"Mike Rhodes"

Odd, but interesting thread. I haven't heard of tail stall before.

Very uncommon and very serious. Weight and balance (forward C of G) and
icing can cause it. It's just a wing.

I meant in the context of this thread. I'm aware of icing, and that
the tailplane is an airfoil.

You said "I haven't heard of tail stall before" without any conditions.


But if I've got the basics correct, don't flaps allow the aircraft to
fly at slow airspeeds with a lower angle of attack, including both
wing and tailplane?

Wing.

Meaningless retort. You said "it's just a wing." So you've conquered
the wing? And are looking for other nothings to walk on? Do you have
something against the wing, and other nothings?

I said "wing" because your statement is incorrect WRT the tail. On T Tail
airplanes, flaps have no effect on tailplane performance.


So flaps should reduce the likelihood of any
stall, provided enough power is applied to those draggy 40 deg
settings. The wing stalls at a specific angle of attack, and I don't
think the flaps change that characteristic; not that it has been
suggested anywhere.

Flaps change the shape of the wing and allow it to fly at a higher angle
of
attack before stall.

No they don't. Are you thinking of slats?

Yes. My mistake. Lower angle of attack.

I have my fluids book in front of me. It has a graph of coefficient
of lift versus angle of attack, and various plots of wings with and
without flaps. In general, the more substantial the flap then the
greater the coefficient of lift (and that coefficient can more than
double; from ~1.5 no-flaps to 3.5 double-slotted). Also, the more
substantial the flap then the _lower_ angle of attack at which the
_wing_ will stall, though only a relatively small (10-25%?) of the
original stall angle.

Stall speed is reduced. Drag is increased. Forward
visibility is improved at slow airspeeds.

Ha! You just proved my point, which you still deny!

If your point was that "The wing stalls at a specific angle of attack, and I
don't think the flaps change that characteristic", then, yes, I still deny
it.

Drag increases. Top speed is
reduced (white arc). Trim is affected noticibly. That's all the
practical
stuff you need to know. But:

But are you sane?

You disagree with any of the above?

m