tail dragger
 

can anyone tell me the easiest way to get a tail dragger off the ground?

RE: tail dragger
 

Practise, Practise, Practise,,, Oh and a little right rudder ;)

RE: tail dragger
 

Rudder control.

RE: tail dragger
 

Apply throttle slowly ( engine torque turns a plane ) and use right rudder

RE: tail dragger
 

Tail draggers handle a lot better in the grass.

RE: tail dragger
 

Warbirds take a bunch more finesse than aerobatic type models as they have proportionately smaller rudders, lots less rudder deflection and lots less rudder authority at takeoff and landing speeds as they accelerate or slow down through a certain speed range. Lots trickier to get those on and off a runway. Aerobats just need an appropriate amount of attention on your part and some right rudder as they have much shorter takeoff runs required and much more authority from the rudder.

RE: tail dragger
 

Hand launch? You just have to learn to use your left thumb more than just for throttle.

RE: tail dragger
 

All my planes are tail draggers, warbirds and 3D planes. The easiest for all and absolute for some is to hold full up elevator and steer with rudder while gaining speed. Slowly release elevator when it looks like the plane has enough speed to take off. At some point the tail will rise - called rotation. When the tail is horizontal and the plane has gained enough speed it will rise off ground/grass. Feeding in up elevator at this point is similar to feeding elevator when flying a trike gear since the tail of the trike gear is already horizontal. Too much elevator will make the plane climb off steeply so go lightly.

RE: tail dragger
 

Hold a bit of up elevator to help keep the model from nosing over while it builds up speed during the take off run and the quicker you can transition from low to high power the better, plus using a low rate setting on rudder for take offs aids in getting the model to track straight.

Karol

RE: tail dragger
 

You hold up elevator to start your taxi ..It holds the tail down so you can steer and keeps you from noseing over..You get your self lined up straight holding up elevator and advance the throttle , as you begin to pick up speed you release the up elevator and the tail will lift off the ground .At this point you will be steering with the rudder and you need to be ready to correct your direction a bit...but be gentle...Now you ease back on the stick and you are in the air... It takes a bit of pratice to do it rite but no more than taking off with trike gear..just a bit different...I find it easier in some ways.. (Edit . Each airplane is different also...Cubs can be a bit harder because they are short and ground loop easily...Tigers are easier because they are a bit longer )

RE: tail dragger
 

Make sure you have "toe in". If the main gear wheels are pointed outward, it will make the plane more likely to ground loop.

RE: tail dragger
 

Exellent toe in tip...

RE: tail dragger
 

Pick it up with two hands?

(sorry, couldn't resist....all good info has been given)

RE: tail dragger
 

All good advice above. Another consideration is that the amount of movement of the tail wheel should be less than the movement of the rudder. The tail wheel in contact with the ground provides for a higher degree of positive steering control that the rudder does with just air moving over it, particularly at take off speeds. For instance, if the rudder is set to move +/- 25 degrees, the tail wheel should be set to move only about 2/3s as much or about 16 degrees. This way, when the plane rotates and the tail wheel lifts off the ground, the rudder authority is comparable to what the tail wheel authority was. If the plane still yaws left upon rotation, reduce the tail wheel throw some more. If the plane yaws right, increase the tail wheel throw. Unfortunately, many tail dragger ARFs don't provide for separately adjustable tail wheels which make them unnecessarily unruly on take off.

RE: tail dragger
 

In regards to the rudder , Iv'e found that if you hold the rudder untill you see the plane turn then you probably have overcorected. I like to add  and then release the rudder stick in short blips. And not alot of rudder, just a little. As your ground speed increases you will be able to relax your control a little and plane will smooth out and go straighter.  It is really easy to over correct  and get squirly and/ or ground loop.

RE: tail dragger
 

TOE IN!  <div>             TOE IN!</div><div>                          TOE IN!</div><div>
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RE: tail dragger
 

Yes to all the previous advise. Also, don't be afraid to abort your take off if it gets too squirrely. If you find you are chasing it almost out of control early in your take off run, cut the power, get the tail back down, taxi back to your start position and give it another go. Same as you should do a go around if your landing approach is not right, so should you abort your take off if early on it goes bad. No shame in second trys if they are successful. If you're going to abort a take off it must be early, before flying speed is reached or the runway is used up, or by then your committed and must fly it no matter what (not good). Feeding power in slowly as you steer the plane with the rudder will help keep it going where you want. Don't slam the throttle forward quickly, gently continue to feed in more power as the plane picks up speed. Be smooth! And if you're flying off pavement with a crosswind all this becomes even more important and all that practice you did pays off.

RE: tail dragger
 

Stand behind the plane and take it off in the grass, practice this and you will get the hang of it
quicker than you  think. The plane will be a little easier to handle in the grass.</p>

RE: tail dragger
 

I have never had to hold up elevator on my warbirds when taking off.  Seems like a recipe for disaster as you might get airborne and then hit stall speed.  If balanced correctly my planes tails leave the ground at speed and run on the mains.  A little up sporatically might be needed to prevent nosing over on grass but ive never had to hold positive up till I reach flying speed.   As for steering when your are accellerating down the runway, rudder controls the tracking.  slow enough to have the tial wheel down or fast to the point the plane is only riding on the mains.  Ruddder rudder rudder.   I have also found that accelerating too slowly makes tracking hard.  What works for me is a brisk throttle advance to about half throttle and then to full.  Not accellerating so fast that you cant correct in time with rudder but no so slow that ground handling is a difficult. 

RE: tail dragger
 

Some planes are more prone to nosing over than others. Up elevator at the start of the takeoff roll keeps the tail planted until such speed is reached that nosing over is no longer a worry.

RE: tail dragger
 

grosbeak's technique explanation is correct. Doing this is often necessary if flying off grass. Tall or thick grass and small diameter main wheels makes it even more necessary. Each case is different as how much up elevator (pushing the tail wheel down) is required, and yes you must release all or most of the up elevator well before flying speed is reached so as to not take off into a stall situation. On paved runways little or none of this technique is needed.