"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
nk.net...
Why would anyone want to fly around the pattern at a constant altitude
with gear and flaps out except on a circling approach? I was leave the
gear and flaps up until I want to descend. I was under the impression
that virtually everyone did it this way.

Your impression is mistaken. In fact, I've never had a single instructor
comment on my habit of lowering the gear as I enter the downwind, and I
see plenty of retractable gear airplanes flying in the pattern with their
gear lowered.

Just as a "for example", in my airplane having the flaps and gear out do a
couple of things: they help stablize the aircraft, making flying in the
pattern easier, and the flaps ensure that even though I'm slowing to 80
knots in the pattern, I'm still comfortably above stall speed. Aircraft
handling is significantly better with the flaps and gear out.

When I was flying 182RGs, I found similar benefits, though the stabilizing
factor was the primary issue (stall speed wasn't as big of a problem,
being lower than in the airplane I fly now).

But, even if you prefer to fly with gear and flaps up until beginning your
descent, you still need less power during the descent than you needed
during level flight in the pattern. It doesn't change the fundamentals of
what I wrote.

Pete

Interesting

In the MU-2, I always lower the gear and 5deg flaps on downwind between
midfield and abeam the numbers depending on how much speed I need to lose..
I go to 20deg flaps on base and do nothing on final. Power is only changed
if I misjudged something. On an ILS it is the same drill without the turns,
flaps 5deg with gear up until one dot high then gear down, at 1/2 dot high
flaps 20deg. Again power isn't changed until landing unless there is a
large wind change between GS intercept and the runway.

It has been a few years but I remember my Turbo Lance being the same with
16.5"MP being the required power setting.

The Helio is different. The trick is to slow down as soon as possible
because the flap speed is only 70kts. Once full flaps are set then slow
down and ADD power to slow down some more. The better you get the more
lower the speed and more power will be required. The limit is about 30kts
and full power. I can't do that yet but I saw it demonstrated at OSH this
year.

Mike
MU-2


Mike
MU-2