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3 Answers

In IAP, When to add flaps for C172?

Asked by: 2310 views Instrument Rating

For IR Check-ride, I was practicing approaches.

I usually used 80-90 KIAS as an approach speed, and then landed with no flap landing.

 

In my case, if the DPE doesn't mind, I prefer to land with App speed at 80-90 kts, and no-flap landing.

 

What if the DPE makes me to land at 30 degree flaps landing at 65kts approach speed??

At which point should I decrease airspeed from 89-90 to 65kts?? after hood-off position? or at the FAF or IF?

 

Really curious about it.

 

 

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3 Answers



  1. Brian on Apr 05, 2020

    As a quick answer, If you’re going to use flaps I would recommend they be set in the landing configuration and that the airplane is on speed by the FAF. If you’re doing an approach that requires a timer (for the MAP) you’ll want a consistent airspeed, not to mention that an on-speed, stable airplane is much easier to land consistently well.

    In a longer answer, I’ll recommend that you practice in various flap configurations if you have enough time before your checkride. Breaking out of the clouds at 200′ and trying to lower the flaps after isn’t ideal, especially if performance for the airplane/runway is tight. Lowering the flaps on an ILS glidepath can help you see the affect that lowering flaps can have on the descent profile of your airplane and thus can help you build expectations and practiced responses in order to compensate.

    If you do NOT have enough time to practice like that then continue at 90 knots. It would probably be a good idea to bring up with the DPE during the oral exam that this is your plan and do the landing performance calculation with them in order to show that you’ve factored this in.

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  2. KDS on Apr 05, 2020

    Allow me to add this to your thought process.

    There is indeed a best speed for each aircraft. However, if you’re in IMC, particularly nasty IMC, there are going to be a lot of other people waiting to get in on that same approach. Also, if you’re flying something that is so slow that you could be a bottleneck, you are also flying something that does not need a heck of a lot of landing runway. So coming in hot should not be a problem (of course, consider runway length before you attempt it).

    So, if someone does all of their practice approaches in VMC at a slower speed and then is later in IMC with a controller asking you keep make best forward speed, they are trying to do something they have not done much of at the worst possible time to be doing something they are not comfortable doing.

    However, having said all that, I will also add that what you might do for real world flying and what the standards for the test are or what the examiner thinks the standards for the test are do not always line up.

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  3. Mark Kolber on Apr 06, 2020

    You are asking a question regarding optional technique, not requirement.

    To illustrate, I have flow about 30 different make/models id singles. I use flaps during an approach in 3.5 (the .5 is where I use them only in shorter fields). The feast are all no flaps until after breaking out. Strictly a matter of personal preference based on the characteristics of the airplane and the ease of reconfiguring and slowing for landing.

    My CFII tried in vain to get me to use flaps in a 172 during my training for the rating.

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