takeoffs
 

Im fairly new to the hobby and when I tried my first real life take off on grass with my nexstar the front wheel caught and the plane spun out. Then I let the person helping me fly take off the rest of the day. I know he told me to keep up elevator when taxiing should I continue to give a slight up elevater doring the takeoff to get the front wheel off the ground a little.

RE: takeoffs
 

A little up elevator when taxiing and getting up to speed for take-off is O.K., but remember to ease off the elevator as the plane approaches take off speed; then after reaching take off speed apply a little up to rotate if necessary. The object is to prevent taking off prematurely which could happen if up elevator is applied throughout the take off run.

DaveB

RE: takeoffs
 

with grass you need a slight positive AOA to get off the ground because of the drag the grass has on the gear, holding the up elevator takes care of that in most cases. on concrete (or any hard/flat surface) you won't need to do it unless flying jets.

kc

RE: takeoffs
 

A "little" elevator can get you into the air before the plane is truly flying. I'd rather see you swap out for larger wheels. Get some 3" wheels with a fairly hard tire (like Dubro), not the foam type (Like Dave Brown). Be sure the bottom of the wing sits level when the plane is at rest. Don't have more than about 1/4" travel either way when the wheel turns. You just don't need more than that, and too much turn will cause the wheel to dig in.

Also, be sure the balance is within range, and the plane isn't nose-heavy. That will make it dig in, too.

Dr.1

RE: takeoffs
 

Dr1Driver is right. A little up elevator will get you airborne and right into a stall.
It doesn't sound like you're flying at a club field. So get permisson from the property owner and cut yourself a runway.
up elevator will help keep the nose out of the grass but then you cant steer.

RE: takeoffs
 

It does depend a lot on the field and the airplane. Too much up elevator can cause the problems mentioned above, but on many fields and with some planes, if you don't use some, you can't taxi or get going fast enough to lift off.

The trick is in using enough elevator to get moving, then ease off the elevator to avoid lifting off early. In full-scale, it's a "soft field takeoff", and it works with models as well.

Also, once the plane is moving, but well before you can take off, the rudder has quite a bit of effect, so if the nose wheel is up off the ground, you still have plenty of control over the plane. In most cases, you shouldn't need to get the nosewheel that high up, and it can lead to lifting off too soon, but it can be a helpful technique.

I do agree that larger wheels help.

Also, be sure to check how the plane is sitting. On grass, with a flat-bottom wing, you want the bottom of the wing level with the ground. That actually gives the wing a slight positive AOA sitting on the wheels, which will help you lift off. If you are nose down, the plane will have a tendancy to dig in, then pop off the ground early. If the plane is nose-high, it can lift off early on it's own, and will have a tendancy to "wheelbarrow" when the mains lift, but the nosewheel is still touching, which can cause a wild and random turn in either direction. Nose-up also leads to bounces on landings.

RE: takeoffs
 

No I am flying at an AMA r field, the field isn't in the best condition and has no runway, I take what I can get since its the only one close.

RE: takeoffs
 

what I found with my NEXTAR was that it needed a long T.O. run to get up to speed and airborne.
getting in the air without any airspeed will end up being trouble,the NEXTAR is a pretty forgiving plane but even it will tip stall if its going too slow under power.
the 46 is not a over powering engine for the size of plane the NEXTAR is.
larger wheels is a good idea trying to force this plane in the air will just lead to a crash because of lack of flying speed.