ORIGINAL: zucaro
My planes run around in circles when I try to take off. I tried bending the wheels to compensate for the motor torque, but it didnt help. I have both tail dragger and nose wheel, neither has servo steering. How do you fix this?? Also I tried a flying wing with a edf-50 ducted fan , but it has so little thrust I can walk faster than it taxies. I tried changing the motor to a edf-55-150 and then to a edf55-300h, but still poor power. Are these cheap ducted fans just junk, or am I doing something wrong????
unfortunately, you're probably doing something wrong.
being a small electric, if there is no servo steering than it is very likely that it's not meant to take off from the ground (ROG). you'll have to hand launch it. also, you know to always take off into the wind, right? just have someone help you hand launch it. best is to find someone experienced because i've seen people hand launch their foamies into a hundred peices
just go toward the wind, give it full power and gently toss it level to the ground. don't try to launch it UP. just level. i usually give the elevator trim a few clicks of up elevator so that the plane climbs after you release it. some planes are just unflyable to the beginner though. post a picture, we'll tell you.
as for the duct fan. duct fan these days are amazing but you have to do it right. first, make sure that you have enough voltage. if you're trying to fly a duct fan with a 7.4V battery, it's likely not to work. get some more volts. but post a picture first so we know what you're trying to fly. duct fan flying wings aren't suppose to taxi at all!!! hand launch them. duct fans in general need some speed to start working since they have very little torque. so you'll have to get them to speed before they really start to come into their own.
agexpert - free wheeling tailgear isn't as uncommon as you think. a lot of big 3D planes don't have them. but you really have to have a big rudder if you don't have differential braking. did you know that some taildraggers don't even have wheels?
this is one plane advertised as "easy to fly" that most beginners can't. i had a fun time trying to make it fly. it also has a fixed plastic tail gear and i would nuts to try to get this to takeoff from the ground! hand launch everytime.