Simviation Forums

How much flap should I use on final with a short runway ?  I have been using about 20% flaps but would 40% work better the weather has been fair with moderate winds from west .

If its a short field landing, the more flaps the better. Flaps allow you to produce just as much lift at a lower speed.  Therefore, you can come in at a much slower speed to a short runway and still stay in the air. So yes, 40 degrees would be much, much better than 20.

The checklist always knows best and it says 8 or 20 degrees so I would not stray from those settings.

I'd say OTTOL will know best since he flies them for a living  ;D

The checklist always knows best and it says 8 or 20 degrees so I would not stray from those settings.

Actually, no, the checkist says flaps 8 or 20 ON APPROACH. If you check the reference sheet, it says to land with 40. There ye go

No it's not...at least not on the Boeings and airbusses
Contrary to popular belief, the flap indicator on a Boeing aircraft does not represent true flap angle, those are just numbers (and should be correctly refered to as: units). They are just there for pilot convenience.

Take "flaps 1"...the trailing edge flaps doesnt even move, it's just the slats. And "flaps 30" have a greater angle than 30 degrees.  :)

The Airbus has a more logic label: 1, 2, 3, full