flaps question for full scale

[Mike C]

I was just reading another post about flaps and it got me to thinking about how they work. To my understanding on full scale aircraft they enable the plane to fly below the normal stall speed. Do they work by increasing the low pressure on the top of the wingwhich creates more lift or does the downward angle of the flaps trap air under the wing longer maybe creating a type of fake ground effect? Or am I totally off here and need to go to bed and quit thinking about things like this? Do Fowlers flaps work better than flaps that deflect straight down? I figure that this doesn't matter much on models but of course full scale is different.
Thanks in advance.

[vintage1]

HOW they work is a question for those who have done the course..

WHAT they DO, is to trade a lower stall speed, and usually a less nose up attituide than would have been the case (i.e. they increase gemoetric angle of attack) for massive increases in drag.

They increase wing curvature, and sometimes wing area, to do this.

Various slots and slats may be employed to increase local airflow velocity to prevent localised stalling.

[Mike C]

Thanks for the reply.