Flaperons

"Lou Parker" wrote in message
om...
I just don't get it. Can anyone successfully explain how flaperons
work? Are they better or worse than seperate flaps? What are the pro's
and con's? It seems to me if one fails you have no recovery.
Lou

My experience is on the A-6 (series) military aircraft that has a Flaperon
System. As the stick is moved Right, the Right Flaperon gradually comes up,
killing some of the lift on the right wing, causes a loss of lift, the wing
drops, and the A/C banks Right. These surfaces are what you would think a
'spoiler' would look like and operate much like an Aileron.

A completely separate system causes both Flaperons to 'popup' on touchdown
while landing 'shorebased'. This kills the lift (as soon as the wheels
touchdown) and allows the aircraft to quickly 'settle into the gear' so the
Anti-Skid system can work effectively, thus slowing the A/C safely.

An added note: the Flaperons are really 'misnamed' because (at least in the
case of the A-6) they have nothing to do with Flaps. The A-6 (and many other
Naval Aircraft) have Flaps (on the trailing edge) and Slats (on the leading
edge).

Hope this helps.

Larry
AECS (AW/SW/MTS)
USN 'Retired'
20 years if gettin 'em off the pointy end
AND safely home again!