I am a new flyer with one season under my belt.
I have a tower trainer .40-- 55"wing span and a elect top wing 28" wing span The sky stroler out of AMA mag Model Aviater. the trainer was a kit. And the elect was scratch built. I love to build
planes. Both fly good. But on take off, and landing I have to fight both planes to keep them
straight down the runway. Am I doing something wrong? If so can some one give me a detailed
walk through take off. As in use of the rudder ect. Both planes are tail dragers. They seem to
be set up right to me because they fly great.
Thanks....

Tail dragger take off is fairly simple apply light down up elavtor slowly advace trotal and give a little rudder to correct engine torque once speed starts to build realase up elvator (up was to give the back wheel traction but now that you have speed the rudder works) give a little down elvator to keep it on the ground till you know you have more then enough speed and gentailly pull back dont try to yank back as hard as you can or you will stall the plane and well you know what happenes next.

Make sure you have toe-in on the wheels. If they are slightly pointing outward, the plane will never track straight.
As long as there are no other pilots flying, stand directly behind the plane as you begin rollout. This will help you make corrections before it's totally out of control.

Micki:

I'm sure there is a RC Club close to you. You may be a member of one.

It is very difficult to intruct anyone about flying over the internet. You need to get with someone with experience
who can help you: 1. Make sure the plane is setup right and 2. observe the takeoff charastics of the aircraft and
then they can give you good instruction.

It may be something very simple in the tail gear setup. Find someone with experience at your local club. They
will be more than glad to help you.

Jim
In God We Trust

1st, make sure the wheels have some toe-in, 1/32" - 1/16" is plenty.

For take off, I do the following:

Hold full up elevator to taxi to the take off position.

Reduce the engine to idle and release the elevator.

SLOWLY advance the throttle - a count of 5 from idle to full throttle is good.

Watch the plane carefully, as soon as the tail begins to lift start feeding in A LITTLE right rudder to compensate for the prop torque. The amount of right rudder will vary by plane.

When the plane is up on the main gear give it A LITTLE up elevator.

Climb out until you are about 30' - 40' off the ground, THEN give the plane A LITTLE aileron to turn in the direction you want. You will be climbing all this time.

Once you are at the altitude you want, reduce the throttle to cruising speed.


For landing:

On my downwind leg I am usually at 1/3 - 1/2 throttle, as I make my 90 degree turn I reduce throttle to about 1/4. The plane should be decending all this time. As I make my turn to final, I reduce the throttle to a little above idle to about 1/8. This will vary depending the type of plane and wind conditions.

Line the plane up with the end of the runway.

Use the ailerons to ONLY keep the wing level and use the RUDDER for any course corrections.

Here is the "fun" part, FLY the plane down until the mains are about 3" (3 inches ) off the ground. Gradually reduce throttle to idle AND at the same time feed in A LITTLE up elevator. What you want to do is bleed off speed, not balloon back up. Gradually increase the amount of up elevator. The plane will settle in to a nice 3 point landing.

This takes some practice, however, most people get the feel for this after one or 2 tries.

Once again thanks for the good info. My wheels do not have toe in. And I will take all the advice to heart.
Thank you. thank you
Tom