Greetings,

I have been flying solo for about a month, today I asked one of the instructors to walk me through aileron rolls and loops.

Loops were no biggie, however, even he had trouble getting the LT-40 to roll.

When I tried it, it was very slow and once the plane got inverted, it went into a dive. I realize part of this problem is the dihedral (and my inexperience), however, everyone agrees that the ailerons are not getting the job done.

They are sealed, so I know its not that. What else might be causing this or could I do to perk it up?

GB

I have a Eaglet with a 28 on it and it is the sametried movin the CG , installed dual aileron servos. the wing only has 2" dihedral.
does fine on everthing else. It will roll better with rudder, but , it is still pretty sick.

Hi Ghostbear,
If you're going to do aerobatics,move the cg to the aft of the plane,do it in 1/4 inch increments, to much and it'll be to pitch sensitive to control,also if you have dual rates increase the throw on high rates, if not be carefull on adding to much,can be tough to handle.Inverted the LT planes will need more down in the elevator,but not only will they fly inverted, they will climb and do a mediocre spin.
Have a goodun,John.

Increase the aileron throws by moving the connector on the torque rods close to the wing.

Flatfour has the right idea. I did that exact thing for a student on his LT-40. Once he was over his dumb thumbs, we screwed the control rods down closer to the aileron. It still took a small amount of up and down elevater to complete a level roll, but it rolls very nice just the same. no moving of the CG necessary.

good luck!

FW

Hi Gostbear,
screwing the control rods down closer to the control surface is an invitation to flutter, moving the rods farther out on the servo arms is a better method,up and down is controlled by elevator ,not ailerons and if the plane is nose heavy there will not be enough elevator control while inverted,some people crank up the ailerons so the roll is fast,trying to hide the wollering
effect,practice slow rolls as if the plane is following a stright line,or flying on the string.
Have a goodun,John

I think a slow roll is a good way to practice adding down elevator to keep the plane from diving. I moved the connecting rods closure to the end of the torque rods and never a problem with flutter. I wouldn't mess with the CG, remember its a trainer.

I had a problem with my lt-40 not having enough travel because the holes created on the already put together wing (an ARF) were not big enough. The part of the aileron horns that stick down to connect to the servo, that hole I had to make bigger with an x-acto knife so that I could give the ailerons more throw. Otherwise they will bind and just wear out the servo.

Your roll problem could also be caused in part by adverse yaw. If your ailerons have equal throw up and down, the down aileron will have more drag than the up one which tends to pull the wing back with the up aileron wing moving forward. Looking at the plane from the top it would be a twisting motion, with the nose wanting to go left in a right turn, and vice versa. The effect is much the same as if you applied rudder in that direction, which is opposite of the way you want to roll. Coordinated rudder, in the same direction as your ailerons can overcome this and help perform a much better roll. The rudder corrects the yaw the down aileron is trying to cause. It often helps to have differential on the ailerons, with more up movement than down... sometimes twice as much is needed, depending on the wing used. I realize this may not be your problem, but I've seen it lots of times. Good luck!

I agree with crosswind. I have a Kadet LT-40 and the ailerons are slowed down considerably... I often find myself doing slow rolls with having to use a lot of down elevator to keep the roll from descending. A couple of weeks ago I decided to see what effect the rudder would have on the roll, and it payed off. Once I tried it with the rudder and aileron, and the roll is so much faster. The clevises that connect to the servo arm are all the way in. The nylon horn that the clevis snaps into is 3/16in down from the top of the torque rod. It may take a little getting use to, but using rudder and aileron together will help your rolls. I find it easier to roll to the right, because of the engine torque pulling the plane to the left.

Hope I helped!

-Brian

Try what guys refer to as a full house. Snap the ailerons and the rudder in the same direction at the same time. My Sturdy Birdy II rolls quickly. When I use just ailerons, it requires LOTS of down elevator in the inverted part of the roll. Using the rudder and ail, doesn't require much. Also, bring the nose up just a little before you roll, I've found this to help ( a guy at my club suggested it ).

I've also found inverted flight to be easy on a trainer. Remember, the ailerons work the same whether the plane is inverted or not...

Give yourself altitude first, then start a roll with ailerons and don't be afraid to push the elvevator down!, then fly upside down for minutes at a time. It's fun and sharpens skills.

-Dan

Move your CG back to the rear of the main spar.
Add 3/4 to full throttle hold a little down in order to maintain altitude and build airspeed, pull the nose up 10 degrees then apply full left or right rudder and aileron at the same time in the same direction. when the plane is close to the inverted position apply down elevator, as the plane starts to roll out get rid of the elevator continue rudder and aileron untill wings are level. Timing is everything.
The LT-20 and 40 are capable of rather nice rolling circles if the planes are set-up right. Practice Practice Practice.

Hope this helps, Happy Rolling