eli5 why are flaps extended during takeoff if they slow down the plane?
In: Engineering
They increase the surface area of the wing which allows the airplane to take off at a lower speed, which is safer and more practical since this means that on the ground airplanes are rolling much slower than what they would have if they didn’t use flaps and that also means runways don’t have to be twice as long. It also makes the aircraft more stable and controllable at slow speeds. Once in the air they can simply raise flaps and increase their speed. It’s worth noting that the flap setting for take off is much smaller than for landing, and it creates less drag.
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