----- Original Message -----
From: <DJA727@aol.com>
>
> Also, in the videos of takeoffs, I see the tailwheel come up well before
the
> airplane main leaves the ground. I am paranoid about keeping the stick aft
> and was wondering what those experienced with this configuration find
during
> takeoff for the tail coming off the ground. My airplane has been leaping
off
> the ground abruptly as I am keeping that stick probably too far back too
> long.
>
I hold the stick full aft until about 35-40kts when I relax the backpressure
to allow the tail to lift. Higher powered Europas (100hp or more) accelerate
fast enough so that the relatively vulnerable stage balanced on one wheel is
kept short. VP props also help in this respect. Originally, like you, I kept
the stick fully aft virtually until lift-off. As I found this can have its
problems when operating on grass as a slight hump can launch you before the
aircraft is ready to fly. If the aircraft is allowed to leave ground effect,
wing drop or stall could result. I was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky in that
I managed to ease back into ground effect whilst picking up the dropped wing
with rudder rather than aileron. Unlucky in that in the first place I hit a
hump at a critical stage with full aft stick (in this case about 42kts). Any
slower and the aircraft would not have left the ground prematurely, any
later the aircraft would have climbed away successfully albeit a bit slow.
Nigel Charles
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