Every fly with flaps down?

Challenged

Challenged

Pattern Altitude
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Challenged
I have to confess I did this yesterday from my home airport, all the way to my destination, about 50 miles away.../me hits self in head. The only "excuse" I have is that I was chit-chatting with the pilot in the passenger seat the whole time, and it's pretty rare for me to fly with another pilot so I guess I got off my routine. Also, normal procedure in the Sierra is for one notch of flaps on takeoff, which I typically do, it's just that I also typically put the flaps in after takeoff :redface:
 
Has anyone here NOT done that?

My solution is to have an AFTER TAKEOFF checklist. And use it. And then to check it with a sense of paranoia several times after that in the climb - yes, the flaps are up, yes, the boost pump is off, yes, the landing light is off (its a short list in my Light Sport).

But don't feel bad. However, if you exceeded Vfe (you don't have to say so) I would have a mechanic cast an eye on your flaps to be safe.
 
Challenged said:
I have to confess I did this yesterday from my home airport, all the way to my destination, about 50 miles away.../me hits self in head. The only "excuse" I have is that I was chit-chatting with the pilot in the passenger seat the whole time, and it's pretty rare for me to fly with another pilot so I guess I got off my routine. Also, normal procedure in the Sierra is for one notch of flaps on takeoff, which I typically do, it's just that I also typically put the flaps in after takeoff :redface:
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Yep. A certain unnamed doctor CFI from the central Illinois area and I were flying at an unnamed fly in resort in northern Arkansas in my Comanche. We got cut off in the pattern twice by someone in two a slow as **** ragwing planes, and had to exit the pattern. On one of the pattern exits, I pulled up the gear, but as we continued to complain about the people just barging into the pattern I noticed I wasn't climbing like we should and then realized flaps were still fully extended..
 
FastEddieB said:
Has anyone here NOT done that?
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I never put flaps down in my "slow as **** ragwing plane".

Never used them in a Cessna 120 either.

My solution is to have an AFTER TAKEOFF checklist. And use it. And then to check it with a sense of paranoia several times after that in the climb - yes, the flaps are up, yes, the boost pump is off, yes, the landing light is off (its a short list in my Light Sport).
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That list is two things longer than the list for my LSA.
 
Challenged said:
I have to confess I did this yesterday from my home airport, all the way to my destination, about 50 miles away.../me hits self in head. The only "excuse" I have is that I was chit-chatting with the pilot in the passenger seat the whole time, and it's pretty rare for me to fly with another pilot so I guess I got off my routine. Also, normal procedure in the Sierra is for one notch of flaps on takeoff, which I typically do, it's just that I also typically put the flaps in after takeoff :redface:
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Yep, I've done it both ways -- flying for ten minutes with the first notch in on a DA40 (or 20?), and forgetting to retract full flaps in a 172 on a T&G (which is obviously more dangerous, and one reason I prefer to do taxi backs).
 
Better yet, I left the gear down, too. I was climbing out and was thinking "Why is this thing such a dog today" and then it hit me. Gear still down, and takeoff flaps. Cleaned up and away we go!

Happens to everybody at least once, and yes, an after takeoff checklist can help.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Better yet, I left the gear down, too. I was climbing out and was thinking "Why is this thing such a dog today" and then it hit me. Gear still down, and takeoff flaps. Cleaned up and away we go!

Happens to everybody at least once, and yes, an after takeoff checklist can help.
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I've done the exact same thing in my Mooney. haha!
 
A 180 hp C-172N does not climb well after take-off with 30 degrees of flaps hanging out. Or so a little birdie told me one day. :redface:
 
Mooneys give a pretty strong pitch change when the flaps are put up/down. A friend was flying and left them in takeoff position and once we hit about 2000 agl I reached down and flipped them up. Should have seen the look on his face :rofl:
 
I took off, climbed through a few hundred foot stratus layer, and the popped out on top. It was beautiful! I started taking photos and EVENTUALLY figured out that my flaps were still in the take off position!
I was busy in the clouds and forgot to retract them, and then distracted on top! The first shot taken on top was at 7:59 AM. The first shot with the flaps retracted is at 8:05.

Jim
 

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I've also done it. My common mistake was missing the after takeoff checklist when under the hood simulating a departure into a low overcast. A couple minutes later I realize I'm not getting the performance I should be.
 
Here is the obligatory glider post for the thread....

Trick question right, Standard climb configuration is 5-10 degrees for flaps in the HP16.

Brian
 
I respectfully decline to answer, under the protection of the Fifth Amendment.

Bob Gardner
 
Flaps gear up down,I don't recall.
 
It's happened to almost everyone at some point in their flying careers, not me of course, but the rest of you mortals! :rofl::rofl:
I was flying home from picking up a friend's sick mother in Albany NY, fairly low overcast, clear on top, I couldn't get the Citation to accelerate properly for the climb. Power was right, we weren't heavy, just didn't feel right?:confused: It's amazing what raising the flaps will do to speed up a Citation!:eek::nono:
 
You take the IQ of the pilot, divide by the number of pilots actually on board, and thats the on board intelligence. Asiana 214 proved that recently.
 
Kiddo's Driver said:
I took off, climbed through a few hundred foot stratus layer, and the popped out on top. It was beautiful! I started taking photos and EVENTUALLY figured out that my flaps were still in the take off position!
I was busy in the clouds and forgot to retract them, and then distracted on top! The first shot taken on top was at 7:59 AM. The first shot with the flaps retracted is at 8:05.

Jim
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So cool to just be above clouds like that!
 
