Airplane flaps on take off?

Question

Hi, I love FSX so lets say youre flying an A321, or TU204 like i usually play with,

Ive noticed these type of airplanes usually take off with flaps on 20 degrees, but sometimes the pilots retract the flaps right after take off, and sometimes it takes a longer time for them to retract fully the flaps,
what is the ''secret'' behind this? Does it depend on elevation level of the airport, on wind, speed of the aircraft, ??

thanks in advance for the anwser! :-)

Answer 1

real pilots learn to fly smaller planes first. maybe you should try this too?



on a light airplane you use flaps for short- and soft-field takeoffs, but do not generally use them for normal takeoffs. when my instructor asked me for a soft-field takeoff saturday i set 25 degrees flaps for takeoff (the second notch on a cherokee), retracted the flaps to 10 degrees (first notch) once we were at about 100 feet and climbing, then cleared them at 500 feet.



yes, i know, jets are different. but in the real world, you don't start on jets.

Answer 2

all of the above, flaps create massive lift advantages, but lots of drag as well, varying by degree of flaps, on shorter runways (Chicago-Midway) high airports (Denver) or hot airports (death valley) the aircraft needs more lift, and will trade off some climb performance for the lift to get off the runway faster. but after takeoff, they want that thing cleaned up and jetting off to wherever, not hogging around burbank. depending on the scenario, the extra lift would be needed for better climb performance, so they may leave some down while they accelerate to where flaps are not needed, about 200 knots, so for the 60 knots between liftoff and 200, the wings need the lift, or they would stall.

not sure if this answered your question though

Answer 3

You first need to understand V2 airspeed which is the speed for best climb with an engine out and flaps in takeoff position. Next you need to understand acceleration altitude which is set by the individual airline, usually 600-1,000 AGL. After takeoff you accelerate to V2 and climb to acceleration altitude at which time you can begin to accelerate above V2. Company manuals say you must be above V2 to begin retracting the flaps, usually 10-20 knots above V2. These numbers are generalizations and will vary if there are noise abatement procedures or mountains in the area.

Answer 4

Airflow over the wings. More airflow more lift, less flaps needed