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Old 04-30-2006 | 10:57 AM
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B.L.E.'s Avatar
B.L.E.
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From: Austin, TX
Default RE: taildraggers

The main problem with taildraggers is that the main wheels are ahead of the plane's center of mass, which makes it directionally unstable when rolling on the ground. This is also known as "oversteer" . The more forward the landing gear is, the worse the oversteer is but the less likely the plane is to nose over, so landing gear position is a tradeoff between nosing over or ground looping.

If you have ever ridden in a full scale taildragger, you may have noticed that the pilot used the individual wheel brakes a lot to keep the plane straight during initial part of the take off roll and during the later part of the landing roll. If the plane starts to veer to the right, he steps on the left wheel brake a little in addition to using the rudder to get the plane straight again, until the plane is going fast enough for the rudder to be effective.

Toe in acts like automatic wheel brakes. If the plane yaws to the right, the right wheel is lined up with the direction of travel and it's rolling resistance decreases while the toed in left wheel is scrubbing sideways which increases it's rolling resistance. The increased rolling resistance of the left wheel along with the reduced rolling resistance of the right wheel counteracts the yaw and helps stabilize the plane.

I have found that using those spongy "lite" wheels also helps stabilize taildraggers. Their higher rolling resistance has a stabilizing effect similar to toe in. When the plane goes into a turn on the ground, the inertia of the turn puts the plane's weight on the outside wheel which increases it's rolling resistance while unloading the inside wheel which reduces it's rolling resistance........automatic wheel brakes!

If you are an experienced flyer but new to taildraggers, you may want to do your first few flights on a day when there is a little wind coming straight down the runway, maybe 10 to 15 mph. That way, you will already have enough airspeed for the rudder to be effective at zero ground speed and takeoffs and landings will be a breeze.