birdog wrote:
Interesting that no one mentioned airport elevation re; use of flaps on
takeoff. Or we only talking simulators here? Know of one instance where a
PT-19 ended up in a cornfield using full flaps from an elevated airport in
W. Va. Some small craft, such as a Cessna 150, can barely maintain level
flight with full flaps at our local - 1200'.


I can tell you the Navion is pretty bizarre with full flaps on takeoff.
I made that mistake once. She breaks ground very fast but she won't
climb out worth crap.

This is actually not uncommon. In some planes it's a crapshoot as
to whether flaps help the short field performance. The 172 for instance
breaks ground quicker, but climbs slower to the 50' obstacle so it's
a wash. If you've got one of the old johnson-bar manual flap version
your optimal performance is to start the roll with the flaps up, drop
them to 10 degrees to break ground and once you get to Vx raise them back
up again.