Aircraft flaps and slats

[brusier]

Here's what I know from basic tech school: Flaps = trailing dge and slats = leading edge. ?Flaps and slats aid in both take-off and landing. I'm just not sure how they do so. My guess is that during takeoff, the combo increases the wing surface area thus allowing lift at lower airspeeds. During landing, the slats keep the aircraft from falling out of the sky at low airspeeds by increasing lift while the flaps create drag about the wing thus slowing the aircraft for safe landing speeds. First, is this accurate and second, what is the function of leading edge flaps?

[russ_watters]

In short, flaps (leading or trailing) increase the surface area and camber of the wing to increase lift. Slat allow for higher angles of attack without stall by keeping airflow attached to the wing. I'm sure wiki has in depth articles on both...

[Swansea_J]

Indeed. Here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flap_(aircraft)

[FredGarvin]

Extending a flap or slat also adjusts the angle of attack while allowing the airframe to remain in the same orientation in space. In other words, without extending a flap or slat, tho only way to adjust the AOA would be to pitch up or pitch down the aircraft.

http://www.myaeromodelling.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/cf1.jpg