In the Wind thread I commented on an individuals question regarding setting up flaps on their model:
ORIGINAL: Garyav16
Anyone flying the Wind with Flaps? if so what surface deflection are you using? <div>
</div><div>Flaps and Elevator mix?</div>
I responded that I use them on my E-Motion and sparked a debate so I thought rather than sidetrack the Wind thread further I'd take it to it's own new thread. So feel free to chime in with your experiences and thoughts in using or not using the flap setting on your transmitter.
As is nearly always the case my first response on the earlier discussion did not accurately describe my feelings on the topic. For me I find "Flaperons" to be helpful in setting up an "autoland function" Consistent landings were an ongoing problem for me because my E-Motion needed considerable up elevator force during the final approach to hold a nice landing attitude that was not too nose high or too nose low. I used the flap setting on my 12X and experiemented with Spoilerons (flaps deflected up for landing) and Flaperons (flaps deflected down for landing) After some time I found that about 30% down aileron and 15% up elevator created an ideal nose up attitude that made landing at a constant speed almost trivial. Now when I am on final and pull power off I get a gentle descending glide with a slight nose high attitude with absolute hands free on the transmitter. If I blip the throttle one or two clicks then I can extend the glide indefinitely. Additionally since the flap switch is a 3 position switch I have an intermediate setting with slightly less flap and elevator input for windier days. For me this has helped me make much more consistent landings as I always get the same speed on final. Clearly, positively this NOT required on any RC model I have ever flown to date, but it certainly makes my life easier, and that is part of my Pattern philosphy. I use whatever trick I can to make my life easier. This is NOT for everyone, but it works well for me and that's the point I wanted to make originally: Flaps/flaperons/spoilers/spoilerons can be used to great effect to make landing simpler if you want to try, but you certainly do not need them.
Joe