Robert, Glen is spot-on. I have had several takeoffs with a 20 knot crosswind and a twenty-five foot wide strip. The key (I've found) is to hold it down and steer straight down the runway. I actually let the speed build to about 70 and pop it off - it will immediately crab into the wind and just hold it for the runway heading.
Unlike a cessna that floats off the runway immediately, Fred Weick designed the Ercoupe so that it cannot lift off until rotated. I had to do a full speed run down a long runway to prove this to myself. But if you keep the front wheel planted for steering, you can go full speed and not lift off. On a shorter field I might opt to rotate at a slower speed - but, I've had no issues with getting up to speed and popping it off. Kinda fun actually. I was on an airport that had five ercoupes at one time, and on several Saturday mornings of brisk winds coming off of Lake Michigan, the Ercoupes were doing touch and goes on cross runways - while the other pilots drank coffee in the terminal. Admittedly, the first few were white-knucklers, until you reach that moment that you go "HEY - THIS IS GREAT!" Have fun, Rick N93686 Ps. I did find it easier to take-off on a twenty-five foot wide strip with a crosswind - than to land. Experience has taught me to make longer final approaches in crosswinds to more accurately guage the drifting. --- Glen Davis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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 > Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 9:00 AM > To: [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 > www.ercoupepilot.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
