I enjoy having separate rudder control (rudder pedals) as I think it allows me to enjoy the best of both Ercoupe worlds.
Although even with rudder pedals the nose wheel steering in my aircraft is still with the yoke. Roy ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Glen Davis Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 9:16 AM To: [email protected]; robertbartunek Subject: Re: [ercoupe-flyin] Crosswind take offs Importance: Low Robert Good point and an experience I, too, have had...although the runway was 150 feet wide and I already was almost airborne I don't know the answer but I will assume the answer is as follows (comments, suggestions, corrections please): In a pedalless Ercoupe, on take-off with a strong crosswind, add a bit of extra forward pressure on the nosewheel during the ground-roll portion of the take-off, thus keeping the nosewheel firmly planted and reducing the possibility of the airplane weathervaning into the wind. When at Vr (rotation speed), briskly pull back and get the aircraft flying. Then, crab as necessary to maintain runway heading. Any thoughts Glen Davis CFII From: robertbartunek <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 9:00 AM To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [ercoupe-flyin] Crosswind take offs 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 Glen Glen Davis 917 297 1111 www.ishootpictures.com <http://www.ishootpictures.com> www.ercoupepilot.com <http://www.ercoupepilot.com>
