On Thursday, November 23, 2017 at 6:12:09 PM UTC+3, Jeff Morgan wrote:
The Standard vs. Flapped decision is a bit harder. All of the Sages say 15 meter (faster/safer), I'm leaning Standard (simplicity). But it's not like I have Standard tattooed on my shoulder, or something I am going to lose sleep over. I'll reconsider how much "simpler" it really is. Perhaps it's like driving a manual transmission where you don't even think about it after the first day of ownership.

Exactly. Gliders vary so look in your handbook, but I'd say it's generally something like this:

L: Landing. Short final, definitely got the field made
+2: geez this core is narrow! Rack it in there!
+1: normal thermalling and aerotow
0: cruising, from min sink up to 15 or 20 knots above best L/D, noodling around looking for lift
-1: normal fast inter-thermal cruise
-2: flat out between 100ish knots and Vne

It's pretty easy to use it exactly like a gear change, depending on what flight mode you're in. Generally you lead with the flap, adjusting it for the speed you want to go, not the speed you are going now.