As a student pilot, I did a lot of reading when I couldn’t fly, including the popular aviation magazines and whatever else I could find laying around the FBO. A little knowledge can be a bad thing, of course, and so it was with my understanding of something called a “missed approach.” The relevant article discussed and emphasized the need to ensure the airplane was properly configured to attain its best climb performance and clear obstacles at the end of the runway and, perhaps, those further away from the airport.
At some point in reading the long-forgotten article, I got it into my head that leaving the wing flaps deployed as the airplane accelerated was a good thing, at least until clearing the trees at the runway’s end was assured. I found the discussion intriguing and, although I had covered and performed go-arounds with my instructor, had never heard of a missed approach.
