Well, I've noticed that this subject has been covered before but there is conflicting suggestions on how to curb this "loop" process. As I watch some people at the field with WWII type aircraft it's full throttle and yank back on the stick, ya the airplane gets off the ground but not very realistic looking. Some contend that the tail has to lift add a little right rudder and your off and flying. Heck with the models being so over powered these days the tail just from the prop wash is flying before the ship travels it's own length. What actually produces this problem? Is it the touque from the engine, I thought this but I've tried to ease in with the throttle and the "loop" occurs. Do I ease the throttle, add down elevator and a little right rudder, I can't believe it's this difficult, I would perfer to shed the trike gear but I can't get the process down, I've bought a Hanger 9 Camel (which I hear is a handfull) but I'm frustrated with the "loop" and not wanting to give up.

E G D
To make it short landing gear alignment,( slight toe in) freedom of movement of wheels ( no drag on axles) and use of rudder. Then make sure tail wheel has a slite angle rearward to stop the bounce and torque action of the rear tire

A forward landing gear as on WW1 models puts a lot of the weight behind the gear which causes the tail to want to lead. Best to fly off grass. With other models throttle up slowly to give yourself time to correct the swing with rudder or tail wheel.

Elk, as Live Wire said, make sure that your main wheels are pointed IN just slightly.

More important, make sure they are not pointing OUT. That will guarantee a ground loop

Don

I'll give this a "go" here. First of all, if you're interested in flying any type of Warbird, I'd highly recommend visiting this site [link=http://www.rcwarbirds.com/Techniques/Technigues.htm]RC Warbirds - Techniques[/link]. There's a TON of information of flying warbirds and if you scroll down into the "Flight Operations" section of the page I think you'll get a detailed answer to your question.

In my experience that's a recipe for Warbird disaster. You need to develop enough groundspeed to first bring up the tailwheel while managing rudder to keep the aircraft straight. This is a gradual progression of throttle, not a "jam it open" kind of event. If your takeoff doesn't look "scale" then you're probably not doing it correctly.


I'm guessing here, but it sounds to me like you're taking off before the plane is ready or you're giving it too much elevator too soon, or possibly both. Yes, there's a torque factor that causes the plane to Yaw, but the severity is somewhat airframe dependant. What type of Airplane are you flying? It would help to know plane, engine and prop. Don't give up; you're correct its not that difficult, once you get the hang of it. Heck, I'll bet there was a time when you thought riding a bike was difficult, right?

-MA

This is a problem with all tail dragger type aircraft. (especially full scale) When the tail wheel leaves the ground, the nose of the airplane goes down. This causes gyroscopic precession on the propeller, thus causing the airplane th yaw to the left since the force applied to a gyroscope is realized exactly 90 degrees clockwise to the force. Ex. The top of the prop is pushed foreward, so 90 degrees clockwise puts that force right at the 3 o' clock position. This causes the airplane to yaw to the left. When the bottom of the prop is pushed back, exactly 90 degrees clockwise puts the force at the 9 o' clock position, pushing backwards on the prop causing the airplane to yaw to the left.

Here's a pic so you can better understand this concept:
http://www.free-online-private-pilot...ising-tail.gif

Another force in action here is called p-factor. This is when the rotation of the plane momentarily causes the descending propeller blade to produce more thrust than the ascending blade, causing the airplane to roll to the left. This force is less apparent on small r/c craft than it is on full scale craft. You can experiment with p-factor by flying straight and level, and throwing the stick forward very hard. Don't let go. (mind you, you must have enough altitude to recover from a steep dive before performing this procedure) A well designed craft with a small prop will barely be affected, while a light weight craft with a large, slow flyer prop will be adversely affected.

My advise is to move the throttle stick to about half throttle, and let the plane gain some speed. Push the right stick forward and bring the tail up. Then add full power while releasing the right stick. Once your plane has gained enough airspeed, it will lift off the deck on it's own.

Do not fly like this in bumpy grass, as you are likely to bring the tail up, and the prop will smack the ground since the plane is bumping all over the place. Only fly like this on a smooth flat runway.



It IS Rocket Science!

One thing that helps quite a bit for me, but detracts from the scale like manner of many warbirds, is to increase the height of the tail ( wheel ).

The idea is to level the plane a bit more so that it tracks somewhat similiarly during the transition to the point that the tail wheel lifts off.

Then adjust the tail wheel to make the plane track very SLIGHTLY to the right when pushed forward with all of the controls centered.

The more level angle coupled with the tail tracking will offset the yaw until the rudder becomes effective.

I've done this at the field for people who have problems at takeoff, much to their surprize it helps quite a bit.

You can also mix in a little rudder with the throttle when the gear is down.

To All: Wow, thanks for the response, I'm back out today to try all the advise, I'm determined to get it right.
Don
Elk Grove, California

if you fail miserably, you can always try to rig some tricycle gear on your plane.