Yesterday I totaled my 60 powered plane. I never used flaps before and approached for a landing at about 1/4 throttle, I deployed the flaps and plane seemed intantly nosed up and stall, I hit the throttle and tried to abort but she just kinda fell straight out of the sky I had no control it just quit flying and rocked back and forth a couple times before it planted nose first.
I need a quite a bit more flying experience before ever trying that again, not sure i want to rebuid this one or any other plane with flaps!

Don't get discouraged. It takes practice to fly with flaps and the first part is getting the plane set-up properly. After you rebuild this one and take it up again, go up 2 or 3 mistakes high ,slow down to about 1/3 throttle ,deploy the flaps and see what happens. Typically the nose of the plane will balloon up a bit or it will balloon a lot ,or sometimes it stays straight and level, Depends on the plane.
If it balloons up you have twp choices, either fly it with forced down elevator or preferably program in a flap-elevator mix where you can adjust the amount of down elevator applied automatically when you deploy the flaps. You take it back up in the air and lower the flaps again and test it. If it still balloons up then add some more down elevator. What you want to achieve is to lower the flaps ,keep the plane level and it will start to slow down.
Once you have the mix dialed-in then go up again 2-3 mistakes high and see how the plane stalls with flaps down. Slow the plane down with flaps deployed and see how it reacts. Keep lowering the throttle until the plane stalls then increase the throttle and regain control. Hopefully the plane just slows down and begins to loose altitude. Some planes will slow almost to a crawl with wings level while others will drop a wing and start to spin. You need to find out how your plane will react and how much throttle it needs to keep flying.
Landing with flaps takes practice. I'm still learning about them too ! You can't slow down too much or you risk a stall or you land too short on the runway. If its windy you usually don't come in with flaps. Rebuild it and try again !

Another question is: How much were the flaps extended? Too much would be like throwing out an anchor. Instant stall.

Also helpful is to work your way up to full flap deflection incrementally. You didn't say what plane this was, but let's say for example we're talking about a Super Cub. The scale SC had a max flap of 40 degrees, which is a lot. So if I were setting up a Super Cub's flaps, I'd start with 10 degrees and see how that worked. Chances are the plane will balloon a little but I shouldn't lose it. So then I'll program some elevator mix to compensate for the ballooning, starting with maybe 3% and adjusting from there. Next I go to 20 degrees with the understanding that I'll get more elevator compensation because the mix is based on a percentage. I'll adjust the elevator comp if I need to, then move to 30 and then the max of 40 degrees. It's really helpful to have a two position flap switch so you can test two different settings at the same time.

Hi a70eliminator
Flaps are not needed on most models I have ever seen. If you are going to use them it is best to practice using them while at least 3 mistakes high, assuming you know how to recover an out of control plane from that altitude.

I have flown flaps and I am a full scale A&P most everything I work on and flown 40 deg flaps is max. To use 40 flaps you're heavy and on a short runway. Flaps down increases lift but it also I creases drag.
The advice given so far is spot on. Practice up high including stalls so you'll know how the plane will react.
Plus I don't recommend waiting until final to put flaps down. Deploy flaps on the down wind leg.
Sorry for the loss good flyin to you

Thanks for all the advise I see now all wrong thigs I did, I have the tendancys to learn the hard way but it's how I learn best, here's apic of what they look like.

I had a Goldberg Wild Stick 40 a few years back. I flew it so much I think I wore it out. Anyway, it had flaps. I would have fun with it by climbing high (as we say, three mistakes high - ) and deploying the flaps and pulling full up elevator at the same time. The plane would do a loop in just about it's own length. Fun to watch. I never used them while landing.. that plane never needed them. It would float in and land with almost no airspeed.. ok..ok.. it had some airspeed..

CGr.

As much as I hate doing repairs that is a very cool plane and I would take the time and fix it. It looks a lot like my Swoose. Flaps are fun but on most planes not needed. Like everyone else I always take the plane way high and do my testing just to see how the plane reacts to different things. First time I deployed flaps on one of my planes it almost did a loop but I had time to turn them off and land then remove some of the throw. Kept doing that until the plane reacted the way I wanted. They are fun to play with but during set up can cause a lot of trouble until you have them set correctly. I didn't notice if your wing is a flat bottom or not but the wing on my Swoose is and doesn't require them for a slow landing. It lands like a trainer and slows down very well.

Best to put flaps on a proportional channel, a dial or thumbwheel if your radio has it.  Our models are so lightly loaded, they pitch up with flaps if the plane isn't slowed enough. If psooible, mix in some down elevator with flaps also.</p>

"Too much would be like throwing out an anchor. Instant stall. "  Not necessarily, just have to practice slowing down. Going full flaps on final is OK as long as the speed is low and the nose is kept from pitching up. You may have to ADD power with full flaps, depending on the airplane.</p>

When using flaps many planes will pitch up. Always keep the nose down and power on. A computer radio has a mix for flaps. F to E mix. You can program a % of down elevator with the flaps. 20 to 30% flaps will give lift. 40% is all drag

No computer radio here, had flaps control on ch.7 slide trim right below throttle stick. I collected up the pieces and walking back noticed people watching me, I walked past them and said, "I didn't really like that plane anyhow"

Even though you were not flying a "scale" plane. I have found this to be a great article... http://www.modelairplanenews.com/Med...r/flaps.pdf‎

I'm one of those people who reads instructions [laugh], so I like to review articles like this and fly the suggested practice. I fly some scale and also have a sport plane with flaps - This article has worked great for me.

