flaps

Flaps let a wing designed for cruise fly slowly enough to land. Extending them increases camber, and on most airliners also wing area, lowering the stall speed at the cost of drag. The setting is chosen per departure and approach, and the extension sequence — with flap track fairings and the gaps between panels opening up — is one of the most photogenic things a wing does.

Nearby in Aviation

• ferry flight — A flight with no revenue payload, flown to reposition an aircraft.
• final approach — The last leg of an approach, flown aligned with the runway and descending towards it.
• flare — The nose-up check just before touchdown that arrests the descent and sets the aircraft onto its main wheels.
• flight level — An altitude expressed in hundreds of feet on the standard altimeter setting, used above the transition altitude.