RCU Forums - Firewall question

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Firewall question

I am new to nitro's and just got done building my second arf kit and i notice the firewalls on both planes are at a slight angle. I was just wondering if it's supposed to be that way or do i need keep my motor straight with the fuse?

RE: Firewall question

This is perfectly normal. The firewall on most planes is offset to the right to add right thrust to the plane. This counteracts the torque from the engine turning. Some planes will also have down thrust build in, but not all.

Ken

RE: Firewall question

I kind of thought it had something to do with that after i saw the second one but i just wanted to make sure. Thanks

RE: Firewall question

You won't notice it that much on models with smaller engines but if you get into 60 size or larger you won't be able to keep the plane from turning to the left on the runway with out the engine angled to the right a bit. I found this out when I built a Big Lazy Bee and had a straight firewall. [8D]

RE: Firewall question

Hi Druff1

Here's a great video of why you need right thrust and why you need to use right rudder on a take off roll. I wonder if this guy had any RT in the plane. Also a nice, easy, smooth throttle up helps. The wrong time to hit the gas is when your plane is vering to the left.

http://home.dc.rr.com/maurie/HawkerSplat.wmv

Darren

RE: Firewall question

rrragmanliam,

Great video for the newbies to watch - one of the reasons you don't get a warbird for your first plane.

I don't know if right thrust would have made any difference there. Some of issues this video shows are:

1) Improper use of right rudder for directional control (not enough used, or to little rudder throw)

2) Possibly lifting the tail too soon. This can cause a loss of directional control since the tailwheel was performing all the work, and not enough airflow over the rudder to make it effective.

3) Not enough power when attempting to force the plane off the ground at too low of an airspeed, and not prepared for the instant torque response with jamming full throttle.

This is a classis case of force the take-off into a take-off stall. And warbirds are very unforgiving.......they'll bite like a rabbid animals.

I made the same mistake early on with forcing a Piper Cub to lift off early once [&o] - once [>:] ........haven't made that mistake again.

If the pilot would have aborted the take-off when the plane started to veer to the left, he quite possibly could have been flying the plane today. If I could have a nickle for every aborted take-off I've done I'd be rich. :D

Hogflyer

RE: Firewall question

Something else that makes tail draggers a little tamer is to toe-in the wheels slightly. If you look at this set-up, the forward wheel is bent in and the rearmost wheel is pointing straight ahead, so it has less drag, and this naturally tends to point the plane straight. "Tends" is the key word here. You still need a little right rudder to compensate.

The poor guy with the Hawker should have cut his losses and killed the engine as soon as he left the edge of the runway. Hurricanes and Bf-109s are not for the slow of reflex. Narrow wheelbase.

RE: Firewall question

Quote:

ORIGINAL: hogflyer

rrragmanliam,

Great video for the newbies to watch - one of the reasons you don't get a warbird for your first plane.

I don't know if right thrust would have made any difference there. Some of issues this video shows are:

1) Improper use of right rudder for directional control (not enough used, or to little rudder throw)

2) Possibly lifting the tail too soon. This can cause a loss of directional control since the tailwheel was performing all the work, and not enough airflow over the rudder to make it effective.

3) Not enough power when attempting to force the plane off the ground at too low of an airspeed, and not prepared for the instant torque response with jamming full throttle.

This is a classis case of force the take-off into a take-off stall. And warbirds are very unforgiving.......they'll bite like a rabbid animals.

I made the same mistake early on with forcing a Piper Cub to lift off early once [&o] - once [>:] ........haven't made that mistake again.

If the pilot would have aborted the take-off when the plane started to veer to the left, he quite possibly could have been flying the plane today. If I could have a nickle for every aborted take-off I've done I'd be rich. :D

Hogflyer

All great points HF. These were the exact things I was thinking when I saw the video.

Obviously the guy has more problems that right thrust/ right rudder issues. The biggest thing that happened to him was once in trouble he panicked and did everything wrong. He should of cut the throttle and kept the plane on the ground. Hey and for the record I'm not trying to bag on the guy, I've made these types of mistakes too ![sm=75_75.gif]