RCU Forums - View Single Post - Help!!! - Crashing on takeoff and cleaning the mess
Old 10-31-2004 | 04:03 PM
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
Default RE: Help!!! - Crashing on takeoff and cleaning the mess

It is built per the instructions. Has ugly 10.5deg dihedral. In order to fly off you hands well, it has to have either a strong engine or a low wing loading. Since wing loading is not nondimensional, smaller airplanes need to have lower wing loading than larger ones to retain approximately the same behavior. So my 23 oz/ft^2 is equivalent to 27 for a 40 size trainer. And the engine: LA25 for 4 lbs is not much. So even when the chief instructor launches it, it sinks to 1-2 feet above the ground before it starts gaining altitude. Of-course there is not problem in windy days (when I launch into the wind). SO it leaves little room for error. On the other hand, taking off grass is easy now.