Yeah, I did that once, with an instructor on board no less. We were in a Grumman AA1. On that aircraft, for all the good the flaps do, they could have not installed them, so it was easy to miss.
 
When I'm doing a normal takeoff I remember. When I am on short final for CMH for a touch and go and the tower decides they don't have time for my BS and gives me quick turn and climb out instructions, I realize I have approach flaps down when I'm 10 miles from the airport and wonder why I'm still in the white arc......
 
Many times, but never by accident. I recall one night flying from a point about 100 miles WSW of Key West to the boonies just North of Venice at 300 ft with half flaps and doing continuous S turns to stay behind a 340. He was a baaaaaaaad boy!!!! :nono:
 
A few times after takeoff in my mooney, but it does not take long to figure it out. As soon as I ask myself why am I slow today, the answer comes rushing in along with embarrassment and reminder to use the darn checklist.


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Not yet. But I am sure I will.
 
Forgot to fold up the gear before and wondered about the poor climb performance :rolleyes: .
 
Ghery said:
A 180 hp C-172N does not climb well after take-off with 30 degrees of flaps hanging out. Or so a little birdie told me one day. :redface:
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I can endorse what that "little birdy" told you....:wink2:

As a newbie pilot I came in on final at a short field, first time at the place which is water at both ends of the runway, not the most stabilized approach, I should have just cut an run for a go around but thought I could save it, came in too fast and pulled power and tried to force it down, yes I know...dumb ! anyway after 2nd hard bounce decided I maybe didn't have enough runway left, so power on and went for a go around...initially started to climb out but airspeed just hanging above stall speed, couldn't figure out what was going on for a few seconds and then it dawned on me...30 deg of flaps still out..:yikes: Lowered nose, stepped out flaps to 20 got some more speed and then out to 10 before lifting the nose again and taking out the final notch..... I still get shivers down my spine when I think how badly that stupid mistake could have ended....
 
RhinoDrvr said:
Holy crap, folks. Checklists much?
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0 flaps on a normal take off, and it wasn't a go around. There is no checklist for leaving the pattern. So which checklist would I have used, Ptolemy?
 
Bill Jennings said:
And you've never made any mistakes in all of your flying.

Riiiiiight.
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Oh no! I've made plenty of mistakes flying, too many to list, in fact. It just seems as though configuring the airplane after takeoff is part of a standard takeoff flow.

My first flight instructor taught gear up, flaps up, power back, prop back as a 1000 foot checklist from my first Piper Tomahawk flight. Didn't make sense to me back then, but did later on.
 
RhinoDrvr said:
Oh no! I've made plenty of mistakes flying, too many to list, in fact. It just seems as though configuring the airplane after takeoff is part of a standard takeoff flow.

My first flight instructor taught gear up, flaps up, power back, prop back as a 1000 foot checklist from my first Piper Tomahawk flight. Didn't make sense to me back then, but did later on.
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Right, agree. When we bought the Mooney I had 0 retract, that blunder was early in my retract time. And, I'd much rather leave the gear down when it should be up than leave it up when it should be down. :yes:
 
EdFred said:
0 flaps on a normal take off, and it wasn't a go around. There is no checklist for leaving the pattern. So which checklist would I have used, Ptolemy?
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There most definitely is a checklist for leaving the pattern. Climb checklist on page 4-10 of the POH (1984 Sierra 200).

CLIMB

FLAPS - UP
POWER - AS REQUIRED
MIXTURE - LEAN AS REQUIRED
TEMPERATURE - MONITOR

I guess my initial post was too critical, but there is a backup against things like that...probably because the mistake was made by someone else already.
 
RhinoDrvr said:
Oh no! I've made plenty of mistakes flying, too many to list, in fact. It just seems as though configuring the airplane after takeoff is part of a standard takeoff flow.
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There are many situations where you'd be delaying the climb checklist but you should retract flaps anyway. Inappropriate delaying of flap retraction is not simply limited to the "normal takeoff" or "go-around" scenarios (though these are obviously the most common). I think that is why it is so commonly missed.
 
RhinoDrvr said:
Oh no! I've made plenty of mistakes flying, too many to list, in fact. It just seems as though configuring the airplane after takeoff is part of a standard takeoff flow.

My first flight instructor taught gear up, flaps up, power back, prop back as a 1000 foot checklist from my first Piper Tomahawk flight. Didn't make sense to me back then, but did later on.
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The thing is, mistakes like this don't happen very often when everything is normal; it is when matters get a little bit irregular that immediate safety of flight decisions and sometimes preempt checklists, and accents and errors can occur.

Now, it could never happen the me, but I can imagine a hypothetical that goes something like this: departing from runway 36 at Tallahassee, into hot hazy air with cruddy visibility, and as the wheels break ground, the tower issues a traffic advisory for inbound military helicopters, straightahead. You can, perhaps, understand how I… Excuse me, the pilot in our hypothetical… Could be distracted into looking for traffic called very near.

This hypothetical pilot would have to notice that the airplane was climbing poorly, with slower than expected speeds and cylinder head temperatures a little hot, before he would figure out what was going on.

Hypothetically, that could happen. :rolleyes:
 
RhinoDrvr said:
There most definitely is a checklist for leaving the pattern. Climb checklist on page 4-10 of the POH (1984 Sierra 200).

CLIMB

FLAPS - UP
POWER - AS REQUIRED
MIXTURE - LEAN AS REQUIRED
TEMPERATURE - MONITOR

I guess my initial post was too critical, but there is a backup against things like that...probably because the mistake was made by someone else already.
Click to expand...

I don't have a Sierra, but thanks. I think my entire flight manual is 6 pages.
 
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