Your last post was well pointed out there TonyR. With full flaps some of the club a/c do have a tendency to bite. They side slip beautifully.......to a point. Unfortunately that point suddenly appears and at the kind of heights we are talking about on final, there is rarely enough time, height or power to do much about it.
I spent several years flying the 172 and only the 172. I side slipped a lot especially in situations where there was a quick loss of height required late on. An example would be the northerly runway at Popham where the trees can keep you quite high above the threshld especially on a war an dcalm day where you can anticipate plenty of float.
I did once go up to 4000 ft and try out some side slipping with 30 degrees and then 40 degrees of flap. The stall was reasonably predictable with 30 degrees, with 40 degrees it was a killer. The trouble with practicing at this height is that you do not get the visual effect of the onset of the stall and the sudden height loss. Only the VSI tells you what is happening in terms of "falling" and at this point, you are working to get it straight and level again, not glancing at instruments.
I now have a flapless Luscombe and have learned a lot more about side slipping. My view is that the final approach on flapless a/c does tend to be slightly flatter than the approach associated with an a/c with flaps. Speed control is paramount to avoid floating down the runway and tiny side slip inputs are invaluable to maintain the correct speed over the threshold. I feel that too many people see sideslipping as a "quick way to lose unwanted height". They boot rudder and opposite stick, lose 150 feet and then continue a normal approach after they have settled the a/c.
Sideslipping can be used all the way down if required. We all know that descent must be controlled by power and speed by pitch. There comes a point in the descent where your 6th sense tells you that these inputs alone will not bring you neatly over the threshold.
At this point I tend to gently ease in a sideslip (always right rudder and left stick for obvious visibility reasons) and then hold it for a second. The sideslip seems to need a second or two to develop and there is much skill in balancing both inputs to avoid "overyaw" or "wingdrop". If the input is not sufficient, the pressures can be increased gently until the correct descent rate is felt.
I often find the nose can lift involuntarily during the sideslip but the ASI still reads a healthy number. This is where I am always extra cautious, especially when stopping the slip. If the nose isn't lowered when the control inputs are cancelled this can leave the a/c perilously close to the stall especially when it is slightly "wallowing" after the sideslip has been cancelled and it is re-balancing itself.
I do hope this hasn't all seemed like a load of drivel. I wouldn't be writing all this if the sun was shining and I could be flying!
Hoping to get to Popham later if the cloud lifts, the wind is slightly from the North. Time for some side slipping over those trees !
