Afternoon all,

 

After getting into an EC-135 chopper and making some progress in mastering my hovering skills, I decided to have a go at downloading the Sbach 300 aerobatic taildragger.

 

She's a handful alright, both in the air and on the ground. So I thought I'd have a go at a more subdued aircraft. The stock Stinson L5 (a fine plane to try). She was somewhat easier to control, but with an 18kt steady crosswind still quite a handfull on the ground. My only crumb of comfort was seeing an AI pilot having a hard time with the stinson as well.

 

What are real taildraggers like to handle on the ground? These ones like to weathervane everywhere, espcially when taxiing with a tailwind.

 

Take off was a messy affair despite my best efforts to be gradual. A little bit of throttle at a time, stabilising with rudder after each notch. Despite my best efforts I still keep messing it up and invariably faceplanted the plane right into the ground. I get upto 25knts before the plane suddenly veers into the cross wind.

 

I'm using joystick and rudder pedals for this work.

With appropriate cross controls for elevator/aileron positioning, any aircraft will not weathervane. As you approach higher taxi speeds, high (20+kt) winds may push the aircraft in the direction the wind is blowing, but only slightly. Without appropriate cross controls, the aircraft will usually rock a bit as the wind ebbs and flows, but not weathervane. The friction from the tires doing their jobs counters the weathervaning. Once in the air, though, the aircraft being freed from the rotational friction of the tires may swing as much as 15 degrees into the wind depending on direction of wind and strength as well as cross control input at time of departure from the surface of the tarmac.

 

The first time I flew with significant winds was in a Cessna 152 with 18knot direct crosswinds. The flight instructor deemed it a great learning opportunity and I have never forgotten what it is to fail to crab and put in appropriate cross controls. I put in the opposite control inputs for the wind direction and the wind gusted a bit nearly standing the aircraft on the wingtip. As it happend, a quick rudder input in the direction of the tip re-erected us as I corrected the control inputs. Wind can have a large effect on the ground, but weathervaning is the least likely I've ever experienced, from C152, C172, C182, C210, PA28, PA31 and PA34s alike. The lower the wing to the ground, the less rocking they have exhibited. When learning in the low wings, my flight instructor said that most people who learn to fly low-wing first are taught the correct inputs, but in practice, its not as necessary as a high-wing.

Thanks I'll try that next time.