ORIGINAL: siclick33
The first stage of flap increases lift a lot and drag a bit. Landing flap adds a lot of drag and a little more lift. If you're suffering from 'floating' in high winds do you not need more flap (not less)?
Aileron response is improved by increased airspeed and this can still be achieved with full flap. I don't know of any full size aircraft that use part flap for landing in strong winds (although I concede that there may be some). The benefit of the 'free airspeed' is usually considered to be a lower ground speed on landing rather than the option to use less flap.
I can understand that there may some issues with our perception due to the fact that we may find it more difficult to judge our approach speed from outside the model than a full size pilot would when sitting in it but, from an aerodynamic point of view, I still lean towards using full flap no matter what the wind speed is.
I'm not criticising anyone for doing anything different and if it works for you then great (a bit like the crow/no crow argument).
I agree,
I land full flaps no matter the wind. I don't land based on what I think the airspeed is, but by knowing my sink rate at a certain throttle. If I don't use full flaps as always, then i can't judge my sink rate as I'm used to.
If it is windy, just account for that as you turn from your downwind to your base, so you make a much shorter approach.
But then again, it is a matter of how you feel confortable. I know that there are some that prefer to use 1/2 flaps and land at a higher ground speed. In my case, it just takes my outside my known flight envelope for landing