ORIGINAL: mjfrederick
Oh, one more thing. I do not recommend spoilers because I got lucky guessing that they would work... my plane had the same characteristics he was describing and I was trying to use flaps to cure it. Then a guy I used to fly with, Bryan Hebert (yes, designer of the Storm and Patriot), recommended reversing them to spoilers. Well, Bryan being who he was, and with all the area knowledge that has been derived from Nat Penton (Voodoo man himself whom I consulted yesterday on prop selection for my plane), I tried it... it worked wonders and I haven't looked back since. Oh, and by the way, spoilers will not increase your rate of decent provided you manage the throttle and elevator correctly. However, by definition the purpose of flaps is to provide a steeper decent without an increase in airspeed, they give you a higher angle of attack without the larger amount of the airframe exposed to the airstream, and they increase lift in an airplane that already has too much (if your plane is already flying too fast, adding flaps will only make it float even more). Unlike the previous posts, these are not humble opinions, they are based on facts taken straight from full-scale aviation and testing both ways on my airplanes that have experience similar problems. I have never tried the propeller change since I do not want to reduce the pitch of the prop that I use. My recommendation would be if you are pleased with the performance you're getting in all other stages of flight, why change to a lower pitch propeller and reduce it's pulling power for vertical maneuvers? OK, that last bit was IMHO...
My comments were actually not based on opinion either although I was trying to be considerate with my comment. And I too can throw Nat and Bryans names around for the nickel its worth as they are both friends of mine as well and very knowledgeable I might add. I have spent a lot of time at contests ingesting both of their ideas, they are some sharp cookies.
Now, I have flown 3D and pattern planes with spoilers and they decrease lift plain and simple. The plane DOES sink faster because of the reduced lift a LOT of reduced lift depending on the amount of reflex. Also, if you get into the elevator with spoilers on too much, and you will snap the plane right into the ground. Spoilers are a nice tool but you better know what you are doing when you play with them. You overdo it and you are going to crash. That is fact, not opinion. Granted descent rate can be managed with throttle but when you are trying to SLOW THE PLANE DOWN why would you want to increase the throttle, you will be increasing forward speed again somewhat.
Bottom line, I have never seen a modern pattern plane that NEEDED spoilers to land. If you correctly make your approach and you have your engine setup for a good solid low idle you just flat dont need them.
Now, I do not want this to turn into a spitting contest so play nice from here on out. We are here to help each other, not measure the length of our... propellers. There is nothing more offensive than trying to make yourself look more credible by trying to discredit someone else. [:'(] Just state your fact or opinion and let the original poster come to their own conclusion.