troyp

Well Ive made it to stage 2 which was to practice with my plane just taxiing it around on the ground. I was giving it full throttle and then just trying to keep the plane straight for 10 metres or so and then cutting the throttle and slowing down. I have a couple of questions though.
1. I found it hard to keep the plane straight whilst it was gaining speed down the runway. I found that I was weaving from left to right no matter how slight I moved the rudder/front wheel controls. Is there any trick to this or is it merely practice?
2. I keep pulling the throttle too far back and shutting down the engine especially when the plane is far away from me and I cannot here it. I have adjusted the screw on the rc unit so I am able to get the full throttle movement matched to the full movement of the throttle control (where as before the engine would shut down at the middle position on the rc unit.) If I was to set the adjustment screw so the engine would not shut down at the fully back position on the stick then I will not be able to shut the engine down when I want to. Is there any secret to this? How is it normally set up.
3. I am running my engine rich as it is new but have noticed a fair bit of oil is coming out all over the side of the plane. I have now run two tanks through the engine so could I now lean it up a bit or better to leave it for another tank or so.

Thanks,

Troy.

TerrellFlyer

1.adj. the front wheel so it has very little movement,and the rudder at min. throw,lots of practice.
2.do not adj. the stop screw to where you can't kill the engine, adj the trim control on the radio to down position kills the engine,as you incress the trim control the engine idles faster
3.don 't lean the engine to much ,2 tanks isn't much break in, oil on the plane is normal,kind of like lipstick on a lady.
Have a goodun,John

edge_fanatic

My Feedback: (4)

John:

1. Is it a taildragger or a tricycle gear (front nosewheel)? If the former, perhaps your tailwheel isn't quite aligned with the rudder, and when the tail comes off the ground, you are now flying with rudder, thus the weaving effect. If a tricycle gear, I agree that you might have too much throw.

2. You should adjust the throttle settings (ATV) so that when your trim is 3/4 down and the stick is at the bottom, the engine shuts down. then, by raising trim to neutral (or one or two clicks higher) the engine will idle when the stick is bottomed out. This way, you have control to shut the engine down using trim alone. (when the stick is low, of course).

3. Set the mixture on the rich side of peak. You don't say whether you have a two stroke or four stroke engine. If a two stroke, tune by ear and set the high needle rich of peak. The low needle should be set for smooth transition. If a four stroke, the high needle should be set using a tach. The low needle is set for smooth transition.

4. (You didn't have a #4...hehe) Get to a field, and find an instructor. Your plane might last longer this way...

Good luck!

Fastsky

For a trike gear plane check how much the steering wheel moves when you give full left and right. The wheel only needs to move about 1/4" from centre for good steering response. If it is much more than that, reduce the movement by moving the control rod further out on the control arm of the steering wheel. MAke sure that the wheel is straight when the rudder trim is at neautral position. It may take a wider turn to turn around at slow speeds but the takeoff run will be much easier.

tmproff

My Feedback: (5)

I have always had good luck with just keeping a little pressure on the rudder for which way it tends to turn on take off. Dont assume that it will track straight hands off during take-off, and yes the more you do it, the easier it gets. I agree about using the trim on your transmitter to keep the engine running. AND IT WOULD BE VERY INTELLIGENT OF YOU TO TRY TO FLY WITH AN EXPERIENCED PILOT. For one thing, when the plane takes off, you will have to trim it to fly straight. As for someone that is taking off for their first time, just keeping the plane in the air is going to be challenging and adding in the stress of trimming can be a tad much. At least try to let someone take it up first and trim it out for you. Your plane will last much longer.

troyp

My plane is a tricycle gear with a front nose wheel so I will try to adjust the throw by moving the control rod closer to the centre of the servo arm. I cannot adjust it at the other end because there is no provision for this as it just hooks through the steering arm.
As for the throttle control I will set it up as you mention in your post edge_fanatic. Its a great idea, thanks for the tip. As for number 4, I live in the remote North of Australia and unfortunately do not have any instructors or clubs in this area so am going it alone with the help from people on this forum.

Thanks again,

Troy.

tmproff

My Feedback: (5)

Word of advice: Use full throttle to get off the ground, but after you get some altitude, cut the throttle back to half. It will make the plane much more manageable and easier to get the plane trimmed out. And much more important, get a r/c flight simulator.

TopShelf

My Feedback: (4)

Here is another nose wheel steering tip. While on the ground, keep a small amount of down elevator to help push the nose wheel onto the ground and improve control. As you get ready to take off, you will obviously need to slowly change to a slight amount of up elevator.

Oregon Craig

Troyp, keep posting this stuff. I am finding it fascinating to follow your progress. I had the luxury of a nearby club, an even nearer-by field, and great instructors. I think you can do it, but please let us know what happens when you get the nerve to take it up!

