Bob,

You can check out some of the "fixes," partial fixes, and (partial) solutions we used in trying to tame the squirrely ground handling of the Pac Aero Clipped-wing Monocoupes. You'll see there are always a few guys who say they have zero problems with theirs. I'm always amazed that they feel the need to stop in and say that. loved mine, but it was a constant struggle on the ground. Landed pretty well, though.

One thing that seemed to make a lot of difference was when we reduced the rudder throw to no more than 3/8" on low rates when taking off. The large rudder was TOO effective and small movements caused big changes when accelerating. The Stearman has a big ol' rudder, so you might need to reduce the throw on low rates for takeoffs.

On every plane I have, I remove the stock steering gear and use a Sullivan Steerable Gear. On my Stearman, I used the one that matched the Bipe's weight, but it clearly wasn't up to the task. Wobbled whenever I'd lay hand on the turtledeck. I stepped up to the next weight class of Sullivan Gear, and now it's looking good.

Standard recommendations on Bipe handling: Keep the elevator pulled back (keeps the steering wheel on the ground) until it starts rolling, then ease off as you go. You HAVE to let off on the elevator as it goes, or this plane and all its magnificent 1440 sq. inches of wing will take off prematurely, Without airspeed to keep it going straight and true, you'll torque-roll (prop turns the plane), ground-loop (not enough air going over the surfaces and you're trying to climb anyway), stall-snap-roll, whatever it can do to you. Get the airspeed up, then ease it off the ground. These are MUCH different from the smaller models, and more like their big full-scale cousins in that they need finesse to get around on the ground. Once you let off on the elevator, the tail will lift and fly before the plane is ready to. Once it's flying, you'll know you can begin to g-e-n-t-l-y pull back again, and let it climb into the air and gain airspeed, and THEN start to go for altitude. They're different than other planes, but that's the beauty of a bipe. Once you get used to it, it'll quickly become your favorite. They have a majesty all their own.

Also, on a bigger plane with a big engine, advance the throttle more slowly, it doesn't need it all to take off, and a lot of power all at once can have the prop turning the plane.

Hope that this is some help to you. Some of this stuff will be obvious to you, but to a newbie on a nice bipe like this, it can be a big help.


~ Jim ~