On Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 9:18:52 AM UTC+3, Kirk Robertson wrote:
I just read the article from Derek Piggot and am curious on staying away from Libelles' Everyone seems to love them, do the spoilers just not provide as much drag as others?

Std Libelle spoilers are ok. Not as powerful as some, but better than some, such as (unmodified) Cirrus. I've seen new Cirrus pilots approach just a little too fast and float waaaaaay down the runway.

The Libelle spoilers are perfectly adequate for a normal approach. If full spoiler isn't doing enough then adding a slip certainly will. The sharp spine of the fuselage means you get huge amounts of drag in a slip. As an exercise (on a long field), I've deliberately turned final at 1000 ft in a Std Libelle at the same place as you'd normally turn final at 300 ft. A slip (including slipping turn) got it down to a normal approach angle and speed well before crossing the fence.

Of course a one-lever solution is simpler, but everyone should be comfortable with using slips on approach anyway.