failure to maiden
 

Tried to maiden my LT40 today. Bad news is, the plane didnt fly. Good news is, nothing's broken. When the instructor went to take off the plane would veer to the left and then once it hit the grass it would go on its nose. The nose wheel would get turned sideways in the steering arm. Instructor wasnt quite sure why the plane went to the left. He told me to measure and make sure my main wheels were straight. Also, I had moved my receiver and battery back in the plane b/c I thought it was nose heavy. He said he'd rather have it a little nose heavy, so I'll probably move the rx and battery back to the nose. Maybe that will help the steering, and it will go straight down the runway?

We'll give it another shot later this week. Hopefully there will be a little less wind next time. Could be that the wind was blowing the plane to the left.

RE: failure to maiden
 

A good instructor would have gone over the plane with you before the maiden and checked the throws, wheels, CG and such.

It sounds as though the nose wheel is to the left with not enough throw to overcome it in it's current setup. Make sure everything on and centered when you set the nose wheel

RE: failure to maiden
 

I assume that this is your first plane. You should check your throws. I mean make sure that the plane will go in the direction you intend when the stick is moved. Your nose wheel and the rudder should move together. When standing behind the plane, and move the rudder stick to the right, the rudder should deflect to the right and the nose wheel should turn to the right. This sounds simple but it can be confusing when you are initially connecting everything up. If they both move in the same direction but the stick movement is opposite then the servo movement for the rudder must be reversed on the transmitter to correct the problem. If they do not move in the correct direction together then one of the control rods must be moved to the other side of the servo. A tip; The nose wheel doesn't need to move very much so connect it to the inner most hole on the servo arm and the rudder in the outer holes. Further, make SURE everything is neutral when the sticks and the trims are neutral. Good luck..

RE: failure to maiden
 

A little taxi practice without the wing to make sure it tracks straight would be a good idea. Just a little though and keep the exhaust out of the innards by stuffing a cloth loosely into the openig if needed. Make sure plane turns right when right rudder is commanded.

File a flat spot on the nose strut once you know where the screw needs to set. This will keep the arm from slipping on the strut.

RE: failure to maiden
 

Check your nose wheel control linkage. If your linkage pushes for a right turn, and if your linkage is flexible, then the nose wheel will easily flex the linkage and turn left. I have had this happen when I didn't anchor one end of an outer nyrod or if the inner nyrod was too long (too much inner nyrod showing). Try moving your nose wheel and see if it easily moves to the left with the rudder centered. It will be solid trying to turn the nose wheel to the right since at that point it will be pulling against the servo.

This is just a guess based on my experience.

RE: failure to maiden
 

thanks for the tip guys. I'll file a flat spot on the nose wheel wire so it can't turn in the steering arm anymore. I also moved the control rod to the outermost hole on the steering arm, so the wheel shouldnt move as much.

I know there's a bunch of you out there with LT40's. How did they balance? Where did you place your rx and battery? I've got an OS 46ax on mine.

RE: failure to maiden
 

The LT-40 was my trainer which saw me through the flight training and solo stage (without a single crash). FWIW, taxiing was the most difficult portion to master. I wound up with lots of time on the simulator.

As far as balancing the LT-40, start with the CG where the instruction booklet tells you to. That will be on the forward side of the main wing spar. We haven't started to wring ours out yet so the throws are set at their minimum as per instructions. I also have a computer radio with exponential on the primary channels (aileron & elevator). My Futaba 6XAS also has expo on rudder. I installed the battery and RX under the fuel tank with the battery pack forward of the RX. I use a ThunderTiger .46 Pro for power. It is a ball bearing engine like your 46 AX. I found the slight additional engine weight balanced my LT-40 perfectly with no additional ballast. I hate carrying dead weight. You'll appreciate the added power of the .46 - especially when coupled with a lower pitch prop like an 11-5.

http://home.comcast.net/~steve.scott...s/pa210507.jpg

RE: failure to maiden
 

Thanks for the tips pipemajor. Our engines are almost identical in weight, so I'm going to re-evaluate my CG. I'm thinking I might have been tail heavy. I also have a futaba 6XAS, but I havent set any expo. I have a 10x6 prop mounted on there now.

RE: failure to maiden
 

My LT-40 balanced spot on without moving anything... was constructed a little different as a taildragger. There was another person on this board that did similar mods and their plane balanced spot on as well without any changes. Just lucky I guess.

somegeek

RE: failure to maiden
 

G'day Mate, A 10x6 is a 40 size prop, on a OS 46AX start with a 11x6APC, & go up from there, we use 12x6 APC on our trainer, flies it perfectly. if you do use this size prop, an idle bar plug can help, & 10% nitro fuel.
Good Flyin Mate.
Allan.

A good landing is one you can walk away from, A great landing is one where you can reuse the aircraft.;)

RE: failure to maiden
 

I am using 10% cool power fuel. The prop is a 10x6 MAS, but I do have a 11x6 MAS I can put on there.