I use a free-floating tail wheel on all of my tail draggers. I hate the ones that have the steering wire pushed into the rudder. One medium to hard landing and the rudder is torn apart. I just removed the control wire and let the tail wheel run freely without directional control. I have NEVER had a problem with takeoff's with this setup. I just add slow inputs to the throttle (well, what is slow.. the planes pick up speed quite rapidly) at the very beginning of the roll, and push throttle forward in one slow smooth operation and steer using the rudder. The rudder becomes effective almost immediately from the engine thrust/prop wash and a little rudder overcomes engine torque, and up it goes, straight as an arrow.

Perhaps it takes some practice to do that, but that's the way I learned to fly and I've had very few problems.

I did, however, react to a problem by using the wrong hand which resulted in a totally destroyed Venus 40 but that was my brain malfunction not the plane [sm=cry_smile.gif]

DS.