I always just expect the plane to pull left on takeoff roll, so I am ready to put in some right rudder. Very little is needed.

Craig Cook - Oregon

troyp

Thanks everyone for the replys and very helpful advice. Glad you are interested in my progress Craig and yes I will make sure I let you know how I go on my maiden flight. Although that could be awhile yet. I live next door to my work (I manage a transport company) and we have a large bitumen area so have been going over their every evening after work and practicing until dark. When I do decide to take it up in the air I will travel just out of town further up the coast to an area that is flat and lots of open space.

Regards,

Troy.

lslewis

My Feedback: (2)

Hi Troy! We have communicated before.

I just made my first flight Thursday. Great excitement but very hard on my nerves even with an Instructor.

The simulator was a fantastic help, without it I doubt I could have kept my plane in the air for more than a few minutes or less. My message is; Use your simulator and practice, practice and then practice some more.

Good Luck

vegas mossie

Are you gunning the engine to full power? Try easing into the throttle as you steer down the runway. The roll out is a little longer, but I find it easier to control this way. Also, I use my ailerons while turning on the ground. Gives the plane a little extra control. Good luck Loren

troyp

Gday Larry,
Thanks for the advice, I will keep practicing on my simulator. I have made sure that I am not going to be to hasty and just take it up into the air before I have had lots of ground practice controlling the plane.

Regards

Troy.

klumsy_kid

My Feedback: (14)

Hi Troy,

Just one question on your nose wheel set-up. You say that the control rod just hooks on the wheel arm. Normally I would expect the arm on the nose wheel to have several holes that the control rod can be hooked into. Normally you go through the hole farthest out on the arm. Could you drill a hole out further on the arm on your nose wheel and so cut down the travel? Your setup at the innermost point at the servo is exactly where you need to be.

The problem is that planes really would rather fly than roll along on the ground.

Another point that I haven't seen anyone suggest yet is that you can help tracking on the ground by setting up the main gear wheels so that they toe-in slightly toward the nose wheel. You can toe each wheel in one-eighth inch or so. Also, give them a bit of camber so that the tops of the main gear wheels are slightly farther apart than the bottoms, again, by an eighth of an inch or so.

I find that this really helps tracking.

Good luck with your plane and getting solo'ed. It can be done, but it will take a good bit of work. Simulator practice really helps.

Take care and let us know how things are going.

klumsy_kid

My Feedback: (14)

Hi Troy,

Just one question on your nose wheel set-up. You say that the control rod just hooks on the wheel arm. Normally I would expect the arm on the nose wheel to have several holes that the control rod can be hooked into. Normally you go through the hole farthest out on the arm. Could you drill a hole out further on the arm on your nose wheel and so cut down the travel? Your setup at the innermost point at the servo is exactly where you need to be.

The problem is that planes really would rather fly than roll along on the ground.

Another point that I haven't seen anyone suggest yet is that you can help tracking on the ground by setting up the main gear wheels so that they toe-in slightly toward the nose wheel. You can toe each wheel in one-eighth inch or so. Also, give them a bit of camber so that the tops of the main gear wheels are slightly farther apart than the bottoms, again, by an eighth of an inch or so.

I find that this really helps tracking.

Good luck with your plane and getting solo'ed. It can be done, but it will take a good bit of work. Simulator practice really helps.

Take care and let us know how things are going.

Dago Red

My Feedback: (11)

listen to every thing klumsy_kid says. I know this guy. very smart. and can be knowledgeable. Sometimes he can slip one past you. lol. I fly with him.

troyp

Klumsy_Kid,

Yes the servo arm does have more than one hole along its length. So I moved the arm closest to the servo to give it the smallest amount of travel. I havent had a chnace to try it out yet. (Fathers day here in Aust today so had to spend the day out with the kids.)
I will certainly give my main wheels some slight camber and toe them in slightly also.

Thanks,

Troy.

GooberVA

I found that when I was practicing ground taxi-ing , that it was helpful to remove the main wing and just taxi around with the fuselage. I didn't have to fear the plane taking off on me.

Ground speed is a whole lot faster without the wing, so once the wing was back on it felt like things were easier.

tmproff

My Feedback: (5)

Smart idea to get used to the controls...Congrats, you just turned your plane into an R/C car

Dago Red

My Feedback: (11)

thats funny, very funny

GooberVA

You have to see it to really appreciate how funny it is. It looks like a rocket car, just be sure to leave yourself enough room at the end of the runway, because it has a loooooong rollout.

Hey, it might even make an interesting event when the winds are too high to fly: Goober Races

tmproff

My Feedback: (5)

Heh, give it full rudder and gun the engine, I bet you can whip the tail around pretty good

vegas mossie

Better put a roll bar on it first ...