PLT266: High-Lift Devices
What code PLT266 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study High-Lift Devices before your checkride.
Recall high lift devices - characteristics / functions
What this means for your checkride
High-lift devices increase the lift a wing makes at low speed. Flaps increase camber, and some increase area, lowering stall speed and steepening the descent without adding airspeed; leading-edge slots and slats delay the stall to a higher angle of attack. Together they let an airplane approach and land slower and more steeply.
Flaps and other high-lift devices change approach speed and pitch, so the FAA tests what they do to lift, drag, stall speed, and the flight path.
Pilots think flaps mainly add lift for takeoff. Their bigger role is on approach: more drag and a lower stall speed let you descend more steeply at a slower, safer speed.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.