"Mxsmanic" ... wrote in message
...
I'm surprised that a small handle in the cockpit would provide enough
leverage to lower flaps. Isn't there are a lot of aerodynamic
pressure to overcome against them (at least if they are lowered in
flight)?

In a Beech Sundowner the handle is maybe 18" long and looks like a big
version of a parking brake lever that you might see in a car. There's more
resistance the higher your airspeed, but it pulls up easily enough below the
max flaps speed. Also, it's good to have a bit of mechanical feedback like
that in case you don't have your wits about you and try to pull flaps at too
high an airspeed.

Are there good reasons to lower flaps in flight, outside take-off and
landing? I've thought that they would be useful for increasing drag
and lowering airspeed, but since they apparently cannot be used at
high speeds I guess this isn't a good idea. Sometimes if one must
descend rapidly just idling the throttle doesn't seem to be enough to
stay below hazardous speeds, and few aircraft seem to have speed
brakes.

Flaps have two main effects, they increase drag, like you said, and they
also increase lift and reduce your stall speed. These two effects can be
useful at different times. For example, if your wing is on fire and you want
to descend quickly, you lower the flaps and descend at Vfe (max speed with
flaps extended, top of the white arc). It's an interesting exercise the
first time you practice it, with the ground filling up your windscreen like
that and all. Another use is when you simply want to fly slower, such as
when you're in the traffic pattern and want to avoid getting too close to
someone in front of you. You can slow down without flaps, but using them
keeps you farther from a stall, which is a good thing at pattern altitude.
I'm sure more experienced pilots can give more interesting ways to use flaps
in normal flight, but those are the ones that come to mind just now.

Tom Young