Hello. I've been flying on and off (off mostly) for the last 15 years. However, all of my experience has been with tricycle gear planes. I' know tail draggers are a little more challenging on take off and landing than trikes. Anyway, does anyone have general tips I could use? I've been told, on take off, to initially hold up elevator to hold the tail down to keep it from nosing over. Then almost as soon as it starts rolling, to let off the elevator, then steer with rudder as I gradually add more power, then take off. Plane is an EZ Diablo 120 powered by a Super Tigre 3000.



Mike

I;m were you are in flight experience and i have G2 lite and i know from what people tell me and what i learn here on RCU and well on takeoffs when taxiing uold some up elevator so that its harder for the plane to go nose over but back to takeoffs as you add more power add more up elevator and that should prevent a prop strike. Landings you will want it to be going so slow that all the wheels touch down at the same time rather than the fronts first. Ohh by the way nice taildragger and TURN DOWN THE RATES FOR THE FIRST 5-10 FLIGHTS SO YOU CAN USED TO EVERYTHING.

I notice your plane has a tail wheel. Take off with a tail dragger with no tail wheel is nearly impossible in my experience, and the model always tries to do doughnuts, or ground loops. I trained on a tail dragger, and that was the only problem I've ever faced.

That's an old beauty from the past.
You've got the basics of TD takeoff.
The foam board planes need to be flown nose heavy. I had a Cap 21 that lasted about 10 sec. It was 1/4" to 3/8" in front of their suggested cg location and still too tail heavy.
For the first couple of flights, raise both ailerons 1/8 to 3/16" to create washout and help against tip stall on takeoff and landings. With that plane, I wouldn't try to get it so slow as to make three point landings. Disaster waiting to happen.

I recently transitioned to tail draggers myself and am still adjusting, but improving. This is some of what I have learned so far:
Takeoff: Due to P-factor and engine torque, when you nail the throttle the tail wants to go to the right (plane veers left), so you have to counter with right rudder, but you have to be easy or the plane will then veer too far right; you then give left rudder and it veers too much left, etc,etc. and you wind up doing a big donut and dragging a wingtip. Once this starts the best thing is to back out of the throttle because you can't get ahead of this oscillation once it starts. I put about 30% exponential in my rudder to decrease its sensitvity to small inputs, and I also roll the throttle on from idle to full over 3-5 seconds to keep the torque reaction minimized(we have a long runway). Both of these have helped me stay straight on takeoff roll. Practicing on grass slows the reaction of the plane more than on pavement. As far as up elevator goes, I only hold up el. while taxiing. As soon as you start your takeoff roll release it. As soon as the tail comes up is when you need to be ready for the tail to start its swing and feed in opposite rudder, just enough to stay straight. Once you see any bounce on the main gear, start giving a little up elevator and she should lift off. The tendecy for the tail to swing left will be greater if you're taking off with a crosswind from the plane's left, because it will have a tendency to weathervane into the wind.
Landing: No different from tricycle for approach, but when the mains touch, hold neutral elevator and let the tail settle by itself (control speed with throttle).Otherwise if you give up elevator to try and "plant" the tail, if you'r still carrying enough airspeed, the plane will "balloon" because dropping the tail just increased the angle of attack of your wing, increased its lift enough to fly again. If you do a big bounce, nail the throttle and go around again (bolter pass). I'm learning on two planes: a SIG Rascal 40, weighs 6 lbs with a 6 foot wing and wants to float forever, and a 1/5 scale L-4B Grasshopper (military J-3 Cub) with a 7 1/2 foot wing and a lot of tail and rudder area, so they're both sensitive ground handlers. But continuous practice is paying off and I'm sure you'll be nailing yours in no time.

It is slightly nose heavy, even with the battery mounted behind the wing, courtesy of the monstrous ST3000. Good tip about the washout. I'll have to adjust the ailerons for that washout. As far as changing the rates, I can't. The radio is a plane jane 4 channel one. I may reduce the rudder throw some to get used to taking off. Right now, it really has a lot of throw and moves QUICK! Got my AMA card in the mail over the weekend, and I'm joining a club in 3 days, so I'm ready to fly. Actually I'll probably spend some time taxiing up and down the runway first.

Mike

Practice is of course the key to any success.

But you have the right info.

Always taxi while holding full up - not just on take off run.

As it builds speed, relax the elevator and as the tail rises, you now must "Fly the tail" - That is, hold enough UP to counteract the drag of the wheels, and use that rudder to keep it going straight. How much is needed will be different with every plane. The good news is, taking off, is a relatively short part of the flight - providing it's not the entire flight

Hold full up elevator while taxing. As you start your take off run ease off on the elevator until you have the equivelant of 2 or 3 clicks of up elevator (this will vary from plane to plane ). On your plane you should need minimal up elevator as the wheels are well forward of the leading edge.

BE READY FOR WHEN THE TAIL COMES OFF THE GROUND. You will need to give it A LITTLE right rudder to keep it running straight. At this point back off to neutral (perhaps 1 click of up elevator ) and let the plane build up some speed. Now give it A LITTLE up elevator and you will be airborne.

For landing, FLY the plane to where the mains are about 3" from the ground. As you reduce the throttle to off, feed in A LITTLE up elevator AND HOLD IT (You don't want the plane to baloon, just bleed off speed ). The plane will settle in to a nice 3 point landing.