The headline to the latest video in the FAA’s 57 Seconds to Safer Flying series says it all: “Fly the aircraft first during go-arounds.”
“A go-around maneuver is intended to help avoid a bad landing, but some are not successful,” the video notes.
It also notes that go-around procedures are not the same for all aircraft, so pilots should practice with a flight instructor and “learn about focusing on flying the aircraft first during go-arounds.”
Based on comments I have heard from other pilots over the years, I think it is often believed that flap retraction on a go-around is super critical. I’d say usually it isn’t. Before I soloed a student, we would include a go-around or two with a simulated flap failure (a Skyhawk has electric flaps and I have had flap failures in them). I.e. we would climb back to pattern altitude with full flaps. In our location, we were close to sea level, with two people, less than full tanks, and normal temp. It’s critical to pitch for the correct speed (Vx/Vy range) and with full flaps the nose is lower than where it is for a normal no-flap climbout – the correct pitch and speed is critical and probably the most important difference to master. We would normally see a surprising climb rate of 500fpm, so my student would understand that a flap failure under those conditions was no reason for any panic. Of course conditions can vary a lot. When I flew at Leadville, CO, elev 9934, they never approached with more than 10° of flaps, because they knew that if they needed to go around and there were a flap failure, the airplane would absolutely not climb with more than 10° of flaps. The best procedure for the airplane and conditions in which you fly can be determined with an instructor in the training area.