Variations in soft field landings

I was taught to lift the flaps immediately upon touch down on soft field
landings. My instructors stated getting more weight on the brakes as soon as
possible, would facilitate a quicker stop than leaving the flaps down for
drag, and loosing some braking power to the extra lift.

However, during my last BFR, the instructor corrected me very sharply. He
insisted you get more drag from the flaps by leaving them down until you
slowed to taxi speed, than the benefit of more weight on the brakes.

What is the general consensus of the group? Flaps up or down, after
touchdown on a soft field landing?

Maxwell wrote:
I was taught to lift the flaps immediately upon touch down on soft field
landings. My instructors stated getting more weight on the brakes as soon as
possible, would facilitate a quicker stop than leaving the flaps down for
drag, and loosing some braking power to the extra lift.

However, during my last BFR, the instructor corrected me very sharply. He
insisted you get more drag from the flaps by leaving them down until you
slowed to taxi speed, than the benefit of more weight on the brakes.

What is the general consensus of the group? Flaps up or down, after
touchdown on a soft field landing?

You definitely should not raise the flaps on a soft field landing! Are
you sure you aren't thinking of a short field landing instead? Even
then, I wouldn't recommend it although I do know CFIs who do make this
recommendation. However, I've never heard such a recommendation for a
soft field. Trust me, braking isn't a problem on a truly soft field!


Matt

"Maxwell" wrote in message m...
:I was taught to lift the flaps immediately upon touch down on soft field
: landings. My instructors stated getting more weight on the brakes as soon as
: possible, would facilitate a quicker stop than leaving the flaps down for
: drag, and loosing some braking power to the extra lift.
:
: However, during my last BFR, the instructor corrected me very sharply. He
: insisted you get more drag from the flaps by leaving them down until you
: slowed to taxi speed, than the benefit of more weight on the brakes.
:
: What is the general consensus of the group? Flaps up or down, after
: touchdown on a soft field landing?
:
:

Leave the flaps down for soft field so you don't dig in. Raise the flaps on asphalt or other good braking surface for
max braking performance on a short field while keeping the stick back...

Maxwell wrote:

I was taught to lift the flaps immediately upon touch down on soft field
landings. My instructors stated getting more weight on the brakes as soon as
possible, would facilitate a quicker stop than leaving the flaps down for
drag, and loosing some braking power to the extra lift.

However, during my last BFR, the instructor corrected me very sharply. He
insisted you get more drag from the flaps by leaving them down until you
slowed to taxi speed, than the benefit of more weight on the brakes.

What is the general consensus of the group? Flaps up or down, after
touchdown on a soft field landing?



Regardless of the type of landing, even short field or soft, I've
always been taught to clean up the aircraft after I'm clear of the
runway. I don't touch anything until then. So, keep them down, I've
been taught.

Erik wrote:


Regardless of the type of landing, even short field or soft, I've
always been taught to clean up the aircraft after I'm clear of the
runway. I don't touch anything until then. So, keep them down, I've
been taught.


That is the weekend pilot information you got there. You give up
performance but you'll never retract the wheels on the ground. It's a
newbie answer. Are you a newbie?

On 4/25/2007 6:11:13 PM, "Blueskies" wrote:

Leave the flaps down for soft field so you don't dig in. Raise the flaps
on asphalt or other good braking surface for max braking performance on a
short field while keeping the stick back...

That's how I learned it and IIRC, that is how Cessna lays it out in the
procedure section of the POH for the newer model C172s (the relevance here
being that this was the aircraft in which I originally trained).

--
Peter

In article ,
"Maxwell" wrote:

I was taught to lift the flaps immediately upon touch down on soft field
landings. My instructors stated getting more weight on the brakes as soon as
possible, would facilitate a quicker stop than leaving the flaps down for
drag, and loosing some braking power to the extra lift.

However, during my last BFR, the instructor corrected me very sharply. He
insisted you get more drag from the flaps by leaving them down until you
slowed to taxi speed, than the benefit of more weight on the brakes.

What is the general consensus of the group? Flaps up or down, after
touchdown on a soft field landing?

On a "soft field landing," it is presumed that you have lots of runway,
but it is soft (muddy). Leave the flaps down, stick full back, so you
slow down more rapidly and settle at a lower airspeed. You can leave
some power in, with the stick full aft, to taxi to an intended turnoff.

I think that the original poster has "soft field" confused with "short
field," where you need to get on the brakes as soon as possible, so you
dump the flaps immediately.

Maxwell wrote:
What is the general consensus of the group? Flaps up or down, after
touchdown on a soft field landing?

Flaps down! Unless it's a short, soft field, in which case you should
reconsider using it at all.

I was taught to go flaps-up on a short field for that reason, to
increase braking power. However, you have to consider the speed of
retraction available: it's a lot easier to do quickly in say a
Johnson-barred example than it is with a fully electric set (or hydraulics).

Plus, you have to consider your dedication to the landing (ie, will this
bounce and need a go-round), as well as your cockpit load. Nothing is
worse than coming down, slapping what you think is the right lever,
hitting a bounce, and coming in gear up (which lever *did* you hit? ).
It may be a better idea to sacrifice that tiny inkling of braking action
to ensure that you can make positive reinforcement of the controls.

TheSmokingGnu

Not a newbie issue, years ago while flying at a USAF aero club. The club
manager with plenty of hours did that in a M20C. Damn near canceled my CA
to PA cross country for my 21st Birthday but they got it fixed just in time.

So it can happen Newbie or not.

Ron Gardner
"Newps" wrote in message
. ..


Erik wrote:


Regardless of the type of landing, even short field or soft, I've
always been taught to clean up the aircraft after I'm clear of the
runway. I don't touch anything until then. So, keep them down, I've
been taught.


That is the weekend pilot information you got there. You give up
performance but you'll never retract the wheels on the ground. It's a
newbie answer. Are you a newbie?

Newps wrote:



Erik wrote:


Regardless of the type of landing, even short field or soft, I've
always been taught to clean up the aircraft after I'm clear of the
runway. I don't touch anything until then. So, keep them down, I've
been taught.


That is the weekend pilot information you got there. You give up
performance but you'll never retract the wheels on the ground. It's a
newbie answer. Are you a newbie?

Yep, I'm a n00b. And it's a pain in the ass trying to retract the
wheels on those damn 150's. It's a manual procedure that's fairly
difficult to extend as well.

I'm also not fortunate to be a weekend pilot. More like a monthly
pilot. $100 hamburgers are good, but can't do that weekly