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<\/a><\/p>\nThe takeoff in a tailwheel airplane deserves some scrutiny, resultant understanding and mastery.\u00a0 Keeping it straight is a major issue for many tailwheel pilots, both new and experienced.\u00a0 Why is it so difficult for many pilots to keep it straight on takeoff and why do they often tend to have more trouble after the airplane has accelerated to nearly flying speed?\u00a0 They\u2019ve worked on controlling the heading of the airplane as they taxi to the runway.\u00a0 Then, as they apply power, they are making large rudder inputs to keep the heading constant.\u00a0 That may be the problem:\u00a0 As the airplane accelerates it requires less rudder deflection to accomplish the same amount of heading change or correction.\u00a0 But many pilots continue to use large rudder inputs, causing the airplane\u2019s heading to make larger changes and thus requiring more correction of their correction (see \u201cCorrecting the Correction\u201d).\u00a0 This situation just may be the one that I spend more time helping fix than any other related to tailwheel rudder work.<\/p>\n
An airplane is at its most vulnerable when taking off.\u00a0 The pilot\u2019s choices in the event of engine failure or other mishap are far more limited than they are at altitude.\u00a0 Heck, there IS no altitude which can be traded for distance or speed.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it is so important to THINK and to PLAN each takeoff so that you know your options.\u00a0 All my students know that I\u2019m really big on their constantly making decisions regarding where they will go and what they will do in the event of a problem at every point in a takeoff and departure (that\u2019s why I just hate the Acme Flying School\u2019s insistence on straight-ahead departures\u2026 no matter what) .\u00a0 One of the most important things you can do to increase your chance of success is to use the runway as efficiently as possible.\u00a0 I\u2019ve elaborated on this subject in \u201cSpending Distance\u201d, but I\u2019ll touch on it here. There\u2019s an old wheeze that states that the useless things in flying are runway behind you, altitude above you and fuel in the fuel truck.\u00a0 It\u2019s an old wheeze because it\u2019s true.\u00a0 It is the simplest thing in the world to use every bit of the runway available to you, but many pilots waste runway by failing to start their takeoff from the VERY END.\u00a0 Either that or they roll down the runway for yards and yards, fussing around before applying full power.\u00a0 Unless you can make an intersection takeoff while retaining lots of options for places to go in the event of engine failure, DON\u2019T DO IT.<\/p>\n ALWAYS taxi to the very end of the runway and bring your power up while turning around so that full power is applied by the time you are on runway heading.\u00a0 There are other techniques for application of power on takeoff.\u00a0 In my opinion they are all usually wrong.\u00a0 Although there are times that holding the brakes and bringing the power up, then releasing the brakes may be appropriate, I don\u2019t like the technique.\u00a0 I\u2019d rather take advantage of the airplane\u2019s motion and have the throttle open by the time we\u2019ve turned to takeoff heading.<\/p>\n All the flight schools teach both the short field and the soft field takeoff technique.\u00a0 They should.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard of some instructors having their students make EVERY takeoff a soft field takeoff.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of wisdom in that approach.\u00a0 Rather than making that technique, which is so dependent on good elevator skills, a rarely practiced one, it builds much more skill at using the elevator to properly control the pitch and thus the altitude of the airplane.\u00a0 And altitude on takeoff is hugely important, but not for the reason a lot of pilots think.\u00a0 Most pilots do a poor job of accelerating in ground affect right after liftoff.\u00a0 Instead, they climb.\u00a0 They climb right out of ground affect.\u00a0 I like to see a pilot get the airplane just clear of the runway and accelerating in ground affect so that it gains speed that can be traded for maneuverability in the event of engine failure. This is a tricky job for many pilots.\u00a0 They sometimes allow the airplane to sink and touch the runway again after liftoff.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I usually charge a bottle of whiskey for every such touch.\u00a0 I find it really helps to keep us in the air. Most of my students are pretty good, so my supply of expensive single malt is always a bit skimpy. Every takeoff and every runway is different.\u00a0 We can\u2019t expect the same technique to be the best technique for all of them.\u00a0 But generally speaking, speed gained in ground affect is not only cheap insurance in the event of engine failure, but it will also assist in clearing obstacles at the departure end because you\u2019ll have some \u201czoom reserve\u201d.<\/p>\n Most schools teach the obstructed departure technique of climbing out at VX (best angle of climb speed).\u00a0 I\u2019m a little different.\u00a0 I teach that if you need to climb out at VX, you shouldn\u2019t have landed there in the first place.\u00a0 A climb out at VX is an accident waiting to happen.\u00a0 In the event of a power failure you have very little time or distance in which to gain and maintain a speed at which you can flair in the landing that is about to happen.\u00a0 Sure, know HOW to do it, but don\u2019t DO IT.<\/p>\n Every serious \u201cfour-wheeler\u201d driver knows that one of the primary rules of driving in the muck is \u201cDON\u2019T STOP\u201d.\u00a0 Airplanes are even more susceptible to getting stuck if you let them stop. Just the other day I watched a couple of yayhoos in the local Acme Flying School\u2019s 172 roll to a stop in the dirt at our little airport and that took care of them.\u00a0 They had to climb out of the airplane and push it to solid ground.\u00a0 If they\u2019d simply kept going, they would have been just fine.\u00a0 Hell, I often land on the very dirt in which they became stuck.\u00a0 Even on dry pavement, pilots will allow their airplanes to stop and then have to use high power settings to get them moving or turning again.\u00a0 It drives me nuts.<\/p>\n As a newly minted flight instructor, I once landed a Cessna 152 (with a student aboard) in a field that was much softer than I thought it was.\u00a0 With my heart in my throat, I taxied to the very end of the field, then slewed around while carrying damned near full throttle and lurched out of there in a nose high attitude.\u00a0 If I had stopped, I\u2019m convinced that we\u2019d have ended up trucking that airplane out of there.\u00a0 It was one of the stupidest things I\u2019ve ever done with an airplane, but I sure learned a lot about soft field work from it.\u00a0 I also learned that wheel pants suck in muddy fields and I gained valuable listening skills as my red ears were filled with a harangue on the phone from the property owner whose freshly harrowed field was marred with three deep ruts.<\/p>\n An airplane that is landing or taking off should have its wheels straddling the centerline.\u00a0 If you cannot keep your airplane straddling the centerline (or the center of an unmarked dirt strip), you need work in this area.\u00a0 Inability to perform to these standards can kill you.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n