When you deploy flaps on a light aircraft does this cause the nose to pitch up or down

Question

When you deploy flaps on a light aircraft does this cause the nose to pitch up or down

Answer 1

Well trooper got it right... the correct answer is DOWN...  the airplane may "balloon" but most certainly the nose will pitch down. I have flown at least 75 different types of aircraft... and they all pitch down when flaps are deployed.

By balloon... I mean that the airplane may just lift up a couple of hundred feet... which on a check ride is a bust-a-roo.... so you need to be prepared for that.. and push forward as you deploy the flaps.  A good f/o or sim partner will tell you as he is putting in the flaps which is a reminder to hold the airplane down from climbing... particularly if you are a little fast.

Answer 2

This is one of the questions from the FAA private pilot exam and its answer,

One of the main functions of flaps during approach and landing is to

A) decrease the angle of descent without increasing the airspeed.

.........................................

When I am flying a General Aviation Aircraft, (Cessna) etc., and I deploy the flaps on final approach, the nose of the Airplane pitches down and I am better able to see where I am about to land.

Answer 3

Nose pitches down.

Answer 4

That isn't such an easy question to answer. Flaps increase lift (while increasing drag). The lift can cause a slight nose up pitch, but from my experience it is pretty small. But, the increase in lift means the nose must be lowered to maintain the same flight path.  

So the action of extending the flaps will cause a slight nose up pitch, but if flying at a constant altitude (or decent rate) the nose will have to be pitched down more.

Answer 5

UP that's why they put them down to take off.

Answer 6

up

Answer 7

Up, when a plane takes off, pilots usually have the flaps down (at least 5-10 degrees) to increase the lift for take off. So when a pilot is landing the flaps cause the plane to pitch up, thats how a plane can flare during landing.

Answer 8

The airplane would gain lift, causing the nose to pitch up.

Answer 9

The change in pitch depends on the aircraft design and the degree of flaps extended. In particular, high-wing aircraft (Cessnas) don't behave in exactly the same way as low-wing aircraft (Bonanzas).

There's always an increase in lift, which tends to abruptly lift the airplane until the increased drag slows it down again.  Small flap extensions mainly increase lift, with only a slight increase in drag; large flap extensions produce a lot of additional drag.  In high-wing aircraft, large flap extensions are especially prone to produce a nose-down change in pitch.  However, pitch changes are influenced by the way the flaps change airflow over the tail, also, so the exact effect varies from one airplane model to another.

Answer 10

While the flaps are deploying (while coming in  to land) the nose will initially pitch up, because the lift will increase momentarily during the initial movement of the flaps, and then when fully deployed the nose will go down requiring a bit of up trim.