Flaps increase lift and reduce stall speed, allowing the wing to produce the same lift at a lower airspeed.

• A. Flaps
• B. Slats
• C. Ailerons
• D. Spoilers

Answer: (A)

Extending flaps increases the wing’s effective camber (and sometimes its area), which raises the lift coefficient for a given airfoil. With a higher lift coefficient, the wing can produce the same amount of lift at a lower airspeed. Since stall happens when the wing can no longer produce enough lift at a high enough angle of attack, increasing the lift capability at lower speeds lowers the stall speed. That’s why flaps let you fly slower while still generating the necessary lift, especially during takeoff and landing. Slats also boost high-lift but are more about delaying stall at high angles of attack, while ailerons control roll and spoilers reduce lift; they don’t provide the same low-speed lift increase in the same way flaps do.