ORIGINAL: MormonMike
had nothing but problems with it being very difficult to take-off and land because of that short coupled fuse. It flew great other than that. This one may cause me to re-consider and go for the 120 size if the flying reports show positive qualitys. MM
I think Decathlons have gained an unfair reputation for being difficult to take off because the tail isn't allowed to come up quickly enough on takeoff but the elevator stick is held back to prevent possible nose-over.
The wing is quite large as compared with the stabiliser so it is basically flying before the tail is allowed to come up. I think the trick is to advance the throttle quite gently and allow the tail to rise as soon as she starts rolling.
I have another plane that is quite short coupled, or the Corby Starlet and the trick was always to allow the tail to come up straight away and then keep her straight with the rudder.
Pitts Special also has the same issue. Strangely enough, when you practice on something like RealFlight, this is a phenomen they have not done a good job of simulating. You can ram the throttle forward very quickly without any tendency to nose over.
This Decathlon probably won't be all that different, hard to say through.