Turning radius lesson....  
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Turning radius lesson.... - 7/22/2008 1:39:37 AM   
Popriv


 

Posts: 156
Joined: 5/5/2008
From: bellingham, MA, USA
Status: offline 		I have about 16 flights in on my Aerostar .25
My instructor suggested I check my front wheel by rolling the plane down the driveway.
I was surprised how far off it was. I adjusted the linkage until it rolled straight. This should help my takeoffs.
A simple thing I never thought of. I was not aware how sensitive the front wheel is. rolling it in the driveway I could see how tight it turns.
I also moved to connection to the inner most hole on the servo. this should make it less sensitive....

Funny when I was setting this plane up I was concerned because I though there was not enough turn on the front wheel....

Steve
       Post #: 1

RE: Turning radius lesson.... - 7/22/2008 2:18:24 AM   
Nathan King



Posts: 1468
Joined: 5/29/2007
From: Omaha, NE, USA
Status: offline 		Very common. Most beginners set up their aircraft with way too much movement on the nose gear. Until people learn takeoffs they don't have an appreciation for how an almost imperceptable movement has such a pronounced effect on controllability.


_____________________________

Nate,
WACO Brotherhood #99

(in reply to Popriv)
       Post #: 2

RE: Turning radius lesson.... - 7/22/2008 5:07:48 AM   
Charlie P.



Posts: 2281
Joined: 2/25/2003
From: High Above Upstate, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Yep. You should ALWAYS test roll to make sure rudder neutral rolls straight. Not a good thing to find out that when the nosewheel loses contact with the ground that the rudder wants to yaw the model off course. Set the nose wheel on the furthest out (least responsive) hole of the gear control arm and closest in of the servo. You can usually "override" it with a blip on the throttle to swing the rudder once you get moving, anyway.

_____________________________

Charlie P.
"Gravity is weak but it is persistant" AMA 747089/IMAA 30723

Oh Lord, your earth is so hard and my planes are so frail.

(in reply to Nathan King)
       Post #: 3

RE: Turning radius lesson.... - 7/22/2008 5:54:20 AM   
Campgems


 

Posts: 1928
Joined: 2/18/2006
From: Arroyo Grande, CA, USA
Status: offline 		True. I came to hate trike LG setups. If you lay into the rudder at the end of a roll our, your three points of contact with the runway usually end up being a wing tip, the nose wheel and a prop that is reducing in diameter.

I finally sat up my last nose gear for a maximum of 5 degrees either side of straight. I could do a U turn in about 25 ft with it.

After my crash, I went to a tail drager and have never looked back.

Don

(in reply to Nathan King)
       Post #: 4

RE: Turning radius lesson.... - 7/22/2008 11:52:15 AM   
jetmech05


 

Posts: 1654
Joined: 7/12/2005
From: Jacksonville, FL, USA
Status: offline 		I eyeball the nose gear first...do a few taxi runs before a maiden flight....get airborne, trim, then come home and set the nose gear by rolling it down the driveway...that way if I have to trim the rudder I'm not messing with the steering.

(in reply to Campgems)
       Post #: 5

RE: Turning radius lesson.... - 7/22/2008 12:11:44 PM   
cappaj1



Posts: 486
Joined: 6/21/2008
From: Rochester, NY, USA
Status: online
quote:

ORIGINAL: Popriv

I have about 16 flights in on my Aerostar .25
My instructor suggested I check my front wheel by rolling the plane down the driveway.
I was surprised how far off it was. I adjusted the linkage until it rolled straight. This should help my takeoffs.
A simple thing I never thought of. I was not aware how sensitive the front wheel is. rolling it in the driveway I could see how tight it turns.
I also moved to connection to the inner most hole on the servo. this should make it less sensitive....

Funny when I was setting this plane up I was concerned because I though there was not enough turn on the front wheel....

Steve



Thanks for the tip! I'm building my first airplane right now and will 'roll it down' too to adjust the nose wheel.

_____________________________

-Jim-
Keep thy airspeed up, less the earth come from below and smite thee.

(in reply to Popriv)
       Post #: 6

RE: Turning radius lesson.... - 7/22/2008 5:55:34 PM   
Bob Mitchell


 

Posts: 555
Joined: 3/23/2008
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cappaj1


quote:

ORIGINAL: Popriv

I have about 16 flights in on my Aerostar .25
My instructor suggested I check my front wheel by rolling the plane down the driveway.
I was surprised how far off it was. I adjusted the linkage until it rolled straight. This should help my takeoffs.
A simple thing I never thought of. I was not aware how sensitive the front wheel is. rolling it in the driveway I could see how tight it turns.
I also moved to connection to the inner most hole on the servo. this should make it less sensitive....

Funny when I was setting this plane up I was concerned because I though there was not enough turn on the front wheel....

Steve



Thanks for the tip! I'm building my first airplane right now and will 'roll it down' too to adjust the nose wheel.


Whatever you do, don't adjust the steering by using rudder trim. Adjust the steering with the linkage only. The earlier comment about getting the steering "close", then trimming the rudder in flight and finally making any necessary steering adjustment is right on the money.


_____________________________

Bob Mitchell AMA 903015
H9 Alpha 60/Evolution 61NT, Sig 4* 60/OS 75AX, Futaba 7C 2.4GHz

(in reply to cappaj1)
       Post #: 7

RE: Turning radius lesson.... - 7/30/2008 8:38:36 PM   
TedMo


 

Posts: 386
Joined: 6/11/2006
From: Sun City Center, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Just one more thing be sure the nose gear is giving a right turn when rudder is also. That has been overlooked many times.

(in reply to cappaj1)
       Post #: 8

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