Raising flaps upon touchdown...

[smokeyupahead]

There is a lot of debate about this on the internet among pilots.
What do you guys suggest? Is it good to raise them or should we wait until cleared of runway?

If been raising them so far but I really can't see the benefits of doing so. Unless I'm in a strong cosswind.

Thank you,

David DD

[MarcE]

in a strong crosswind I don't use full flaps anyway..

But to twiddle with the flaps lever just takes attention from the landing roll which is nothing but an additional risk.

Hands on yoke/stick and throttle and the feet on the pedals. That's it until you reach a safe speed.

Greets,
Marc

[AKar]

I'd guess it depends on the braking required. At 3000 m runways, I wouldn't bother - collect your stuff while vacating. If brakes are needed right away however, I might just throw the flaps up when positively down. Just remember the direction of pitch effect!

-Esa

[Oracle427]

In short field landings toy need to retract the flaps after touchdown, so it all depends on the situation. On complex aircraft make sure you operate the correct lever!

[APUtech]

When I was learning to fly I was taught to raise the flaps as soon as practicable, which usually meant before turning off on a taxiway (flaps up, landing light off, taxi light on, xponder stby). The reason for this was because with flaps raised the airplane has greater braking authority, since the wings, and therefore the flaps, are no longer bearing (some of) the weight of the airplane.

If any of you are or have been licensed pilots and have ever landed on an even slightly icy field/runway you know what I'm talking about; if you don't raise your flaps after touchdown you can apply your brakes and they'll have minimal effect until your mains are firmly in contact with the rwy surface. Flaps being down delay that firm contact. Still, it's up to the PIC to decide when to raise flaps upon landing.

Once I've slowed down enough during rollout I raise the flaps and apply the brakes.

APUtech

[smokeyupahead]

Thank you guys, very usefull.

I guess I'll keep them down since I do not land on short runways very often.

[Oracle427]

As part of training you still need to demonstrate the ability to perform a short field landing and takeoff. It is a requirement of a checkout pretty much everywhere I have flown. You don't need a short runway to develop and demonstrate your skills!

[Gypsy Baron]

When landing the A2A B-17G I raise the flaps immediately after touchdown so that I can then use up-elevator to keep the tail down and assist in braking.

Somewhere in all the material here I seem to recall reading that flaps on the P-51, I think it was, should
be retracted ASAP to prevent damage from any 'foreign objects'. And on the Spitfire, to eliminate any
reduction in cooling of the engine while taxiing.

Paul

[DHenriques_]

Thank you guys, very usefull.

I guess I'll keep them down since I do not land on short runways very often.

Others have covered this quite well. I would only add that once you have considered the short field and braking situation, you ALSO want to consider not taxiing under any amount of power with the flaps down as that can easily pick up small stones and gravel and send these like bullets into your extended flaps.
So there are various things to consider in answering your question. All are relevant and important.
The ultimate answer is that you ALWAYS consider the local conditions, make sure you have control of the airplane, and when everything has been considered, raise them AT LEAST by the time you exit the runway.
Dudley Henriques

[pilottj]

as mentioned above, it depends on the landing surface, distance, winds, ATC request, tail dragger or trike, POH recommendations...etc.

In most cases in a typical Cessna or Piper. With a normal landing and no hurry to turn off the runway, I just leave the flaps down & elevator up for free aerodynamic braking, use minimal wheel braking to save on wear and tear, then raise the flaps after vacating the runway.

If it is short runway, or busy airport and ATC requests minimal time on the runway, I would use shortfield technique. Flaps up just after touch down, apply moderate - heavy braking, vacate nearest or requested turnoff. Flaps down moves the CG aft (more so in high wing) thus making wheel brakes less effective on a trike.

Soft field landings in a trike require you keep pressure off the nosewheel as much as possible, so this may be a reason to keep flaps for the rollout, and maybe a notch or two out while taxiing.

Cheers
TJ

[afcraig2010]

As far as crosswinds go, you still want to land as slow as you can. Full flaps will facilitate that. It might be a sluggish airplane on final, but as long as you fly the proper speeds then you'll touchdown at a slower speed which will make the rollout more controllable because you need to fly that plane until it stops (even a nose dragger if it's a considerable crosswind).

[spadjockey]

Thank you guys, very usefull.

I guess I'll keep them down since I do not land on short runways very often.

Others have covered this quite well. I would only add that once you have considered the short field and braking situation, you ALSO want to consider not taxiing under any amount of power with the flaps down as that can easily pick up small stones and gravel and send these like bullets into your extended flaps.
So there are various things to consider in answering your question. All are relevant and important.
The ultimate answer is that you ALWAYS consider the local conditions, make sure you have control of the airplane, and when everything has been considered, raise them AT LEAST by the time you exit the runway.
Dudley Henriques

I have to go with you on this Dudley. Even on taxiways that appear to be clean, there is always the possibility of small pebbles that you can't see from the cockpit. It is not worth taking a chance on expensive repairs, that could have been avoided.

[Scott - A2A]

For whatever it's worth, if I don't need to use wheel brakes quickly after landing, I leave them down to assist in slowing the plane down (Dudley recommended this to me a while back). However, if the runway is short and I need stronger braking, I lift them as this helps a lot (at least on the Comanche style flaps on a low wing) with braking power.

Scott.

[smokeyupahead]

Thank you guys, very usefull.

I guess I'll keep them down since I do not land on short runways very often.

Others have covered this quite well. I would only add that once you have considered the short field and braking situation, you ALSO want to consider not taxiing under any amount of power with the flaps down as that can easily pick up small stones and gravel and send these like bullets into your extended flaps.
So there are various things to consider in answering your question. All are relevant and important.
The ultimate answer is that you ALWAYS consider the local conditions, make sure you have control of the airplane, and when everything has been considered, raise them AT LEAST by the time you exit the runway.
Dudley Henriques

Thank you Sir, never thought of the damage that chould occur to the flaps during taxi. So much usefull info! Thanks to all of you.

David DD

[pilottj]

This is a reason (one of many) why high wing aircraft are preferred for softfield/bush operations. For one you can really see the quality & type of ground your wheels are going over. Your wings/flaps are also higher up, less suseptible to FOD/gravel damage.

Cheers
TJ