Airplanes have been landing in crosswinds for decades and there is still argument about how to do it properly. Another example of management by committee.
Slip on final or crab on final? If you are an instrument rated pilot flying an airplane with an autopilot, you should manually fly final the same way the airplane does with the autopilot coupled...in a crab. Even though my little spam can doesn't have an autopilot, I personally always use the crab technique, FWIW. I mention this because I have had this discussion with Bonanza and Centurion owners who swear that slipping is the best method...and then I ask how they get their autopilot to slip on final when coupled up. Wouldn't you want your sight picture and technique to be the same all time, especially when popping out of the clouds at minimums? If you ever transition to larger airplanes, crab on final is the technique to know.
All I can add without getting more specific and relating personal experience is that the committee doesn't exist when you are flying the airplane. Read the book, listen to a good instructor with time in type and perhaps with specific experience in what you want to do with the airplane, and then work out the details that suit you best.
Practice landings with zero flaps, partial flaps and full flaps under conditions leading up to the aircraft limit or your own personal limits. What I do with my airplane at my level of experience, whether more or less than your level of experience, may not suit your particular situation. See what works best for you.
There may also be a time when those electric or hydraulic actuated flaps don't work...which may not be the optimum circumstance to experience your aircraft's new-to-you handling.
Being landing approach related, I will say that aircraft with flap gap seals will glide/float much farther and slow down noticeably slower than those without the aftermarket seals when in a flap up condition. If you expect to glide a certain distance with a stock wing and then try a no flap in a flap gap seal equipped airplane, you're in for a surprise. The reverse is also something to consider, but perhaps in a more negative manner if you are expecting a longer glide distance. This is something most CFI's don't consider or highlight during a checkout in a mixed fleet environment.
Last edited by Desert185; 8th Oct 2013 at 16:27.