I've read a lot of comments about how easy it is to land an Ercoupe
in a crosswind, even up to 30 kts or so, and all those comments are
quite true. What we should be talking about, though, are crosswind
takeoffs which can become a bit hairy.
On my recent trip bringing my Coupe down to Florida, I landed at
Perryton, TX in a fairly stout crosswind. Now problem. Touch down
in a crab and the nose swings around to track down the runway just
like in a T-38 which uses the same crosswind landing technique. All
this occurs while the aircraft is decelerating so lateral control
down the runway is uncomplicated using the nosewheel steering and the
airspeed is low.
Takeoffs, however, are a differnt challenge.
Departing Perryton, I started a normal takeoff run and reaching about
35 knots the aircraft wanted to weathervane to the right into the
approximate 30 mph crosswind so I turned the wheel to the left to
track centerline. Then the fun began.
The left turn input on the wheel also made the right (upwind) aileron
go down creating more lift on the right (upwind) wing. I glanced out
to the right and was really surprised at how far downward the right
aileron was deflected. The aircraft fairly quickly assumed about a 20
degree left bank while still on takeoff roll at about 40 mph.
Instinct resulted in turning the wheel to the right to lower the
right wing but it also turned the nose wheel to the right which
magnified the right turning moment (weathervane) into the crosswind.
Instead of runway ahead, I saw runway edge, grass, runway lights and
trees. As I approached the runway edge, I rotated and the Coupe
became airborne prior to leaving the hard surface because we were now
at about 50 mph IAS. Whew! I'll bet it looked like some drunk had
stolen an airplane, if anyone was watching the takeoff.
So watch out for the crosswind takeoffs and associated roll away from
the upwind wing. I think I have a plan to compensate for this
weathervane/roll effect but I will leave that conversation for later.
Oh yeah, I have about 6000 hours, an ATP and have flown everything
from mach plus (T-38) to mach nix (A-1 Skyraider) so I am not exactly
new to the game. This takeoff really surprised me and caught me
offguard.
Robert Bartunek
