Can a commercial aircraft land without any flaps deployed?

Question

Actually, I was asking myself what would be worse: A gear which you are not able to deploy for landing, or flaps which won't go out for landing. So I thought that actually, a gear is more "precious". Because landing without gears is, for me, more dangerous than landing without flaps.

And I can imgine that a landing without flaps mustn't be that of a problem, but could you tell me what would change on a landing without flaps? Of course, a higher approach speed, a longer runway, but besides of that?

Answer 1

Flaps are hinged surfaces on the trailing edge of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft. As flaps are extended, the stalling speed of the aircraft is reduced. Flaps are also used on the leading edge of the wings of some high-speed jet aircraft, where they may be called slats or Krueger Flaps.

Flaps reduce the stalling speed by increasing the camber of the wing and thereby increasing the maximum lift coefficient. Some trailing edge flaps also increase the area of the wing and, for any given aircraft weight, this reduces the stalling speed. The Fowler flap is an example of one which increases the area of the wing.

Extending the flaps also increases the drag coefficient of the aircraft so, for any given weight and airspeed, flaps cause higher drag. Flaps increase the drag coefficient of an aircraft because of higher induced drag caused by the distorted planform of the wing with flaps extended. (Induced drag is a minimum on a wing with elliptical planform.) Some flaps increase the wetted area of the wing and, for any given speed, this also increases the parasitic drag component of total drag.

Depending on the aircraft type, flaps may be partially extended for takeoff. With light aircraft, use of flaps for takeoff may be optional and will depend on the method of takeoff (e.g., short field, soft field, normal, etc.) When flaps are partially extended for takeoff it is to give the aircraft a slower stalling speed but with little increase in drag. A slower stalling speed allows the aircraft to take off in a shorter runway distance. Flaps are usually fully extended for landing to give the aircraft a slower stalling speed so the approach to landing can be flown more slowly, allowing the aircraft to land in a shorter runway distance. The higher drag associated with fully extended flaps allows a steeper approach to the landing site. This is the benefit of the higher drag coefficient of fully extended flaps.

Some gliders not only use flaps when landing but also in flight to optimize the camber of the wing for the chosen speed. When thermalling, flaps may be partially extended to reduce the stalling speed so that the glider can be flown more slowly and thereby turn in a smaller circle to make best use of the core of the thermal. At higher speeds a negative flap setting is used to reduce the nose-down pitching moment. This reduces the balancing load required on the horizontal stabilizer which in turn reduces the trim drag - drag associated with keeping the glider in longitudinal trim. Negative flap may also be used during the initial stage of an aerotow launch and at the end of the landing run in order to maintain better control by the ailerons.

Answer 2

yes he could, but if the runway was long enough he could land safely   with no problems at all,,   but 99 percent of runways arent long enough to stop an aircraft like boeing  so the pilot must use heavy breaks and burn the tiers off  and still theres a big chance hes gona overshoot the runway,,     flaps are used to enable the pilot to approach the runway at a lower airspeed, so when he has no flaps he needs to approach at a higher speed    that's the only difference,,   you might need 3 times the normal runway lenght to stop a heavy jet safely without burning the tires,   two times longer if you have to burn the tiers

Answer 3

Did somebody really say here that they'd choose a gear up landing to a no flap landing? Man I'd have love to have seen you on a checkride when I was an FAA designated pilot examiner. I didn't get to write up too many pink slips. Jeez.

Answer 4

You people are complete idiots!!!  No flap landings are definitely an emergency, but not near as big of a deal as no gear.  Please shut the h**l up unless you know something about the question.  A pilot would never takeoff w/o flaps if they were required, however a no flap landing is not that big of a deal!

Answer 5

yes,   but the plane may come in hotter.

without flaps it has less lift and has to go faster or it will drop.

If a pilot takes off without the flaps out and survives...he will be writing out a new resume.

I'd prefer no wheels to lack of lift. But thats me.

Answer 6

A plane that lands without its gear down (and calls ahead to make an emergency landing) is simply going to scrape down the runway to a halt and the worst injuries will be the people spraining their ankles during the evacuation.

A plane can be landed without flaps, but there is a greater risk of stall and the plane has to land faster.

If I had a choice between the two (due to some weird hydraulic system mix up), I'd land without the gear.  I don't care about the condition of the plane when it comes in, I just want to survive.

Both of these systems have backups on modern airliners.

Answer 7

Of course, this is an abnormal condition, And in reference to the question, yes it can land without any flaps deployed.

now conditions to land: airport runway must be dry. anti-skid operational, autobrake operational, spoilers operational and thrust reversers operational. a longer runway to be used.

Answer 8

no because it will of course overshoot.an incident of this is air france 358.it deployed its flaps and reverse thrusters late which made it cross over the metal gate limit and got fire once it shot on grass

Answer 9

Gear would be much worse, for the airplane, the runway and survivability.

No flap landing is practiced by pilots during their twice yearly simulator training, so it is really no big deal...an Embraer 145 at max gross takeoff weight can land with no flaps in less than 6000' the approach speed would be around 160-170 knots an Airbus A319 at max gross takeoff weight can stop during a no slat no flap landing in less than 8000' with an approach speed around 170-200 knots.

Answer 10

They both have "side effects"    With the landing gear being stuck, you would have to burn off additional gas (or do a fuel dump). There is a risk of fire as well.

If your landing without flaps, you can enter a stall, and hope your a good pilot so you can maneuver out of the stall. As other people have mentioned, you would have to come down faster than normal and you will need a longer runway.   you would most likely also have to do a fuel dump to burn off additional weight,

They both have negative out comes, but i would choose no flaps. You could probably do it and if you entered a stall, hopefully you had a d**n good instructor.

and flight simulators are different than real world. So yeah sure you can do it in FSX what do you have to loose? But can you do it in real life?

Answer 11

They can land with no flaps... but only in emergencies.

Answer 12

When I was a Flight Engineer in the USAF, we had to calculate data for a no flap landing....just in case things went south. You just hope the runway is long and has no obstructions because you come in a lot faster than when the flaps are operable.

Answer 13

Landing without flaps is something most pilots practice routinely... even the commercial pilots (in a simulator).  It's not a big deal except, as you've already pointed out, higher threshold speed and thus a longer rollout.  

the other thing to consider for a no-flap landing is that your airplane usually has a significantly higher nose-up attitude, and the pilot has to be careful not to drag the tail.

There might even be instances where you would want to land with partial flaps, particularly in strong crosswinds.  

A gear-up landing would be an emergency procedure, and not one that a pilot would chose unless there were no other choice.

Answer 14

Of course i'd rather land with no flaps. Theres always the thrust reversers or speed brakes to slow down the aircraft as long as there's sufficient runway length. But with no landing gear, it could get worse, the plane will scrape the ground,it could damage its wings, cause fuel to spill which in turn could start a fire.

Answer 15

I'd go without flaps as long as there is a very long runway. If I can do it on MS flight simulator I'm sure a real pilot could handle it.

My father was on a commercial flight on which the front gear did not come down. The pilot landed on the rear wheels and used the elevator controls to keep the nose up as long as possible while slowing, and then brought the front down on the runway for as smooth a landing as he's ever had. No foam, either. Half the passengers vowed to name their children after the pilot.