And - that is a great looking plane. I would definitely try and rebuild her and enjoy flying with flaps

OK, my link was not working - I put the script from what Google pulled up when I typed in my search "How To - Flying with Flaps."

Weee! Ihad a Hot Stik - similar but low wing. What a hoot. Imisjudged a tree on a cold, winter ski fly and the covering ruptured like a popped balloon. In my "to do" pile to recover.

At an earlier flight Ihad mine set for CROW and on trying to switch to low rates I hit the CROWswich instead. Did a 90&deg; nose down. Ipulled out at 2" elevation and saved the model but lost the gear.

Flaps add lift but also a LOTof drag. If you are near stall and engage flaps you stall the wing before you gain the lift. Best bet is to practice high up and see how your plane reacts. Some nose up, some nose down. On the downwind leg slow down, get your height in the turn to upwind and then add flaps andset-up. If you add flaps on the downwind leg it's a double strike of tail-wind andadded drag. And some models need to be flown in even with flaps. Yours looks like a fairly sleek and hot design that likely needs a head of steam when landing.

Why put flaps on a model plane? Seems to me that spoilers would be more useful.

Well they make a difference on 30+ pound planes ! Plus I'm really starting to have fun with them after some practice on smaller planes. Ultra Stick with quad flaps doing short field take-offs and landings, diving down with crow and almost helicoptering in for a landing, slow fly-bys . Even on the new 60 size Meridian I'm having a blast with the flaps.
I would say again to rebuild the plane after looking at it.
With a non-computer radio you may have had too much throw by using the lever. Would have to limit max throw mechanically and find out how much flap it can handle by testing it up high going slow. You might have to manually input some down elevator when coming in until it slows down enough.

Flaps and flaperons can be a lot of fun. I have the flaperons slaved to my elevator on my Hots so when the wind is up I can just flip a switch and play around. As I increase the elevators the ailerons come down. When activated I can do loops so tight the plane wants to kiss it's own tail.

G'day

I am currently building a Bruce Tharpe Engineering Flyin' King. It can be built either with or without flaps but Bruce suggests they be included. The Flyin' King is described as a multipurpose load carrier. It is 81.5 inches wingspan and will have an OS 95V four stroke in it. http://www.btemodels.com/flyin_king.html

Bruce's excellent instructions suggest that flap to elevator mixing be used to add 4 degrees of down elevator at full 40 degrees of flap. And of course, more power is needed with flaps deployed to overcome the drag that they induce.

As an aside, the kit is really excellent. I am really enjoying building it, or I was until I managed to build two right ailerons. AAAAAAAGH! It was my fault, I put the second set of ribs inside the ailerons upside down so today I am off to buy a few sheets of balsa to undo the problem.

Cheers

Mike in Oz

PS Bruce designed the Four Star series when he worked at Sig. His Venture 60 is an improved version. Must build one some time.

Ihave found that to be the case with any model that has a flat-bottom wing/airfoil. Flaps give a scale appearance, but are misused often as a landing crutch when engine tune (low idle with prop braking) or proper approach would better accomplish soft landings.

Compared to full scale aircraftmodels get away with murder. The air is four to eight times as dense as the full-scale aircraft are working with (and relative winds similarly are that much faster for the model).

But flaps are cool. Ilike playing with them Nothing more graceful than a model crabbing in slow against a crosswind that rolls outjust a few feet upon wheel contact.

Hey A70, sorry for your loss. I've had some similar experience with flaps but not as disappointing as yours. A couple of 60 size warbirds and a Piper Pawnee. But they didn't have the size of flaps that you did. All good advice list here. I did learn from good fellow pilots and, of course, experience, is that you have to fly these planes down to the ground rather than letting them "float" in as with most sport planes. The weight of the plane will also have a bearing on how it affects the flight when the flaps are deployed. Like checking out the stall characteristics of your plane, deploying flaps at a good altitude is part of the wringing out a new plane. A steeper angle of attack on final will help keep air speed up and some throttle work will get you some "10" landings. Happy flying.........

I put flaps on a rotary knob and do what was suggested - mix in elevator as needed. One of my stiks floats too much on landing so I actually raise the flaps about 5 degrees to make the plane come in more solid. It's still slow but not as floaty.

When you raise a trailing surface (flap or aileron), that's called reflex. Sailplanes use it to manage lift.

I did the same thing with a Wing Mfg P-38 several years ago. Came in for a landing, put the flaps down, plane ballooned, stalled, crashed..... End. Looked at my much more experienced friend that was flying with me and he said, "Didn't check the flaps in the air, did you?" All I could do is laugh because he was right and I knew better. I had a Ki-61 with flaps that I had dialed in really nice. Just forgot to do it on the P-38. Lesson learned. I've had 3 planes since with flaps and I have done the 3 mistake high 'dial in' with them all. Good advice from all above.

Tim

Generally best to try things out the first time at altitude so you understand effects.