Are slips with flaps prohibited in certain Cessnas?
No. Some Cessna 172’s have a recommendation that extended slips with full flaps be _avoided_. This is because the flaps on these aircraft are sufficiently effective to partially blanket the empennage during a full-flap slip, which may result in a gentle, but fully controllable, bobbing motion. That bobbing motion has on more than one occasion unduly alarmed a pilot on short final, resulting in a less than satisfactory outcome. Bottom line: go up to altitude and try it yourself, with a CFI aboard if you prefer. Then you won’t need to worry about the recommendation. [Disclaimer: if the POH for your specific aircraft says something different, the POH takes precedence over this note. Certain C-170s are reported to have such a prohibition, because they exhibit “exciting” descents in this configuration.
