In article , Ramapriya wrote:
Is it possible to land without using the flaps at all? Just a
combination of the throttle (forward thrust too, perhaps?), elevator
and ailerons...
throttle == thrust. Throttle controls the engine. The engine
generates both energy and thrust (not the same thing, but two
sides of a coin, depending on which view you need).
I know this will sound like a shocker but I'd appreciate a definitive
NO, so that at least one doubt is bedded
You're out of luck :-) As pointed out, some aircraft don't even
have flaps at all.
Flaps generally control how much drag you have (to a degree, they
also change the shape of the wing so you can generate the same lift
at slower speeds). You can also control the drag by flying sideways
a bit. This is called slipping.
It is not approved to do both unless you get the official tee shirt. :-)
Followups to rec.aviation.student.
Morris