"Weathervaning" AFTER takeoff

[3Dreaming]

You know the friction of the tires while on the ground will also help the airplane track down the runway. This may let the pilot not have quite enough cross wind correction in place when the airplane lifts off the ground. Rather than add more aileron and rudder at this point they just let it change to a crab to compensate for the wind. If the pilot has the correct amount of correction in place then it wont crab until the pilot lets that happen.

[CharlieTango]

You know the friction of the tires while on the ground will also help the airplane track down the runway. This may let the pilot not have quite enough cross wind correction in place when the airplane lifts off the ground. Rather than add more aileron and rudder at this point they just let it change to a crab to compensate for the wind. If the pilot has the correct amount of correction in place then it wont crab until the pilot lets that happen.

I agree that depending on the positioning of the controls and the pilots input, the pilot either lets the plane crab or makes the plane crab.

[CTLSi]

......

[MrMorden]

You know the friction of the tires while on the ground will also help the airplane track down the runway. This may let the pilot not have quite enough cross wind correction in place when the airplane lifts off the ground. Rather than add more aileron and rudder at this point they just let it change to a crab to compensate for the wind. If the pilot has the correct amount of correction in place then it wont crab until the pilot lets that happen.

I have heard some pilots advocate keeping the wheels planted until a good flying speed is reached, so that you can get the plane off all at once, and minimize the "transition" phase where the nose/tail wheel is up but the mains are still down. The idea is let the plane get a few more knots than the normal rotation speed, so that when you do rotate the mains come off immediately. That way you are either rolling or flying, and not spending time in the more dangerous in-between state.

[FastEddieB]

Andy,

That's the common recommendation for gusty conditions or short fields*.

Beyond that, I personally like to rotate the nose up early and to let the mains follow when ready.

Why? Because it pleases me!


*Slightly less induced drag if you hold it on until Vx or Vy as appropriate.

[MrMorden]

Andy,

That's the common recommendation for gusty conditions or short fields*.

Beyond that, I personally like to rotate the nose up early and to let the mains follow when ready.

Why? Because it pleases me!


*Slightly less induced drag if you hold it on until Vx or Vy as appropriate.

Yeah, I think either way is fine, as long as you have enough rudder authority. In very strong winds the extra speed and pop off the runway technique might be less of a handful. But then, I'm unlikely to go flying in those kinds of winds!

[FastEddieB]

Not everyone here is on the POA site, so you may have missed this post from 10/19:

I successfully accomplished a BFR yesterday at Blairsville, GA (KDZJ).

We were using RWY26 with a pretty strong direct right crosswind.

The instructor was a friend, and we had discussed this "weathervaning after takeoff" scenarios, and he was pretty much in the camp that it was a real phenomena.

So we set up these conditions to test it.

- On takeoff roll, use aileron and rudder normally for a crosswind takeoff.

- Leave the plane on the ground for a little longer than normal (50k) and then "pop" it into the air, with feet off the rudders and only enough aileron to hold the wings level.

We did so, and on leaving the ground the plane simply moved laterally downwind (to the left) with zero yawing to the right - or left.

He found it an interesting demo, and said he'd have to rethink things.

As an aside, with it's pusher prop and thrust line very close to the plane's CG, my little Sky Arrow shows practically no left or right turning tendencies on climb, making it a good choice for this experiment.

I really wish I had had my GoPro on. I had taken it with me, but thought it might be a distraction on a Flight Review. Next time we have similar conditions, I will definitely try to get it "on film"!