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In As the Pro Flies, John R. Hoyt writes (pages 41-42):

Suppose we have to land in high, gusty winds. That's what happened to Pilot Z, who once landed his plane during such conditions with his flaps down. After the wheels were on the runway he relaxed, never realizing that a plane is not landed until the switches are cut. Because he still had airspeed and because full flaps lowered the take-off speed, a small gust of wind was all that he needed to begin flying again. The additional lift was enough to raise him 10 feet from the runway, and at that point he ran out of gust, a condition aptly described as dis-gusted. He would have dropped back on the runway, had not an alert co-pilot opened the throttles and saved both the day and the landing gear.

He goes on to state how much flap should be used in what conditions, and then he finishes with this:

Let us then raise the flaps in gusty or crosswinds as soon as the wheels touch down. To wait until it is time to taxi doesn't help slow the plane very much, and flaps do constitute a hazard in gusts. Besides, it is surprising how much a small pebble costs when it goes through a flap.

Is he right? Should flaps be raised immediately after touchdown in gusty conditions?

voretaq7
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flyingfisch
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  • related for normal conditions: http://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/1189/raising-the-flaps-right-after-touchdown-good-or-bad?rq=1 – ratchet freak Jan 31 '14 at 12:53
  • I would say that this is covered pretty well in the above question, except for the "gusty conditions" part. I'm not sure that it warrants its own question though, and you could ask for clarification on the answers there if that is the only difference in your question. – Lnafziger Jan 31 '14 at 16:59
  • OK, I just didn't know how to do the quotes as well. I guess we can close it. – flyingfisch Jan 31 '14 at 17:07
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    Also, in my mind, the problem that he described is that the pilot "quit flying the airplane", not that he landed with full flaps.... – Lnafziger Jan 17 '16 at 03:14
  • I was taught to use less flaps when landing in gusty/crosswind conditions for exactly this reason. Per my POH, short fields call for reducing flaps on touchdown regardless of winds--but that's the only time I'd ever risk it. – StephenS Jan 30 '19 at 19:14

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