow, the sink will remove any advantage of smaller flap setting and reduced drag, because the height is lost initially. More over, as soon as the flaps are retracted the aircraft needs to be re-trimmed, and that puts more workload on already stressed pilot. If the A/C was already too slow, the retraction of flaps will reduce stall margin, that is not something we want when low and slow and no power available. For highly experienced pilot, messing around with flaps when gliding with engine-out, may be an advantage to make the most of the aircraft (and this may only be valid for piston engine), but for low-hour pilots, it is more safe to follow the rule of no retraction, once extended. This is also a discipline...